Senior Architect Rail

Randstad Cpe London; City of Westminster; Hybrid; GBP 60,000 - 71,000; Full time

Job summary

Randstad CPE London is seeking an experienced Senior Architect for the HS2 depot programme in Birmingham or London. You will be embedded with engineers and specialists, reviewing designs and ensuring architectural quality through contractor design.

You will lead design development, apply UK/EU standards, and coordinate with multiple disciplines to deliver a complex operational facility for rail infrastructure.

Qualifications

• Professional experience as an Architect within rail, major infrastructure or another highly complex multidisciplinary environment.
• Strong architectural design experience, including detailed design and delivery in construction sites.
• Experience reviewing, checking and validating designs produced by contractors or external design teams.
• Good understanding of UK and relevant European architectural, building and design standards, with ability to apply them.
• Experience working alongside multiple engineering and technical disciplines.
• Strong attention to detail and ability to maintain architectural intent through design and delivery.

Responsibilities

• Act as Project Architect embedded within a multidisciplinary team of engineers and specialists.
• Review, challenge and validate contractor designs to meet requirements and standards.
• Maintain architectural intent while accommodating changes during design development.
• Collaborate with contractor and HS2 design teams to align with the architectural vision.
• Identify and assess design risks and communicate them to stakeholders.

Skills

Rail architecture

Infrastructure design

Design review

Standards knowledge

Stakeholder mgmt

Multidisciplinary teamwork

Job description

Are you an experienced Architect with a background delivering complex rail, infrastructure or major transport projects?

Do you enjoy working within multidisciplinary engineering teams, challenging contractor designs and protecting design quality through delivery?

Salary:
London: £60,143 to £70,756 inclusive of 20% flex fund
Birmingham: £55,687 to £65,514 inclusive of 20% flex fund
Location: Birmingham or London, hybrid working with 3 days per week in the office

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Senior Architect to join the team responsible for a massive depot, one of the most significant operational facilities on the HS2 programme.

This depot will be a large and highly complex site accommodating more than 30 trains, a major rolling stock maintenance depot and the National Control Centre responsible for controlling the wider operation.

The site incorporates several significant buildings and structures, and the programme is now moving into an important contractor design phase. As Senior Architect, you will effectively act as the Project Architect, embedded within a multidisciplinary team of engineers and specialists in Birmingham.

You will work closely with the contractor to review, challenge and validate developing designs, ensuring they meet project requirements, relevant standards and the overall architectural vision established by HS2.

The project is also undergoing significant design development following changes to operational requirements, including the need to accommodate a mixed fleet and 420-metre trains. This means new planning permissions will be required for material changes, creating an interesting opportunity to influence how the next stage of the design develops.

Essential requirements

• Professional experience as an Architect within rail, major infrastructure or another highly complex multidisciplinary environment.
• Strong architectural design experience, including detailed design and experience relating to construction/site delivery.
• Experience reviewing, checking and validating designs produced by contractors or external design teams.
• Good understanding of UK and relevant European architectural, building and design standards, with the ability to identify and apply the appropriate standards.
• Experience working alongside multiple engineering and technical disciplines.
• Strong understanding of design quality and the ability to maintain architectural intent through detailed design and delivery.
• Ability to identify, assess and challenge design risks.
• Confident stakeholder management skills, with the ability to contribute effectively in multidisciplinary meetings and defend architectural and client requirements when necessary.
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to work with complex project and design information.
• A creative approach to architecture combined with an understanding of the practical requirements of major infrastructure delivery.

Nice to have

• Previous rail project experience.
• Experience working on major UK infrastructure programmes.
• Experience within aviation or another complex transport infrastructure environment.
• Experience working client-side and reviewing contractor-led design.
• Experience of large depots, stations, operational facilities or complex industrial buildings.
• Knowledge of planning requirements and managing significant design changes following planning consent.

This is an excellent opportunity for an Architect who wants to work at the heart of one of the UK's most significant infrastructure programmes. You will have the opportunity to influence the design of a complex operational facility as it moves through contractor design and towards delivery.