Senior Associate Director / Technical Lead - Coastal Modelling

Jacobs; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible and hybrid working that fits

24 days annual leave + ability to buy

Enhanced pension contributions up to Ƀ

Private medical cover and Digital GP

Family planning and fertility support

Enhanced parental leave

Life assurance four times salary

Income protection

Wellbeing support

Volunteering and charity matching

Job summary

Jacobs is seeking a Senior Associate Director / Technical Lead in Coastal Modelling to shape how modelling solves coastal, environmental and infrastructure challenges. You’ll be the technical voice within the coastal and maritime business, defining approaches, mentoring modellers and guiding project delivery across UK and international work.

This role blends technical leadership with capability building, client engagement and development of digital, automated modelling tools, while championing

Qualifications

• Significant experience in coastal, maritime or environmental modelling.
• Strong technical leadership and client-facing skills.
• Ability to mentor and develop technical teams.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical direction across coastal modelling projects.
• Review and guide complex modelling studies to ensure excellence.
• Mentor modellers and contribute to capability building.

Skills

Coastal modelling

Hydrodynamics

Sediment transport

Water quality modelling

Technical leadership

Mentoring teams

Education

Engineering degree

Job description

At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good.

Your impact

Not every technical leadership role gives you the chance to shape the future of an entire capability. This one does.

As Senior Associate Director or Technical Lead in Coastal Modelling, you'll help define how modelling is used to solve some of the most complex coastal, environmental and infrastructure challenges facing society today.

• You'll be a key technical voice within our coastal and maritime business, influencing how we develop new approaches, adopt emerging technologies and respond to evolving client needs. From protecting communities against coastal change and flooding to improving water quality and supporting major infrastructure investment, your expertise will help clients make better judgements with confidence.
• Just as importantly, you'll help grow the next generation of technical specialists, strengthening a capability that delivers meaningful outcomes for people, places and the environment.

What's In It For You

This isn't a role where you inherit a fixed brief.

It's an opportunity to build on your strengths, pursue the technical areas that genuinely interest you and help shape where our coastal modelling capability goes next.

At Jacobs, you'll have the freedom, support and platform to

• Influence the future direction of a nationally recognised coastal and maritime modelling team
• Develop specialist capability in areas such as coastal water quality, sediment transport, automation and digital modelling
• Work on a fascinating mix of UK and international projects
• Collaborate with respected experts across coastal engineering, hydroinformatics, environmental science and digital delivery
• Spend more time solving complex technical issues and less time navigating unnecessary bureaucracy
• Grow your industry profile through technical leadership, publications, conferences and thought leadership activities
• Mentor talented modellers and technical specialists, helping shape the people who will be spearheading this in the future
• Benefit from flexible and hybrid working arrangements that fit around your life
• Access excellent professional development opportunities and long-term career progression

Most importantly, you'll join a business that values expertise, encourages curiosity and invests in innovation.

We Offer

Compensation That Reflects Your Skills And Experience

• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements
• 24 days annual leave plus the option to buy up to 10 additional days
• Enhanced pension contributions of up to 10%
• Private medical cover and Digital GP access
• Family planning and fertility support services
• Enhanced parental leave and family support programmes
• Employee Networks We have a commitment to hiring a diverse workforce and supporting colleagues of different backgrounds
• Life assurance at four times your salary
• Income protection for long-term financial security
• Access to wellbeing support, including Calm and Daily Burn
• Professional memberships funded and ongoing development opportunities
• Paid volunteering time, matched charity funding, and community engagement programmes

About The Opportunity

Demand for coastal, environmental and water sector modelling has never been greater.

As climate resilience, environmental regulation and digital transformation continue to reshape the industry, we're expanding our capability to help clients tackle increasingly complex issues.

This role sits at the heart of that growth.

You’ll work alongside an established modelling senior team members, providing technical direction across a wide range of projects while helping us identify where the next opportunities lie.

Your work could involve

• Coastal process, hydrodynamic and sediment transport modelling
• Coastal water quality and environmental modelling studies
• Maritime infrastructure and port developments
• Climate resilience and coastal adaptation projects
• Water sector and environmental improvement programmes
• Development of innovative digital, automated and data-driven modelling solutions

You’ll act as a trusted technical advisor, supporting project teams, reviewing complex modelling studies and helping ensure excellence across project delivery.

Beyond projects, you’ll play a major role in capability building, supporting recruitment, mentoring colleagues and helping develop the tools, standards and approaches that will underpin the future success of our modelling team.

This is an opportunity for someone who enjoys thinking beyond today's challenges and wants to help define what's next.

Here’s what you’ll need

• Significant experience in coastal, maritime or environmental modelling
• Strong technical expertise in areas such as hydrodynamics, coastal processes, sediment transport, morphology or water quality modelling
• Experience providing technical leadership, review and guidance on complex modelling projects
• The ability to mentor and develop technical teams
• Strong communication skills and confidence engaging with clients and project stakeholders
• A degree in a relevant scientific or engineering discipline

The Future of Coastal Modelling Is Being Written Right Now.

We're looking for someone who wants to do more than deliver projects. Someone who wants to influence technical direction, champion innovation and help solve the environmental issues that matter most.

If you’re excited by the prospect of combining technical excellence, industry direction and the freedom to shape new capability, we’d love to start the conversation.

Jacobs offers hybrid working and a standard 40-hour working week

Good luck with your application

Joining Jacobs not only connects you locally but globally. Our values stand on a foundation of safety, integrity, inclusion and belonging. We put people at the heart of our business, and we truly believe that by supporting one another through our culture of caring, we all succeed. We value positive mental health and a sense of belonging for all employees.

With safety and flexibility always top of mind, we’ve gone beyond traditional ways of working so you have the support, means and space to maximize your potential. You’ll uncover flexible working arrangements, benefits, and opportunities, from well‑being benefits to our global giving and volunteering program, to exploring new and inventive ways to help our clients make the world a better place. No matter what drives you, you’ll discover how you can cultivate, nurture, and achieve your goals – all at a single global company. Find out more about life at Jacobs.

We aim to embed inclusion and belonging in everything we do. We know that if we are inclusive, we’re more connected and creative. We accept people for who they are, and we champion the richness of different perspectives, lived experiences and backgrounds in the workplace, as a source of learning and innovation. We are committed to building vibrant communities within Jacobs, including through our Jacobs Employee Networks, Communities of Practice and our Find Your Community initiatives, allowing every employee to find connection, purpose, and belonging. Find out more about our Jacobs Employee Networks here.

Jacobs partners with VERCIDA to help us attract and retain talent from a wide range of backgrounds. For greater online accessibility please visit https//www.vercida.com/uk/employers/jacobs to view and access our roles.

As a disability confident employer, we will interview disabled candidates who best meet the criteria. We welcome applications from candidates who are seeking flexible working and from those who may not meet all the listed requirements for a role.

We value collaboration and believe that in‑person interactions are crucial for both our culture and client delivery. We empower employees with our hybrid working policy, allowing them to split their work week between Jacobs offices/projects and remote locations enabling them to deliver their best work.

Your application experience is important to us, and we’re keen to adapt to make every interaction even better. If you require further support or reasonable adjustments with regards to the recruitment process (for example, you require the application form in a different format), please contact the team via Careers Support.