Senior Principal Process Engineer - Clean Water

Stantec; Southampton; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Stantec is seeking a Senior Principal Process Engineer – Clean Water to join our UK teams in multiple locations including London and Southampton. You will lead the development of water treatment solutions, provide technical authority, and shape investment and asset strategies for major infrastructure projects.

You will mentor engineers, drive process improvements, and support business growth in the UK water sector while ensuring safe, compliant, and sustainable outcomes across projects.

Qualifications

• Degree in Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering or related discipline.
• Experience leading clean water design projects and teams is desirable.
• Strong technical authority across treatment processes and regulatory requirements.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and assurance of clean water treatment designs including calculation, mass balances and technical specs.
• Provide technical authority on treatment processes such as clarification, filtration and disinfection.
• Guide capacity upgrades, asset replacement and resilience schemes for water treatment works.
• Oversee assessments of drinking water quality, treatment performance and security of supply.
• Provide senior technical oversight across multidisciplinary projects and ensure safe, robust and deliverable solutions.
• Support feasibility studies, optioneering, investment planning, design reviews and commissioning.
• Build trusted client relationships and provide strategic advice on treatment challenges and investment.

Skills

Technical leadership

Water treatment design

Client relationships

Regulatory compliance

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in Chemical/Process Engineering

Tools

Hydraulic modelling

Process simulations

Job description

As investment in the UK water sector accelerates, delivering reliable, high-performing clean water treatment and supply infrastructure has never been more important. At Stantec, our Process Engineering teams are helping water companies strengthen resilience, improve treatment performance and secure sustainable drinking water supplies for the communities they serve.

We’re looking for a Senior Principal Process Engineer – Clean Water to join our growing teams in London, High Wycombe, Reading, Brighton, Southampton or Cambridge . This is an opportunity to take a leading role in shaping clean water process engineering across major infrastructure and treatment programmes, bringing together technical expertise, strategic thinking and a passion for engineering excellence.

You’ll work across projects involving water treatment works, treatment process upgrades, asset optimisation and network resilience, helping clients address increasingly complex challenges around water quality, capacity and security of supply. Alongside providing technical authority, you’ll influence investment decisions, develop client relationships and play a key role in growing our clean water capability across the UK.

ABOUT THE ROLE

As a Senior Principal Process Engineer, you’ll provide strategic and technical leadership across clean water projects, guiding process solutions from early feasibility and optioneering through detailed design, delivery and operational optimisation.

You will:

• Lead the development and assurance of clean water treatment process designs, including treatment selection, process calculations, mass balances, hydraulic assessments and technical specifications.

• Provide technical authority on treatment processes such as clarification, filtration, disinfection and other treatment technologies appropriate to raw water quality and regulatory requirements.

• Guide the development and optimisation of water treatment works, including capacity upgrades, process improvements, asset replacement and resilience schemes.

• Oversee technical assessments relating to drinking water quality, treatment performance, process efficiency and security of supply.

• Provide senior technical oversight across multidisciplinary projects, ensuring process solutions are safe, robust, sustainable and deliverable.

• Support feasibility studies, optioneering, investment planning, design reviews, commissioning and operational performance investigations.

• Build trusted relationships with clients, providing strategic advice on treatment challenges, infrastructure investment and long‑term asset performance.

• Lead and mentor engineers, strengthen technical standards and support succession planning within the Process Engineering community.

• Contribute to business development, bids, framework delivery and the continued expansion of Stantec’s clean water portfolio.

• Champion innovation, low‑carbon solutions and continuous improvement across clean water process engineering.

YOUR IMPACT

Your expertise will help shape the future of clean water infrastructure, supporting the delivery of safe, high‑quality drinking water and more resilient treatment assets for communities across the UK. Through your technical leadership, you’ll help clients make informed investment decisions, improve treatment performance and develop solutions that respond to changing water quality, capacity and climate resilience challenges.

At Senior Principal level, your influence will extend across projects, clients and teams. You’ll act as a trusted technical authority, support the development of future engineering leaders and help establish best practice across our clean water work. Your contribution to client relationships, strategic planning and business growth will also play an important role in strengthening Stantec’s position in the UK water sector.

ABOUT YOU

Essential

• Degree qualified in Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering or a related discipline.