Senior Process Engineer

Kier Group; Brighton; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Kier Group seeks a Lead Process Engineer to join the Southern Water Framework in Falmer, near Brighton. The role combines technical leadership across water and wastewater projects with hands-on design and delivery, from feasibility through to detailed design and operational improvements.

You will mentor engineers, lead process modelling, hydraulics and optimisation, and work with project teams and clients to ensure safe, compliant and robust solutions that deliver long‑term value.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Chemical/Process/Environmental Engineering.
• Chartered Engineer or working toward chartership.
• Significant water/wastewater sector experience with leading process activities.
• Knowledge of drinking water, wastewater, sludge treatment and nutrient removal.
• Experience in process modelling, hydraulic design and optimisation.

Responsibilities

• Act as technical authority and lead process designs, calculations, mass balances, and performance assessments.
• Produce and review P&IDs, design reports, technical specifications and process narratives.
• Provide technical assurance and governance for feasibility studies and business cases.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams for integrated engineering solutions and optimise operations.
• Mentor engineers and contribute to bids and promote innovation across the business.

Skills

Process engineering

Leadership

Mentoring

Process modelling

Hydraulic design

Treatment optimisation

Stakeholder engagement

Communication skills

Chartered Engineer

Education

Chemical Engineering

Environmental Engineering

Process Engineering degree

Job description

We're looking for a Lead Process Engineer to join our Southern Water Framework in office and site locations.

Location:

Falmer

Hours:

45 Hours Per Week - some flexibility on hours available if desired, just let us know when you speak to us.
We are unable to offer certificates of sponsorship to any candidates in this role.
As a Lead Process Engineer, you'll provide technical leadership and specialist process engineering expertise across water and wastewater treatment projects. From feasibility and concept development through to detailed design, implementation support, and operational performance improvement, you'll serve as the technical authority for treatment processes. Working collaboratively with project managers, multidisciplinary design teams, and clients, you'll help develop and deliver robust process solutions that provide long‑term value and performance while mentoring engineering teams and supporting continuous improvement.

What will you be responsible for?

As a Lead Process Engineer, you'll be working within the team, supporting them in delivering safe, compliant, sustainable, and efficient engineering solutions.

Your Day To Day Will Include

• Acting as a technical authority and leading the development of process designs, calculations, mass balances, and performance assessments
• Producing and reviewing process flow diagrams, P&IDs, design reports, technical specifications, and process narratives
• Providing technical assurance and governance while supporting feasibility studies, option evaluations, and business cases
• Collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to ensure integrated engineering solutions and analysing operational data to identify optimisation opportunities
• Mentoring and developing engineers while contributing to bids, tenders, and promoting innovation across the business

What are we looking for?

This role of Lead Process Engineer is great for you if:

• You hold a degree in Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering, Environmental Engineering, or a related discipline
• You're a Chartered Engineer or working towards chartership with an appropriate professional institution
• You have significant experience within the water and wastewater sector and a strong background in leading process engineering activities on complex infrastructure projects
• You possess strong knowledge of drinking water treatment, wastewater treatment, sludge treatment, and resource recovery processes, including nutrient removal technologies
• You have demonstrable experience in process modelling, hydraulic design, treatment optimisation, and excellent stakeholder engagement and communication skills

Rewards And Benefits

We're proud to be able to offer our brilliant people a wide variety of benefits that you can tailor to your needs. You can see more information of benefits here.

Diversity and inclusion

Making Kier a diverse and inclusive place to work is a huge priority for us. We're proud of the steps we've taken so far, but we know we must always do more. Our employees are key in shaping Kier's diversity and inclusion initiatives and our people have made a huge impact on how we work, by using their experiences to shape our policies. You can see our D&I action plan here.
As a Disability Confident employer, we will ensure that a fair and proportionate number of disabled applicants that meet the minimum criteria for this role will be offered an interview.