Technical Director - Geotechnical Engineering (Offshore Wind and Renewables) 1 1

COWI; Glasgow; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

28 days holiday

Hybrid working

Private health care

Cycle-to-work

EV lease

Gym membership

Rail card

Job summary

COWI in the UK is seeking a Geotechnical Design Lead for Offshore Wind to coordinate geotechnical design across foundation projects. You will lead analyses, supervise specialists, and collaborate with cross‑disciplinary teams to deliver safe, efficient offshore solutions.

The role requires a degree in Geotechnical or Civil Engineering, hands‑on experience as a design lead, and strong data interpretation, PLAXIS FE analysis, and programming skills.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Geotechnical or Civil Engineering.
• Experience as a geotechnical design lead on offshore wind foundations.
• Strong knowledge of soil testing and geotechnical data interpretation.
• Experience with PLAXIS and FE analysis.
• Programming skills in Python, MATLAB, or C++ advantageous.
• Excellent English communication.

Responsibilities

• Lead geotechnical discipline on foundation design projects.
• Lead geotechnical design analyses and engineering support for offshore wind projects.
• Participate in geotechnical interpretation, assessment and design activities.
• Lead and perform advanced numerical modelling and analyses using PLAXIS.
• Act as discipline lead towards our customers.
• Develop, maintain and improve engineering tools, scripts and automated workflows using Python, MATLAB or similar technologies.
• Contribute to automation, AI and digital engineering within geotechnical processes.
• Support efficient management, analysis and visualisation of geotechnical data.
• Collaborate with geotechnical, structural and digital specialists across projects and disciplines.
• Lead technical development initiatives and knowledge sharing within the Offshore Geotechnics team.

Skills

Geotechnical engineering

Offshore wind

Numerical modelling

PLAXIS

Python

MATLAB

C++

FE analysis

Data interpretation

Communication in English

Project leadership

Education

Geotechnical/Civil Eng degree

Tools

PLAXIS

Python

MATLAB

C++

Job description

Geotechnical Design Lead – Offshore Wind #Challenge Accepted
London/Glasgow
Permanent Office/Home Hybrid Working

Do you want to lead the strategy for sustainable infrastructure? Can you continue our growth? Are you experienced in offshore project delivery? Then, shape a sustainable and liveable world with us!

Create Solutions that will enable a better tomorrow.

We are looking for a Geotechnical Design Specialist to support our UK offshore. You’ll join a dynamic team of specialists and project managers working across the renewable value chain, including market advisory and feasibility, design, and construction advisory. With a focus on innovation, we have a track record for delivering solutions even under the most demanding conditions – deep waters, on challenging soil, and in regions with high seismic activity. On a day-to-day basis, you'll be responsible for:

• Lead the geotechnical discipline on foundation design projects.
• Lead geotechnical design analyses and engineering support for offshore wind projects.
• Participate in geotechnical interpretation, assessment and design activities.
• Lead and perform advanced numerical modelling and analyses using tools such as PLAXIS.
• Act as discipline lead towards our customers.
• Develop, maintain and improve engineering tools, scripts and automated workflows using Python, MATLAB or similar technologies.
• Contribute to the application of automation, AI and digital engineering within geotechnical processes.
• Support efficient management, analysis and visualisation of geotechnical data.
• Collaborate with geotechnical, structural and digital specialists across projects and disciplines.
• Lead technical development initiatives and knowledge sharing within the Offshore Geotechnics team.

Your skills. Our team. Together we design the future.

The first step to success in this role is that you are eager to collaborate with the people around you, whether they are colleagues, partners, or customers. Developing ties with others is something you do by acting respectfully and delivering on your promises. And you never get set in your ways but keep exploring new insights and ways to improve. Furthermore, you'll:

• Be a recognised specialist in the field of offshore wind geotechnical engineering
• Have demonstrable experience as a geotechnical design lead on offshore wind foundation projects
• Hold a bachelor’s or master’s degree or PhD in Geotechnical or Civil Engineering or a related engineering discipline
• Have experience with soil laboratory and field testing, interpretation of geotechnical data and knowledge on data science and regression of geotechnical data.
• Knowledge in computational geomechanics, FE analysis and constitutive modelling.
• Competencies within programming languages e.g., Python, Matlab, or C++ is an advantage.
• Have previous experience of delivering projects to time, cost quality standards across all stages of project lifecycle
• Have good communication skills in English (oral and written)

A place to work and so much more

At COWI, we work together with our customers to shape a sustainable and liveable world. We do it by applying our knowledge and curiosity – and sometimes even our courage – to create the solutions the world needs today to enable a better tomorrow. We support our customers’ transition towards increased sustainability. We strive to lead by example by embedding environmental management, social responsibility and good governance into our business practices and the options we provide to our customers.

We value differences and development and cultivate an environment of belonging and having fun. Because that is what brings out the best in you, at work and at home.

With offices primarilylocatedin the Nordic region, the UK, NorthAmericaand India, we are currently more than 7,500 people who bring theirexpertisein engineering, architecture,energyand environment into play.

What we also offer:

Some of our benefits include:

• 28days' holidayplus all UKbank and public holidays
• Formalised development plans and yearly promotion opportunities
• Private health care, for you anda contribution from you foryour immediate dependents
• Flexible and hybrid working conditions
• Annual subscription fees paid for your membership of two Professional Institutions Group personal pension scheme – salary exchange
• Life assurance
• Maternity Leave: 1-20weeks full pay, 21-26 weeks half pay, 27-39Statutory (SMP) 40-52 weeks unpaid (eligibility criteria will apply)
• Paternity Leave: 12 weeks full pay (eligibility criteria will apply)
• Optional benefits include:Cycle-to-work scheme
• Electric vehicle lease
• Corporate gym membership
• Annual Rail card (available for under 30s)

Got more questions?

If you have any unanswered questions about the role or what we have to offer, please reach out to Katie Pattrick at [e-mail].

Get to know us even better at our website, www.cowi.com, where you can learn more about our projects, our strategy, what we want to achieve and what life is like at COWI.

Equal opportunity employer.

COWIprovidesequal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to ethnicity, colour, religion, gender, national origin,ageor disability. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring,placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.