Water Graduate Engineer - Dams / Edinburgh

AECO; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

AECOM in the UK is looking for graduates to join our water resources team, delivering reservoir and dam projects with a focus on safety, sustainability, and resilience. You’ll work across hydraulic, structural, geotechnical and environmental disciplines, developing skills through calculations, reports, and software.

A supportive, learning-focused culture with hybrid work options awaits. You will collaborate with senior engineers and consultants to gain broad exposure while delivering

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Water Resources Engineering, or related field.
• Master’s degree in the above subjects would be an advantage.
• Water-related modules or relevant work experience would be an advantage.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with technical stakeholders.
• Interest in reservoir engineering and the wider water industry.
• Ability to work with multi-disciplinary teams and deliver high-quality outputs.

Responsibilities

• Undertake numerical analysis and use specialist software for dams and reservoirs.
• Keep up-to-date with regulatory developments affecting design work.
• Carry out research and apply knowledge to new situations; support project delivery improvements.
• Undertake feasibility studies comparing technical, health & safety, cost, and environmental factors.
• Prepare designs, drawings, specifications and contracts.
• Write reports and prepare presentations for colleagues, clients and regulators.
• Join site visits to support dam inspections and understand asset performance.

Skills

Enthusiastic

Hard-working

Technically proficient

Curiosity

Strong research skills

Good communication

Team collaboration

Independent with initiative

Sustainability mindset

Client & business awareness

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering / Environmental Engineering / Water Resources Engineering

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

Engineering software

Job description

• Full-time
• Business Group: DCS
• Legal Entity: AECOM Limited
• Business Line: Water
• Work Location Model: Hybrid
• Operating Group: International
• Primary Location: UK - Edinburgh - Tanfield

Company Description

Work with Us. Change the World.

At AECOM, we're delivering a better world. Whether improving your commute, keeping the lights on, providing access to clean water, or transforming skylines, our work helps people and communities thrive. We are the world's trusted infrastructure consulting firm, partnering with clients to solve the world's most complex challenges and build legacies for future generations.

Start here. Grow here.

There has never been a better time to be at AECOM. With accelerating infrastructure investment worldwide, our services are in great demand. We invite you to bring your bold ideas and big dreams and become part of a global team of nearly 50,000 planners, designers, engineers, scientists, digital innovators, program and construction managers and other professionals delivering projects that create a positive and tangible impact around the world.

We're one global team driven by our common purpose to deliver a better world. Join us.

Job Description

Join us in preserving engineering heritage while pioneering the future of resilient water infrastructure! You will help to deliver industry-leading reservoir and dam projects across the UK and further afield, including safety upgrades, hydropower, new storage and resilience schemes.

Our graduates gain valuable experience working on a variety of projects alongside a multitude of different disciplines. Our graduates are encouraged to develop their understanding of many elements within the water industry, such as hydraulic, structural, geotechnical and environmental design through calculations, report writing and use of engineering software. You will work alongside our experienced engineers and consultants as you develop these skills within a positive culture where learning and development is actively supported and promoted.

Here’s what you’ll do:

• Undertake numerical analysis including the use of specialist software to assist with the study of dams and reservoirs
• Keep up-to-date with developments in regulatory legislation and guidelines that may affect design work
• Carry out research and apply your theoretical knowledge to new situations, assisting with the continuous improvement of our project delivery
• Undertake feasibility studies to appraise the practicability of alternative solutions, including considerations such as technical performance, health and safety, cost, environmental benefits
• Prepare designs, drawings, specifications and contracts
• Write clear, concise reports and prepare presentations for colleagues, clients and regulators
• Join site visits to support dam inspections and broaden your understanding of how assets perform in the real world.

Examples of projects we’re working on:

• Exploring potential locations for new reservoirs across the Southwest—helping clients plan long-term resilience in the face of climate change.
• Designing eight dams as part of the Loch Kemp pumped storage hydro scheme—supporting the energy transition with large-scale, flexible low-carbon infrastructure.
• Upgrading ageing dams to maintain safety and performance, including historic lakes with significant heritage value—balancing safety, sustainability, and cultural importance.
• Helping clients across the UK maintain safe dams and compliance with the Reservoirs Act 1975, including carrying out statutory inspections, designing upgrades and planning for emergencies.
• Supporting our colleagues in the USA with the risk assessment of a portfolio of dams, helping to understand the key areas where works can deliver improvements in dam safety.

Qualifications

Here’s what we’re looking for:

• A bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Water Resources Engineering, or a related field (e.g. geology, geotechnics, structures).
• A master’s degree in the above subjects would be an advantage.
• Water-related modules or relevant work experience would be an advantage.
• Enthusiastic, hard-working and technically proficient.
• Curiosity and an inquisitive mindset, with strong research skills.
• Interest in reservoir engineering and the wider water industry.
• Good written and verbal communication skills, considering technical stakeholders, clients and members of the public.
• Structure & prioritise work effectively through close cooperation with multi-disciplinary teams.
• Work independently with initiative to deliver high-quality outputs.
• An interest in applying sustainable development principles across your work.
• Capability to consider client and business expectations and be able to consider the wider financial and commercial implications of your actions.

Additional Information

You must have permanent right to work in the UK as we are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this position.

At AECOM, we are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy recruitment process and take any fraudulent hiring activity seriously. To support this commitment, all newly hired employees are required to attend an in-person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment.

About AECOM

AECOM is the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, new energy and the environment, our public- and private-sector clients trust us to solve their most complex challenges. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivaled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2025. See how we are delivering sustainable legacies for generations to come at aecom.com and @AECOM.

Freedom to Grow in a World of Opportunity

You will have the flexibility you need to do your best work with hybrid work options.Whether you’re working from an AECOM office, remote location or at a client site, you will be working in a dynamic environment where your integrity, entrepreneurial spirit and pioneering mindset are championed.

You will help us foster a safe and respectful workplace, where we invite everyone to bring their whole selves to work using their unique talents, backgrounds and expertise to create transformational outcomes for our clients.

AECOM provides a wide array of compensation, benefits and well-being programs to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. We’re the world’s trusted global infrastructure firm, and we’re in this together – your growth and success are ours too.

Join us, and you’ll get all the benefits of being a part of a global, publicly traded firm – access to industry-leading technology and thinking and transformational work with big impact and work flexibility.As an Equal Opportunity Employer, we believe in each person’s potential, and we’ll help you reach yours.

We are aDisabilityConfidentEmployer and will offer an interview to applicants who have a disability or long-term condition, who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role. Please let us know using this email address [e-mail] if you would like to apply through theDisabilityConfidentInterview Scheme.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.