Technical Principal - Water Engineering

WSP; Hamilton; On-site; NZD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

WSP in Hamilton, New Zealand is seeking a Senior Technical Principal in Water to lead major water and wastewater projects across the Waikato region and nationwide.

You will provide high-level technical leadership, shape design delivery, and deliver robust, value-added solutions while mentoring the team and growing capabilities for future projects.

This role offers leadership progression, a strong project pipeline, and the chance to influence communities with practical, future-ready infrastructure.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in civil engineering or closely related discipline.
• 15+ years' professional experience in civil and/or water infrastructure with NZ standards and best practice.
• Registration as CPEng or equivalent (or actively working towards).
• Strong commercial awareness and experience managing budgets, risk and contracts.
• Design and construction/supervision experience in water supply and wastewater infrastructure.
• Preferably 10+ years' experience in a design delivery discipline.
• Preferably 5+ years' experience in a technical or engineering leadership position.
• A current, clean full driver's licence.

Responsibilities

• Preparing and/or technically reviewing studies, plans and reports.
• Acting as a technical lead in water and wastewater infrastructure, with expertise in pipelines, trenchless installation, pump stations and underground structures.
• Leading the technical review and verification process for complex water infrastructure projects, coordinating multidisciplinary inputs and ensuring quality outcomes.
• Undertaking technical reviews on water and wastewater projects from inception through to completion, ensuring robust, practical solutions that add value.
• Leading design delivery through technical guidance, design verification, and review to meet client and community needs.
• Providing commercial leadership, including management of contracts, risk, variations, cash flow and sub-consultancy arrangements.

Skills

Leadership

Client-focused delivery

Technical leadership

Water/wastewater

Education

Bachelor of Civil Engineering

Job description

Job Description

What if you could do the kind of work the world needs?

At WSP, you can access our global scale, contribute to landmark projects and connect with the brightest minds in your field. You can embrace your curiosity in a culture that celebrates new ideas and diverse perspectives enabling you to do the best work of your life. You can experience a world of opportunities to shape a career as unique as you.

WSP is one of the world’s top professional services firms, bringing together some of the brightest engineers, advisors and scientists from across the globe. We exist to shape communities to advance humanity. We see the world through a Future Ready lens, fuelled by a shared commitment to making a positive impact—one project and community at a time.

Technical Principal – Water

We're looking for a senior technical leader to join our national Water team, providing leadership on water and wastewater projects across Hamilton, the Waikato region and throughout New Zealand.

You’ll be a recognised expert in your field, helping shape significant infrastructure projects from planning through to construction.

This is an opportunity to influence project outcomes through technical excellence, practical problem solving and genuine value add for our clients and communities.

You’ll also enjoy helping others succeed, sharing your knowledge, developing capability within the team and seeing great ideas become real-world solutions that leave a lasting impact on the region.

With a strong pipeline of work and flexibility around how this role is structured, there's also the opportunity to include people leadership responsibilities if that's part of your career aspirations. Whether you're taking your first step into leadership or are experienced in building and developing high-performing teams, we'd love to hear from you.

Though no two days will look the same, your average day-to-day will include:

• Preparing and/or technically reviewing studies, plans and reports.
• Acting as a technical lead in water and wastewater infrastructure, with particular expertise in large pipelines, trenchless installation, pump stations and underground structures.
• Leading the technical review and verification process for complex water infrastructure projects, bringing together multidisciplinary inputs and ensuring quality outcomes.
• Undertaking technical reviews on water and wastewater projects from inception through to completion, ensuring solutions are robust, practical and add value.
• Leading design delivery through technical guidance, design verification and review, providing future-ready solutions that meet client and community needs.
• Providing commercial leadership, including management of contracts, risk, variations, cash flow and sub-consultancy arrangements.

About you:

You’re a respected engineering professional with a strong reputation for technical excellence, leadership and client-focused delivery. You’re comfortable operating at both strategic and hands‑on levels and enjoy solving complex challenges while supporting others to grow.

• A Bachelor of Civil Engineering (or closely related discipline)
• 15+ years' professional experience in civil and/or water infrastructure, with strong knowledge of New Zealand engineering standards, legislation and best practice
• Registration as CPEng or equivalent (or actively working towards)
• Strong commercial awareness and experience managing budgets, risk and contracts
• Design and construction/supervision experience in water supply and wastewater infrastructure, including pipelines, pump stations and treatment facilities
• Preferably 10+ years' experience in a design delivery discipline
• Preferably 5+ years' experience in a technical or engineering leadership position
• A current, clean full driver's licence

Imagine a better future for you and a better future for us all.

We are proud to have the blueprint of Aotearoa New Zealand in our DNA and our 2,000+ expert professionals in 24 offices are united by the common purpose of creating positive, long-lasting impacts on the communities we serve.

Join our close‑knit community of talented individuals who share your passion for making a positive impact. Our global team includes more than 75,000 employees, working together to make a difference in communities both close to home and around the world.