Resident Engineer

Arup; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Arup in South Africa is expanding its civil engineering capability to support a confidential data centre project in Gauteng. We seek Resident Engineers for on-site work in Centurion on a three-year contract, providing engineering oversight during construction, testing, commissioning and handover.

You will collaborate with clients, contractors and multidisciplinary teams to ensure safe delivery, compliance with design intent and high quality outcomes.

Qualifications

• Experience in engineering, construction supervision and on-site delivery environments.
• Exposure to large-scale infrastructure, industrial, mission-critical or data centre projects.
• Registration with ECSA preferred or in progress.

Responsibilities

• Provide engineering oversight during construction, testing, commissioning and handover.
• Coordinate multidisciplinary teams, clients and contractors to ensure compliance with design intent and quality standards.
• Support testing, commissioning and project handover activities.
• Demonstrate strong communication, reporting and problem-solving skills.

Skills

Construction monitoring

Site supervision

Quality assurance

Technical coordination

Risk management

Report writing

Education

Civil/Structural/Mech/Elec Eng or Architecture

Tools

None

Job description

Arup’s purpose, shared values and collaborative approach has set us apart for over 80 years, guiding how we shape a better world.

Africa faces unprecedented population growth alongside increasing urbanisation and climate volatility. These pressures demand integrated, future-focused civil engineering solutions that balance technical rigour with environmental stewardship and social impact. In response, Arup are broadening our agile, digitally enabled Civil Engineering capability in South Africa, connected to Arup’s global expertise and grounded in local context.

We exist to shape a better world – and we do so by bringing together imagination, technical excellence, and a deep sense of responsibility to people and planet.

We are an independent firm of designers, planners, engineers, architects, consultants, and technical specialists, working across every aspect of the built environment. In South Africa and across the African continent, civil engineering sits at the heart of society’s most urgent challenges – from resilient infrastructure and sustainable water systems to climate adaptation, urban growth, and social equity.

With offices in Cape Town (est.1965), Durban (est.1958) and Johannesburg (est.1954), you will work alongside established multidisciplinary teams with diverse industry knowledge, united by a shared commitment to people, excellence, influence, digital innovation, and sustainability. We are excited about the energy, perspectives, skills, and leadership you could bring.

The Opportunity:

We are seeking Resident Engineers from experienced site-based engineering professionals to support the delivery of a confidential data centre project in Gauteng. These opportunities will be based on site in Centurion and are expected to be offered on a three-year contract basis.

You will play a key role in providing engineering oversight during construction, testing, commissioning and handover to ensure compliance with design intent, quality requirements, statutory regulations and client expectations.

Working closely with clients, contractors, commissioning teams and multidisciplinary project teams, you will help ensure that works are delivered safely, to the required quality standards, and in accordance with approved designs and project requirements.

We would like to hear from professionals with strong construction monitoring, site supervision, quality assurance, technical coordination and risk management experience, particularly within data centre, mission-critical, industrial or large-scale infrastructure environments. Data centre experience is preferred, while hyperscale data centre experience would be highly advantageous.

The professional should be well established in technical leadership, construction monitoring, quality management, risk management, client engagement, commercial awareness, multidisciplinary coordination and report writing.

We are seeking expressions of interest across the following Resident Engineer disciplines:

• Resident Engineering Manager - The Resident Engineering Manager provides leadership and coordination of the multidisciplinary Resident Engineering team, ensuring consistent construction assurance, quality oversight, risk management, commissioning readiness, stakeholder engagement across all engineering disciplines to support the safe and successful delivery of the data centre project. The key focus will be technical governance, team leadership, multidisciplinary coordination, client interface, risk management, quality assurance, and delivery of construction, testing, commissioning, and handover activities.

We Would Love to Hear From You If You Have

• Candidates with experience spanning multiple disciplines or multidisciplinary site environments are encouraged to apply.
• A relevant qualification in Civil, Structural, Mechanical or Electrical Engineering, Architecture, or a related discipline.
• Professional registration with the Engineering Council of South Africa (ECSA) as a Professional Engineer (PrEng) or Professional Engineering Technologist (PrTechEng) is preferred. Candidates who are eligible and actively working towards registration are also encouraged to apply.
• Demonstrated experience in engineering, construction supervision, site monitoring, or project delivery environments, including meaningful exposure to site-based construction activities.
• Experience contributing to large-scale infrastructure, industrial, mission-critical, or data centre projects.
• Experience in construction monitoring, quality assurance, technical coordination, and stakeholder engagement.
• Experience supporting testing, commissioning, and project handover activities.
• Strong communication, report-writing, analytical, and problem-solving skills.
• Data centre project experience is advantageous, with experience on hyperscale data centre projects considered beneficial.
• Experience gained on other complex industrial, manufacturing, energy, transportation, or infrastructure projects will also be considered.

What we offer you:

At Arup, we care about each member’s success, so we can grow together.

We are owned in trust on behalf of our members, giving us the freedom, with personal responsibility, to set our own direction and choose work that aligns with our purpose and adds to Arup’s legacy. Our members collaborate on ambitious projects to deliver remarkable outcomes for our clients and communities.

An environment that will give you freedom to design with a purpose, focus on your skills to deliver quality work to our clients, opportunity to learn and share knowledge openly. You will have the opportunity to utilise your technical expertise to improve the lives of the most vulnerable in the communities in which we live and work through Arup's community engagement programme.

Different people, shared values:

At Arup, we believe when talented people collaborate, great things are possible. Arup hires people with proven skills and open minds. We are taking deliberate action to create an inclusive culture that is grounded in our purpose to shape a better world.

At Arup, we welcome candidates from all backgrounds, regardless of age (within legal limits), disability, neurotype or mental health, gender, gender identity, gender expression, race, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, whether you’re pregnant or on family leave. We are an open environment that embraces diverse experiences, perspectives, and ideas – this drives our excellence.

Guided by our values and alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, we create and contribute to equitable spaces and systems, while cultivating a sense of belonging for all. Our internal employee networks support our inclusive culture: from race, ethnicity and cross-cultural working to gender equity and LGBTQ+ and disability inclusion – we aim to create a space for you to express yourself and make a positive difference.

Discover more about life at Arup at www.arup.com/careers/your-life-at-arup.

We are committed to making our recruitment process and workplaces accessible to all candidates. Please contact Carien Ferreira at [e-mail] to let us know if you need any assistance or reasonable adjustments throughout your application or interview process, and/or to perform the essential functions of the role. We will do everything we can to support you.

Our Application Process

To understand what to expect next, please visit: https://www.arup.com/careers/recruitment-process/

Stay safe online – Arup will never ask for your bank details as part of our recruitment process.

Recruitment Agencies – We have a Preferred Supplier List of trusted partners to assist us when required and do not acknowledge any speculative CVs or unsolicited candidate introductions from agencies not on the list.

Closing Date: 5 September 2026