Senior Principal Mechanical Engineer - Water / Wastewater
HybridLondon, England, United Kingdom
Job Summary
Provide senior technical leadership for the mechanical discipline within the UK water/wastewater treatment design team, acting as discipline lead or sub-lead on complex projects across design, construction support, commissioning, and handover. Set and maintain mechanical design standards, checking requirements, design risk processes, digital workflows, and quality expectations while leading and assuring complex deliverables, equipment strategies, and supplier packages. Drive integrated coordination across Process, EICA, civil/structural, architectural, MEP, construction, commissioning, and operations teams. Lead senior client engagement, technical workshops, optioneering, value engineering, design reviews, and constructability/maintainability reviews. Embed modern delivery approaches including digital design, hydraulic analysis, BIM/3D coordination, automation, standardisation, data-led decision making, and supplier integration. Support project directors and project managers with technical risk, scope, resourcing, programme, budget, change control, and design quality. Build and develop the mechanical sub-team through recruitment, mentoring, line management, succession planning, and professional development. Support business planning, work winning, client development, bid strategy, and growth of Egis' UK water/wastewater treatment capability.
Required Qualifications
- BEng/MEng or equivalent in Mechanical Engineering
- Chartered Engineer or Incorporated Engineer status with a relevant professional institution, such as IMechE
- 10–12+ years' relevant mechanical engineering design experience
- Background from water, wastewater, biosolids/bioresources or oil & gas
- Proven track record leading mechanical design and technical assurance on complex multidisciplinary projects
- Deep technical expertise in mechanical treatment/process systems, including pumps, pipework, valves, tanks, packaged plant, lifting systems, hydraulics and maintainability
- Strong understanding of UK regulated water sector drivers, water company asset standards, CDM 2015, safety-by-design, environmental/regulatory requirements and common delivery models
- Demonstrable experience developing people, including mentoring, line management, technical coaching, recruitment or resource planning
- Strong client and stakeholder management skills, with credibility to lead senior technical conversations and influence project direction
- Strong commercial and delivery awareness, including scope development, fee estimating, programme/resource planning, risk management and change control
- Strong digital and innovation mindset, with experience embedding improved tools, data workflows, BIM/MEP coordination, hydraulic analysis, automation or standardised delivery approaches
- Right to work in the UK
Desired Qualifications
- Experience as mechanical discipline lead, design manager, technical director, associate-level lead or sub-team lead within consultancy, contractor, water company, technology provider or oil & gas/process engineering business
- Strong UK water sector client network and experience supporting account growth, opportunity shaping, bid leadership and work winning
- Experience developing services around digital treatment design, process optimisation, operational intelligence, energy/carbon reduction, modular/offsite solutions or MEP-led delivery
- Experience leading mechanical technical governance, communities of practice, design standards, QA frameworks or delivery improvement initiatives
- Experience building teams during growth phases, including skills mapping, capability planning and creation of a positive, delivery-focused culture
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