Principal Mechanical Engineer

Overview of the Principal Mechanical Engineer role in Amey's Consulting Built Environment team. Permanent position with 40 hours per week. Flexible working practices including hybrid, part-time and flexible patterns. Offices across the UK (Birmingham, Telford, Manchester, Stafford, Sheffield, Bristol).

Key Responsibilities

• Acts as a technical team leader, producing and overseeing technically sound engineering deliverables that comply with standards and client requirements.
• Works independently while supervising and mentoring junior staff, taking responsibility for their outputs.
• Demonstrates competencies aligned with the Principal Engineer role, actively pursuing development toward promotion.
• Manages delivery of mechanical and building services elements on multi-disciplinary projects across sectors such as Rail, Transportation, MoJ, MoD, and Education.
• Leads the preparation, checking, and approval of designs, calculations, drawings, and documentation, ensuring quality, cost, and programme objectives are met.
• Holds accountability for the commercial performance of projects, including budget control and cost management.
• Acts as Design Team Lead, maintaining a full understanding of project scope on both minor and major projects.
• Liaises effectively with clients and suppliers at senior level, including presenting technical and commercial proposals.
• Plays a key role in work winning, leading bids and preparing technical and commercial submissions with accountability to the delivery director.
• Applies engineering principles to complex or ambiguous situations, adapting concepts to reach robust outcomes.
• Demonstrates strong capability with engineering software and analytical tools, including checking others’ work and approving new tools.
• Exhibits excellent communication, CDM knowledge, risk management, interface coordination, and can assume people management responsibilities when required.

What You Will Bring To Us

• Builds and maintains strong external business relationships, using a personal network to support bidding, supplier engagement and wider business benefit.
• Communicates with clarity and influence, presenting confidently to peers, senior colleagues and clients, delivering training, and tailoring communication to different audiences and situations.
• Applies advanced engineering theory to complex or ambiguous problems, adapting concepts to achieve correct outcomes and resolving discipline interface clashes effectively.
• Leads design and specification processes, fully understanding project scope and acting as Design Team Lead on both minor and major projects.
• Demonstrates high-level technical expertise, including deep knowledge of mechanical building services (HVAC etc.), and experience as a Senior/Lead Engineer or equivalent.
• Proficient with key engineering software (AutoCAD, Amtech, Hevacomp, Cymap, TAS, IES; Revit advantageous), able to check others’ work and validate new tools.
• Strong understanding of CDM and risk management, capable of acting as Principal Designer and managing hazards, risks and mitigation strategies across projects.
• Experienced in health, safety and welfare compliance, including Integrated Management Systems and CDM Regulations, and able to act as engineering lead (e.g., CEM for Network Rail).
• Effective leader and people manager, able to supervise, mentor and influence multidisciplinary teams across locations, and coordinate training and professional development.
• Makes sound, timely decisions, demonstrating strong judgement, problem-solving ability, and the capacity to cut through complexity to identify root causes.
• Plans and prioritises effectively, aligning work with organisational goals, anticipating bottlenecks, and ensuring well-sequenced delivery.
• Drives continuous improvement, optimising processes, monitoring performance, preventing recurrence of issues, and balancing the needs of multiple stakeholders.
• Delivers high-quality mechanical design solutions, working independently when required and supporting team members in a multidisciplinary environment.
• Maintains excellent supplier knowledge, ensuring up-to-date understanding of services through regular engagement.
• Holds relevant qualifications and credentials, including HNC/HND or degree in building services, CSCS card, and professional membership (CEng/IEng with CIBSE or equivalent).

What We Can Offer

• Exceptional personal development, training and progression plans, designed to allow you to shine in your career, all in line with your personal ambition.
• Competitive salary and compensation.
• Generous pension scheme, with extra contributions from Amey.
• 24 days annual leave, plus bank holidays.
• Flexible benefits scheme, including the option to buy additional annual leave and insurance benefits, Cycle2Work scheme and access to discounted gym membership.
• Our Save with Amey programme gives you access to thousands of discounts from leading retailers to help you save on shopping, days out, or nights in.
• Family friendly policies for new parents or if you provide care for a dependant.
• Membership of our Affinity Networks who connect, support and inspire diverse communities within Amey.
• Two Social Impact Days each year, for volunteering and fundraising opportunities.

We welcome applications from a diverse range of candidates. If you have most but not all of these skills and experiences, we encourage you to apply, and we will provide you with development or training to support you.

Diversity and Inclusion

We constantly evolve how we work to reflect the different needs and backgrounds of our employees. We seek out the skills, joy and energy that often-marginalised groups can bring to our teams and welcome applications from all suitably qualified candidates, regardless of their race, gender, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation, or age. We are committed to offering applicants with a disability an interview if they meet the minimum requirements for the role. Please contact our recruitment team at peopleservices@amey.co.uk to discuss any access needs, reasonable adjustments or additional support that you may require at any point during the recruitment process.

Apply today

We may close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications. Please apply as soon as possible. We look forward to hearing from you.