Lead Materials Engineer - Durability

Location: London or Birmingham

Salary: Base salary: £61,622 pa to £77,028 pa (Birmingham) and £66,553 pa to £83,191 pa (London). In addition, a flexible benefits fund of 20% is offered on top of base salary and is fully pensionable.

Benefits: Flexible benefits fund of 20% on top of base salary, fully pensionable. Other competitive benefits are available on our website.

Part Time: Part time will be considered.

Responsibilities:

• Provide technical advice, control and assurance in relation to Materials and Durability and all related activities, including technical advice to designers, procurement and project management input of suppliers where necessary.
• Assure robustness of engineering input and ensure that the HS2 railway (Phase One and Phase 2) meets the Project Requirements for their technical functionality.
• Ensure that the engineering design for Materials and Durability on the HS2 Railway is configured and constructed in accordance with standards and technical requirements set by the Civil Engineering standards.
• Where necessary support the development of new standards to support the delivery of the railway.
• Provide technical leadership on Materials and Durability activities across the whole HS2 project to ensure an integrated, consistent approach to delivering the range of activities associated with the advisory and client role of the Technical Authority invested in the Infrastructure Directorate.
• Where necessary in conjunction with HS2 supporting financial and procurement teams, arrange for the input of specialist engineering consultants.
• Ensure that the HS2 Technical Governance arrangements are followed, carry peer reviews and make recommendations for improvements where necessary.
• In conjunction with the engineering teams in Phase One and Phase 2 ensure that the developing design and construction of the railway meets the HS2 requirements or, where necessary, are appropriately dealt with in accordance with HS2 Governance Procedures.
• Develop and implement the use of best practice and innovative engineering techniques, technologies and processes, driving consistency and identifying opportunities for efficiencies across Phase 1 and Phase 2 delivery teams.
• Champion High Speed Rail and the HS2 Ltd programme and build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders, relevant Government Departments, the public and other interested parties to gain their buy‑in and input required to develop technical specifications.
• Provide specialist technical advice and support the ongoing community consultation process and environmental assessment along the whole route.
• Contribute to the development of business strategy in the assigned business area and provide specialist guidance and advice to support business aims and control risks to the business in relation to its safety, reliability, operability and maintainability.
• Represent HS2 at international & national level as required.
• Manage budget and resource requirements over different stages of the HS2 project and carry out associated line management responsibilities for a diverse functional team.
• Actively promote and embed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all work and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures in EDI.

Skills:

• Provides specialist technical support and leadership on all discipline‑specific scientific, technical and engineering principles to those working directly with project development/delivery teams in area or phase.
• Capable of being a Standard Discipline Owner/Subject Matter Expert for area or phase.
• Provides technical, commercial management and leadership skills to support those working directly with project development/delivery teams in area or phase.
• Ability to communicate most discipline‑specific technical ideas to stakeholders and colleagues, based on examples of application.
• Ability to apply the full range of principles relating to standards, safety and the environment.
• Applies principles and methods that ensure effective information management, modelling and data security; understands the approaches and consequences to data creation, transformation and visualisation and knowing when to seek guidance from other Subject Matter Experts or others.

Knowledge:

• Understanding of general civil engineering design and construction processes with expert knowledge on Materials and Durability.
• Applicable UK construction regulations including CDM requirements.
• The application of the Common Safety Method (CSM) for risk evaluation and assessment.
• Understanding of the Regulatory/Legislative Framework relevant to HS2.
• Commercial awareness including understanding of cost delivery, schedule targets and the need to deliver an integrated solution that meets all functional requirements.
• Chartered Engineer/Membership of an appropriate professional institution or the equivalent experience.

Experience:

• Materials and Durability design experience on bridges, culverts, retaining walls, tunnels and other civil structures.
• Experience in managing multi‑disciplinary major projects/programmes within a complex infrastructure delivery programme.
• Experience of managing competing project and engineering demands, with cost and schedule implications.
• Experience of leading engineering teams to deliver project outcomes.

Additional Requirements:

• The post‑holder is expected to behave at all times in a manner consistent with the HS2 values of Safety, Leadership, Integrity and Respect.
• It is expected that you will actively promote and embed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI.

Eligibility & Immigration:

• HS2 Ltd does not hold a sponsorship licence from the Home Office and therefore is not able to provide sponsorship to any applicant. Applicants must already have the Right to Work in the UK at the time of application.
• Applicants must undergo a Right to Work validation prior to the interview stage. Certain time‑bound visas that we cannot accept are not eligible.

Pre‑Employment Checks:

• Any offers made to applicants will be subject to satisfactory completion of pre‑employment checks which include Nationality & Immigration Status, employment references, DBS, Financial and Education checks.