Associate Director - Structural Engineering in Plymouth

AECOM is currently recruiting for an Associate Director to join our UK & Ireland Building Engineering team. This technical practice comprises over 1000 engineering professionals across 28 locations drawn from a variety of disciplines in the built environment. Within the structural engineering practice, there are over 170 engineers across the UK. This opportunity has arisen in our South West & Wales (SW&W) business unit which has teams in Basingstoke, Bristol and Plymouth, focusing on projects within Defence, Aviation and Education.

The team undertakes a range of structural engineering projects including those requiring innovative and practical solutions to complex problems. The right candidate will need to demonstrate a desire to be challenged, take on a leadership role and undertake technical delivery of projects. In return, we can offer a challenging and rewarding role, career development, a positive working environment and a competitive reward package. This opportunity would suit an individual who has broad experience and a proven track record of the technical delivery of projects within the defence sector, including the assessment and design of seismically qualified structures.

The role will have significant elements of representing the technical team in a client-facing environment. You will therefore need to be adept at engaging with clients and other professions and using your engineering expertise to make a significant contribution to emerging designs. We expect you to have experience in the delivery of projects throughout the project lifecycle and an ability to run projects, manage resources and commercial aspects.

Some of our current and recent projects include:

• HMNB Devonport: Supporting the development of infrastructure at Devonport, the team has been involved in the design of seismically qualified upgrade works to existing dry docks required to support deep maintenance of nuclear-powered submarines.
• NPSCY: Supporting the new build of Australia's first nuclear powered submarine construction yard in Adelaide, Australia to facilitate the construction of the new SSNA submarines as part of the AUKUS venture. All infrastructure shall be designed for all design basis challenges, including seismic hazards.

This opportunity is to join the SW&W structural engineering team which comprises teams located in Basingstoke, Bristol and Plymouth. AECOM has an established flexible working policy, ‘Freedom to Grow’. This supports flexible and remote working which works for the business, the client and the individual. The successful candidate could be located in any part of the UK, but a willingness to regularly travel to the South-West of the UK (or other UK offices) to support the team and project meetings is expected. We are looking to enhance and grow the structures team with individuals with a sound technical background who share our enthusiasm and determination to support our expanding workload. This is a great opportunity to play a significant part in some exciting future construction projects.

Job Responsibilities

• Take on responsibility for leading the technical delivery of complex technical challenges, managing commercial and resourcing aspects of demanding projects whilst working without supervision.
• Develop leadership skills and contribute to the development of the structural engineering team through business development, client relationship management and technical leadership.
• Prepare technical reports which clearly convey complex structural engineering concepts to clients and other stakeholders.
• Undertake independent technical reviews of work prepared by others.
• Perform quality control reviews of work developed by others.
• Mentor and coach others in their professional development.
• Participate in the development of technical proposals.
• Provide estimates for the engineering budget and schedule to meet requirements on large projects.
• Support the business in seeking out and winning new projects.
• Have a desire to learn new skills and give due consideration to the wider engineering issues related to the projects being delivered.

There are opportunities for continuing professional development and career progression.

Minimum Requirements

• Proven ability in the structural design of structural materials, including steel and reinforced concrete.
• Experience in the analysis and design of seismically qualified structures.
• Knowledge of safety case interface within the nuclear sector.
• Experience and proven record of delivery of projects within the defence sector.
• Proven ability to undertake structural design using current British Standards and Eurocodes and associated standards applicable to seismic design.
• An understanding of project management principles and practices to support coordination of technical delivery of projects with internal and external clients.
• Excellent communication skills with a demonstrable ability to write compelling proposals and technical reports which adequately convey complex technical concepts to clients.
• Knowledge of construction contracts, professional agreements and experience in client engagement during the preparation of fee proposals and agreeing scopes of service.
• Experienced in the use of commercially available design software packages, including finite element software packages.
• Able to decide on the level of reliance and accuracy to attach to a variety of results obtained from design software and finite element analysis and to interpret results into practical engineering solutions.

Qualifications

• Master’s/Bachelor’s degree in an appropriate Civil or Structural Engineering discipline.
• ICE or IStructE Chartered Engineer with post-chartership experience.
• The successful candidate must be able to achieve and maintain suitable security clearance for this role.
• UK driving license.

Additional Information

At AECOM, we are committed to maintaining a secure and trustworthy recruitment process and take any fraudulent hiring activity seriously. To support this commitment, all newly hired employees are required to attend an in-person Day 1 onboarding at an AECOM office location as a condition of employment.

AECOM is the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. Our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world through our unrivalled technical and digital expertise, a culture of equity, diversity and inclusion, and a commitment to environmental, social and governance priorities.

AECOM provides a wide array of compensation, benefits and well-being programs to meet the diverse needs of our employees and their families. Join us, and you’ll get all the benefits of being a part of a global, publicly traded firm – access to industry-leading technology and thinking and transformational work with big impact and work flexibility.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and will offer an interview to applicants who have a disability or long-term condition, who meet the minimum/essential criteria for the role.