Highway Engineer - Walk & Build in Stevenage

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Your impact

You will improve the safety, condition and accessibility of highways used by communities across Hertfordshire every day. Taking ownership of projects within a defined geographical area, you will identify where improvements are needed and turn those findings into practical, deliverable engineering solutions. Your decisions will directly influence the quality of footways, how safely people can move around their communities and how effectively public investment is used.

Your technical judgement will be important. You will balance site conditions, design standards, programme commitments, budgets and the needs of local communities to deliver work that is both technically sound and practical to construct. You will also provide a clear engineering perspective to contractors, colleagues, residents and local representatives. By identifying risks early and resolving issues collaboratively, you will help projects move from initial assessment through to successful delivery.

About the opportunity

This is an opportunity to lead a varied portfolio of highway improvement schemes rather than focus on one isolated stage of the project lifecycle. Based within the Hertfordshire County Council Highways Design and Maintenance Team, you will primarily deliver footway resurfacing and reconstruction projects across an allocated area of the county. You will join the wider Pavement Discipline, giving you exposure to asphalt resurfacing and other maintenance work across the highway network.

The role combines site investigation, technical design, stakeholder engagement, contractor collaboration and project delivery. You will have meaningful ownership of your schemes while retaining access to support from experienced engineers and the wider pavement team. Success will mean delivering safe, practical and buildable solutions, meeting agreed programme milestones and building confidence with the communities, contractors and stakeholders affected by the work.

You’ll lead a portfolio of footway resurfacing and reconstruction schemes across an allocated area, assessing highway conditions and developing practical, buildable designs that meet technical, contractual and CDM 2015 requirements. Working closely with contractors, residents, elected members and colleagues, you’ll manage risks, resolve delivery challenges and keep multiple projects on track against agreed milestones. You’ll also support contract administration, including reviewing interim payment applications, and contribute to wider highway maintenance projects across the Pavement Discipline.

Here’s what you’ll need

• Practical experience of civil engineering, highway engineering, infrastructure maintenance or a closely related area.
• The ability to assess site conditions and develop safe, proportionate and deliverable engineering solutions.
• An understanding of construction materials and methods relevant to footways or highway pavements, such as asphalt, paving slabs or block paving.
• The ability to read and apply technical standards, drawings, specifications and contract requirements.
• The confidence to work with contractors, colleagues, clients and community stakeholders.
• An understanding of project risk and health and safety responsibilities within design and construction.
• The ability to travel regularly to sites across Hertfordshire and attend the Stevenage office when required.

Work with a visible public impact

The schemes you deliver will improve the condition, safety and accessibility of infrastructure used by communities throughout Hertfordshire. You will be able to see the direct results of your work.

Own projects from assessment to delivery

You will have responsibility for a geographical portfolio and the opportunity to influence projects throughout their lifecycle. This provides broader experience than roles limited to either design or site delivery. Although the initial focus is footway improvement, you will be part of a wider pavement engineering community. This creates opportunities to develop your knowledge of asphalt resurfacing, highway maintenance, contract management and project delivery.

Work with experienced people

You will collaborate with engineers, contractors and stakeholders across the highways service. You will have autonomy in your role, with access to senior support when technical or delivery challenges require it.

Develop your career

The breadth of the position can support progression in technical engineering, project delivery, pavement engineering and contract management.