Drainage Engineer

Location: Durham

Salary: £50k base + car

About The Role

Our client are seeking an experienced Senior Civil Engineer to join their growing technical team. This is an excellent opportunity for an ambitious professional with expertise in groundwater, hydrogeology, civil engineering and water management who is looking to take ownership of challenging projects while mentoring junior colleagues and building strong client relationships.

Working alongside experienced Principals, you will lead technical workstreams, deliver high-quality engineering solutions, contribute to business success, and play a key role in developing the next generation of engineers.

As a Senior Civil Engineer, you will independently manage technical project workstreams from initial assessment through to reporting and delivery. You will provide technical leadership, supervise junior team members, and ensure all work meets the highest professional standards. You will also contribute to the continued development of specialist expertise while supporting clients across a range of groundwater, surface water and infrastructure projects.

Key Responsibilities

• Technical Delivery
• Apply civil engineering, geological and hydrogeological principles to deliver technical solutions.
• Interpret construction drawings and identify critical structures, levels and dimensions relevant to water management.
• Assess groundwater and surface water risks and develop practical engineering solutions.
• Identify applicable environmental legislation, permitting requirements and regulatory compliance.
• Develop specialist technical expertise within a chosen discipline.
• Data Analysis & Assessment
• Undertake geological and hydrogeological desk studies.
• Research, interpret and analyse site information.
• Produce technical mapping and spatial data.
• Carry out groundwater analysis and modelling using appropriate analytical and numerical techniques.
• Review technical work completed by junior engineers.
• Technical Drawings & Reporting
• Produce high-quality technical drawings, including site plans, conceptual models and groundwater control designs.
• Prepare comprehensive technical reports covering geological conditions, hydrogeological assessments, analysis and recommendations.
• Review and quality check reports and drawings prepared by junior colleagues.
• Project & Client Management
• Manage day-to-day technical project delivery.
• Build and maintain strong client and contractor relationships.
• Attend client meetings and represent the business professionally.
• Communicate project progress, programme updates and technical recommendations.
• Support proposal preparation, budgeting and commercial awareness.
• Team Leadership
• Supervise, mentor and support Assistant and Graduate Engineers.
• Delegate project tasks and provide constructive technical feedback.
• Promote knowledge sharing and continuous professional development across the team.
• Support the development of junior staff through structured mentoring.
• Site Work
• Undertake site visits across a range of infrastructure and construction projects.
• Carry out groundwater monitoring and site measurements.
• Prepare and review site-specific Risk Assessments and Method Statements (RAMS).
• Ensure compliance with health, safety and environmental standards.

About You

You will be an experienced Civil Engineer who enjoys solving complex technical challenges while supporting and developing others.

Essential

• Degree in Civil Engineering or a closely related discipline.
• Strong understanding of groundwater, hydrogeology and surface water management.
• Experience producing technical reports and engineering drawings.
• Ability to independently manage technical project workstreams.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience supervising or mentoring junior engineers.
• Commercial awareness and ability to manage project budgets and programme delivery.
• Current CSCS Card.
• Full UK driving licence.

Desirable

• Chartered or working towards Chartered status.
• Experience with groundwater modelling and hydrogeological assessment.
• Knowledge of UK environmental legislation and permitting.
• Experience using GIS, AutoCAD, Visio or similar technical software.
• Consultancy experience within the construction, infrastructure or environmental sectors.

What They Offer

• Competitive salary.
• Clear career progression towards Principal Engineer.
• Structured professional development programme.
• Support towards Chartership and continuing professional development.
• Opportunity to work on technically challenging and nationally significant projects.
• Collaborative and supportive working environment.
• Ongoing technical training and specialist development.
• Flexible working arrangements where appropriate.

Our Values

We are committed to delivering technical excellence through:

• Integrity
• Excellence
• Clear communication
• Continuous improvement
• Sustainable success

If you are an experienced Civil Engineer looking for the next step in your career and want to work on challenging projects within a collaborative technical team, we would love to hear from you.