Technical Principal / Technical Director - Materials Engineering in Birmingham

Mott MacDonald is a global engineering, management, and development consultancy with over 20,000 employees across more than 50 countries and 140+ offices. We work across incredible global industries, delivering exciting work that is defining our future and making an important societal impact in the communities we serve. Our people power our performance – we succeed when they do. With countless opportunities to collaborate, learn, and grow, the possibilities for excellence are as varied as every individual.

About the business unit: We help conceive, drive, and implement transport solutions for cities, regions, and asset owners/operators around the globe. From preparing the business case and advising on related issues - such as revenue, procurement, and environmental legislation - to delivering the completed infrastructure and helping maintain it. Our planning, engineering, environmental and management skills cover the whole project cycle.

Overview of the role: This is an exciting opportunity for the right candidate to join Mott MacDonald’s Special Services team, part of our Heavy Civils Infrastructure Division based in Mott MacDonald’s Croydon office. Mott MacDonald’s Special Services team was established more than forty years ago to develop innovative solutions to emerging engineering challenges. Our projects are rich and varied and involve a wide range of asset types across their full asset lifecycle, from creation to decommissioning, in sectors from transportation and utilities to energy and defence.

Key responsibilities and duties include:

• Helping to lead and grow the materials engineering workstream through engagement with new and existing clients to win exciting and challenging new projects.
• Raising the profile of the workstream, and of our wider team, within the industry through helping to publicise its capabilities, strengths and successes.
• Providing technical direction and leadership to our team and ensuring application of sound and appropriate technical approaches in developing solutions.
• Identifying opportunities with new and existing clients, developing proposals and bids in response to tenders.
• Ensuring the technical and commercial outcomes of our projects and achieving high levels of client satisfaction.
• Producing technical reports and other project deliverables to a high standard and supervising and guiding others.
• Team development through line management, mentoring and guiding the technical and professional development of colleagues.

You are a skilled and experienced professional specialising in construction materials technology with sound technical knowledge and considerable relevant experience gained in an engineering or materials testing/consultancy context, or similar. You will hold academic qualifications (Bachelors or Masters Degree and/or PhD) within Materials, Civil or Structural Engineering and be Chartered through a relevant professional engineering/materials institution.

Your key strengths and areas of expertise will include:

• A strong technical knowledge of construction materials commonly used in civil engineering structures.
• A detailed knowledge of concrete performance, specification and durability in service.
• Preferably, expertise in steel and other metallics, including corrosion assessment and protection measures.
• Significant experience of materials selection, use and specification for major civil engineering projects.
• Knowledge and experience in the characterisation of construction materials in existing structures.
• Evidence of profile and recognition within the industry.
• A track record of being proactive and successful in developing close and sustained working relationships with internal and external clients.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to influence others through effective written and verbal communication.

About you: This is an opportunity to take a senior role in our high performing team and to help to shape it and share in its success. You will help to manage and lead a small team of specialist material technologists/engineers delivering a diverse workload ranging from answering materials-related technical queries to supporting the materials selection, specification and construction-stage troubleshooting of large and complex construction projects worldwide.

We offer some fantastic benefits including:

• Financial wellbeing: We match employee pension contributions between 4.5% and 7%.
• Life assurance equal up to 4 x your basic salary.
• Flexible benefits, including increased life assurance cover and critical illness insurance.
• Employee Ownership: Our employee ownership model means no external investors, just us, creating a culture of shared success.
• Health and wellbeing: Private medical insurance for all UK colleagues.
• Lifestyle: A minimum of 33-35 days holiday each year, inclusive of public holidays.
• Learning and development: A broad range of opportunities to enhance both technical and soft skills.