Civil Engineer (Airports) – Pavements and Drainage in Birmingham

Overview

Shape the Future of Airside Infrastructure Design

Purpose of the Position

This junior engineer role sits within our airports civil engineering team, above Technician level and reporting to an Associate. Its purpose is to support the technical design and coordination needed to deliver safe, buildable and operationally resilient airfield infrastructure. You will translate project requirements into drawings, models, specifications and calculations for airfield pavements and drainage, working closely with technicians and guided by senior engineers. Typical work includes pavement inspections, materials assessment, rehabilitation design, and developing layouts and details for runways, taxiways and stands, alongside integrated drainage solutions that fit operational needs. You will collaborate with internal specialists and project managers, and gradually engage with clients, helping to produce clear scopes, coordinated design packages and concise technical reports. As you transition your highways, ports or general drainage experience into aviation, you will be supported through structured mentoring, on‑the‑job learning and exposure to the standards and methods used in airfield engineering.

Scope of the Role

You will work within a compact, multi‑level aviation engineering team that includes senior leaders, Associate Directors, technicians and an apprentice, with plans to strengthen the mid‑level engineering group. Your work will range from small technical tasks to substantial design packages, with project values spanning from low‑value specialist tracking or inspection work to six‑figure design stages for new stands and taxiways. The division typically delivers a few dozen live projects at any time across several airport and contractor clients, and you will contribute to multiple workstreams, balancing survey inputs, multidisciplinary coordination and programme requirements. The project pipeline covers regional and defence airfields as well as larger development programmes, giving you the opportunity to follow designs from feasibility through detailed design and into construction support.

What Can Be Achieved

In the first six months you will build confidence with our ways of working, toolsets and quality systems, take ownership of defined design tasks, and help uplift the productivity of the wider team by pairing effectively with technicians and learning the aviation standards that shape our outputs. By the end of the first year you can expect to run discrete work packages under supervision, contribute to site surveys and construction‑phase queries, and develop client‑ready sections of reports and design notes. Over the medium term you will build fluency with the principal airfield standards and methodologies, broaden your experience across pavement rehabilitation, overlay and drainage integration, and begin to represent the team in technical meetings with appropriate support. Longer term, you will be well placed to progress into a fully autonomous airport civil engineer and, in time, take on project management and client liaison responsibilities, with exposure to high‑profile regional and international programmes as our aviation portfolio continues to grow.

Your Toolkit for Success at Tetra Tech RPS

At Tetra Tech RPS, we value capability, curiosity and potential. If you meet around three‑quarters of what follows, we would still like to hear from you.

• Airfield Pavement and Materials Design: You bring a solid grounding in pavement engineering from highways or ports and apply it to airside contexts, developing new and rehabilitation designs for runways, taxiways and stands. With coaching, you will work to the airfield standards used by the team, interpret traffic loading and subgrade data, and produce calculation notes, details and specifications that withstand technical scrutiny and align with operational and construction staging needs.
• Drainage Engineering and Airside Integration: You translate drainage principles into airfield‑specific solutions, coordinating outfall strategies, hydraulic capacity and pollution control with pavement levels and safety areas. You will review survey information, contribute to modelling and layout development, and ensure drainage proposals are coordinated with lighting ducting, pavement build‑ups and phasing so that designs remain operable during works.
• Standards, Assurance and Technical Reporting: You develop working knowledge of CAP 168, ICAO and EASA guidance and the MOD’s airfield pavement design practice, and you apply these frameworks to ensure designs are compliant, traceable and defendable. You will help structure end‑of‑stage reports and technical notes so that assumptions, calculations and recommendations are clear to clients and reviewers, progressively taking ownership of discrete report sections.
• Digital Design and Multidisciplinary Coordination: You work with technicians to produce coordinated drawings and 3D models, using appropriate digital tools and data sources to integrate survey, AGL and drainage requirements into coherent design outputs. You will contribute to model and drawing checks, manage mark‑ups and revisions, and help maintain the integrity of shared content so that packages are buildable and consistent across disciplines.
• Project Delivery, Stakeholder Engagement and Mentoring Technicians: You support the planning and delivery of your work packages, maintain task lists and short‑interval programmes, and communicate progress and risks early. As your confidence grows, you will attend selected client and contractor meetings with senior support, respond to technical queries, and contribute to site activities. You will also play a day‑to‑day mentoring role with technicians, ensuring design intent is captured accurately, models and drawings are well structured, and quality checks are embedded in the workflow.

Qualifications And Training

A degree or equivalent qualification in civil engineering is required, with demonstrable experience in pavements and/or drainage from highways or ports and a desire to transfer those skills into aviation. You should be comfortable producing calculations, drawings and specifications, and collaborating with technicians to translate concept intent into coordinated design deliverables. Progress towards professional qualification with the ICE is encouraged and supported, with mentoring available to accelerate your route to accreditation and broaden your exposure to client interaction, reporting and multidisciplinary coordination. Desirable attributes include familiarity with Civil 3D or similar 3D design tools, an interest in the airfield standards mentioned above, and a willingness to undertake site surveys and construction support activities.

Work Patterns and Locations

This role is based from one of our principal engineering hubs in Newark, London or Birmingham. To support your sector transition, knowledge transfer and hands‑on mentoring, you will typically spend at least three days a week in the office during your first six to twelve months, with hybrid working arrangements available thereafter to balance collaboration and focused delivery. Site visits and occasional travel to other offices or airport locations may be required to meet project needs, always planned to support your development and wellbeing.

Why join Tetra Tech RPS?

At Tetra Tech RPS, our people are our success. We thrive on solving the problems that matter—whether in urbanisation, natural resources, or sustainability. With a collaborative culture, agile working, and access to some of the brightest minds in the industry, we empower our teams to deliver exceptional outcomes while building fulfilling careers. In 2023, RPS became part of Tetra Tech, a global leader in consulting and engineering with 30,000 employees across 550 offices in 120+ countries. Together, we combine deep local expertise with global reach, delivering science‑led solutions to complex challenges in water, environment, infrastructure, and clean energy. Join us and be part of a connected, forward‑thinking community that’s shaping a better future.