Design Lead - Pipelines - Water

Location: Flexible locations across our South UK offices (e.g., London, Reading, High Wycombe, Southampton) with hybrid working options.

Are you an experienced Civil Engineer with a passion for sustainable solutions and a proven track record in pipeline design ? Join Stantec , a global leader in sustainable design and engineering, and lead the charge on water infrastructure projects across the South of England.

With our strong pipeline of work, including major framework wins across the regulated water sector with clients such as Thames Water, Southern Water, and Essex & Suffolk Water, , we\’re seeking a skilled Pipelines professional to take on the challenge of delivering vital resilience and improvement schemes.

As the Design Lead for Pipelines , you\’ll play a fundamental, high-impact role, leading the technical design and coordination of large-diameter trunk mains and water/wastewater networks. You\’ll work within our collaborative, multidisciplinary water team, partnering with key clients and contractor partners on major Design and Build projects.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead Technical Design: Act as the technical lead for pipeline projects from concept through to detailed design and delivery. This includes trunk mains, network upgrades, and associated infrastructure.

• Team Leadership: Form, lead, and mentor multidisciplinary project design teams, ensuring cohesive and high-quality technical outcomes.

• Client Collaboration: Work closely with our top-tier water clients and contractor partners to identify and champion innovative, sustainable, and cost-effective design solutions.

• Quality & Compliance: Monitor and ensure the quality, compliance, and efficiency of all project deliverables, adhering to industry best practice and regulatory requirements.

• Design Coordination: Coordinate all upfront design and project delivery activities, working alongside the Project Manager to achieve best value and client service excellence.

About You

You\’re a proactive, solutions-focused engineer who thrives in a collaborative, fast-paced environment and embodies an ethos of client focus and service excellence.

Essential Skills & Qualifications

• Degree qualified (or equivalent) in Civil Engineering or another relevant engineering discipline.

• Experience in a Design Lead or Principal Engineer capacity within the UK water sector.

• Demonstrable, extensive experience in the detailed design and delivery of Trunk Mains and Large Diameter Pipelines or water/wastewater networks.

• Experience working on Design & Build (D&B) projects would be advantageous.

• Ideally, an Incorporated or Chartered Engineer (e.g., ICE, CIWEM).

• Experience with other key water infrastructure assets like Service Reservoirs or clean/wastewater treatment.

• A passion for promoting sustainable engineering and designing for net-zero.

Why Join Stantec?

With every community, we redefine what\’s possible. We are a community of 32,000+ employees globally, committed to designing a fairer, better tomorrow by delivering clean growth and resilient infrastructure.

• Great Projects: Work on some of the largest, most iconic water projects in the industry, making a real difference to communities in the South UK.

• Career Growth: We are committed to your personal development with industry-leading training, paid professional subscriptions, and opportunities to stretch your expertise across our global network.

• Hybrid Working: Enjoy a supportive work-life balance with flexible working arrangements and the option to work from one of our many well-located Southern offices (London, Reading, High Wycombe, Southampton).

If you\’re ready to lead technical design, drive innovation in pipelines, and contribute to a more sustainable water future, we want to hear from you!

Apply Today.

About Stantec

The Stantec community unites more than 34,000 employees working in over 450 locations across 6 continents. We have been working with our clients and communities in the UK for over 150 years. We plan, design, deliver and manage the development and infrastructure needed to support the creation of sustainable, healthy and prosperous communities.

Our teams provide effective and relevant solutions, translating our clients’ vision into valued consents, deliverable plans for projects and programmes, and efficient designs for delivery, based on technical excellence and deep market insights. We deal with today’s challenges, but also keep a fairer, better tomorrow in sight, looking at how we deliver clean growth, support radical changes in our economy and meet the needs of future communities.

Stantec provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified employees and applicants for future and current employment and prohibit discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, genetic information, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. We prohibit discrimination in decisions concerning recruitment, hiring, referral, promotion, compensation, fringe benefits, job training, terminations or any other condition of employment. Stantec is in compliance with laws and regulations and ensures equitable opportunities in all aspects of employment.

Building an inspired, inclusive work environment that attracts, supports, and develops world‑class talent is a crucial key to our success. If you are excited by this role but worry that your experience doesn’t exactly align, we encourage you to apply.

At Stantec we want you to perform your best at every stage of the recruitment process and are committed to ensuring it is accessible to all. If you need any support or require adjustments to be made then please contact careers.UK@stantec.comand we will talk to you about how we can support you.

ReqID: 7992