At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead complex hydraulic engineering projects and shape the future of water infrastructure.
- Company: Join Stantec, a top-rated engineering consultancy with a collaborative culture.
- Benefits: Enjoy competitive salary, bonuses, enhanced pension, and private medical insurance.
- Other info: Flexible working options and excellent career growth opportunities await you.
- Why this job: Make a real impact on sustainability and resilience in the UK water sector.
- Qualifications: Degree in engineering and extensive experience in hydraulic engineering required.
The predicted salary is between 59576 - 70089 £ per year.
The UK water sector is entering one of its most significant periods of investment, with increasing focus on resilience, sustainability and the long-term performance of critical infrastructure. At Stantec, our national Hydraulic Engineering team is helping shape this future by delivering specialist expertise across some of the UK's largest regulated water frameworks.
As a Senior Principal Hydraulic Engineer, you will provide strategic technical leadership across our Hydraulic Engineering discipline, ensuring the successful delivery of complex hydraulic solutions while driving technical excellence across major AMP8 programmes and beyond.
Your Responsibilities Will Include:
- Acting as the senior technical authority for complex hydraulic engineering and transient analysis across multiple frameworks.
- Setting technical direction, governance and engineering standards for hydraulic engineering projects.
- Providing technical assurance and oversight for nationally significant water and wastewater infrastructure programmes.
- Building and maintaining strategic relationships with key clients, acting as a trusted advisor on complex engineering challenges.
- Leading multidisciplinary technical reviews and supporting innovation across hydraulic engineering methodologies and digital delivery.
- Mentoring senior engineers, developing technical capability and supporting succession planning across the business.
- Supporting business growth through framework leadership, strategic bids and the continued expansion of our Hydraulic Engineering capability.
Your Impact:
Your leadership will influence how hydraulic engineering is delivered across Stantec and the wider UK water sector. Through your technical expertise and strategic thinking, you’ll help clients improve network resilience, optimise infrastructure performance and make informed investment decisions that deliver long‑term environmental and operational benefits.
Essential About You:
- Degree qualified (or equivalent) in Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Hydraulic Engineering or a related discipline.
- Chartered Engineer (CEng).
- Extensive experience delivering complex hydraulic engineering projects within the UK water sector.
- Recognised expertise in fluid mechanics, hydraulic structures, pumping systems and transient analysis.
- Significant experience using hydraulic modelling software such as HADES, VARISM, Flow‑3D or equivalent.
- Proven experience providing strategic technical leadership across multidisciplinary engineering programmes.
- Experience establishing technical governance, engineering standards and quality assurance processes.
- Excellent client relationship, stakeholder management and communication skills.
- Experience leading, mentoring and developing senior technical professionals.
Desirable:
- Experience leading discipline or regional technical strategy.
- Demonstrable success supporting framework growth, business development and major bids.
- Experience representing organisations within industry forums, technical panels or professional institutions.
- Knowledge of digital engineering approaches and modern methods of project delivery.
- Experience working collaboratively with contractors and delivery partners across major capital programmes.
Why Join Us:
- We put people first: We’re proud of our friendly, inclusive and collaborative environment where everyone feels valued and driven to succeed.
- We are driven to achieve: Named in the top 50 companies to work by Glassdoor 2025.
- Recognised by Corporate Knights as one of the world’s top 10 most sustainable companies 2025.
- Named ‘Best Place to Work’ and ‘International Consulting Firm of the Year’ at the NCE Awards 2024.
- We do what is right: Industry leading training and development as well as paid for professional subscriptions.
- A professional progression plan, supporting you to become chartered with ICE.
- We are better together: A supportive and collaborative team environment and Early Careers peer group and wider ERG network.
- Growth: We’re on an exciting growth journey across the UK – we want you to be part of it!
Great Benefits:
- Competitive salary
- Bonus schemes
- Enhanced pension plan
- Annual leave with the option to buy/sell additional days
- Private medical insurance
- Group income protection & life assurance included as standard as well as discounted gym membership and lots more.
Hybrid / Flexible working: Enjoy a healthy work‑life balance with our hybrid approach to flexible working.
If you’re ready to shape the future of hydraulic engineering, influence nationally significant infrastructure programmes and provide strategic technical leadership across one of the UK’s leading Water businesses, we’d love to hear from you.
Senior Principal Hydraulic Engineer in Cambridge employer: Stantec
Stantec is an exceptional employer that empowers its employees to make a significant impact in the energy sector through innovative projects like hydropower and energy building design. With a strong focus on professional development, flexible working arrangements, and a collaborative work culture, Stantec fosters an environment where engineers can thrive and grow their careers while contributing to meaningful change in the industry.
