Atelier Ten - Environmental Design Graduate Development Programme

Thank you for asking! Kindness and curiosity are some of Atelier Ten’s core tenets. We are a team of building services engineers and environmental designers championing for a healthier planet leveraging our vast, collective knowledge of sustainable spaces. We help bring elegance and efficiency to every building, and we work with architects, engineers, owners, and other stakeholders to accomplish their sustainable vision. We don’t just follow the trends of the industry, we trailblaze new paths to create high-performing, sustainable, and award-winning buildings. We are part of the SJ Group, a diverse collective of problem solvers for the built environment, continually reimagining ways to create a smart and sustainable future.

Atelier Ten are offering graduate engineering and environmental designers an innovative two-year graduate development programme to technically minded people looking to start a career in the built environment. As a company and group of people keen on positive social and environmental impact in the work we do, we want to encourage people with the same outlook to reinforce these values. The Atelier Ten network is packed with specialists in a range of disciplines, all primed to guide our clients and collaborators through the design process. Our expertise in environmental design lays the groundwork for exceptional engineering design. We help create buildings with a sustainable impact that reaches beyond their site boundaries - high-performance buildings with a wider virtuous cycle firmly in mind.

We are looking for individuals determined to build their technical knowledge and experience by getting involved in the design of real-world projects.

What development opportunities do we offer to graduate joiners:

• Comprehensive training scheme and networking groups
• Route and support to chartership
• Access to mentoring and coaching from across the business
• Chance to work on exciting projects across the globe
• Opportunity to collaborate with diverse groups of people and companies to deliver projects
• A foothold in the industry with a company well-known for its market-leading sustainability and creative solutions

Environmental Design

We also have a number of environmental design squads looking to train and develop the next generation of expert designers, pushing boundaries of design, benchmarking and using data analysis to improve building performance, whilst working closely with our engineers to make sure this happens.

We have previously employed people from a wide range of technical backgrounds, including but not limited to:

• Mechanical engineers
• Chemical engineers
• Electrical engineers
• Civil engineers
• Architectural engineering
• Environmental engineers or scientists
• Physicists
• Architects
• Biologists
• Mathematicians
• Computer scientists
• Industrial designers
• Lighting designers

We’re excited to share with you the range of projects you would get to work on throughout your career with us. Recent examples include Google’s new London HQ in Kings Cross, Jewel Changi airport in Singapore, the National Theatre in London, and The Illuminated River project on the river Thames. These projects had a variety of impacts on the stakeholders involved, so please read more about how we put our problem-solving skills towards achieving our goal of finding ways for our buildings to tread more lightly on the planet.

The kinds of projects we work on vary considerably. We look to apply robust and sustainable solutions to a huge variety of projects; they include small or large commercial developments, small or large residential schemes, theatres, museums and education buildings, as well as town or city masterplans. These schemes can be located anywhere in the world.

The role will vary depending on which discipline or disciplines the applicant wishes to pursue and experience. However, whatever discipline or team you might wish to pursue, it’s important to know that we prioritise our people through training, team building, and company events. We strive to deliver the best quality product for our clients through our collaborative design-led approach, and we genuinely put sustainability at the top of our project agenda.

We are offering a training scheme for grads that combines on-the-job training working closely with technical mentors and leaders on projects, with extensive CPD opportunities, including those tailored specifically to those starting out in a career in the built environment. We wish our people to develop their careers through the experiences and opportunities we offer.

You’ll Stand Out If You:

• On track for a minimum 2:1 degree (MEng, BEng, BSc)
• Self-motivated and eager to grow their career
• Adaptable and enthusiastic about learning
• Have permanent UK work rights
• Strong in technical, analytical, and numerical skills
• Effective team players with a collaborative spirit
• Open to exploring different disciplines before specialising
• Creative problem-solvers who stay flexible under pressure
• Clear and confident communicators
• Committed to continuous development and learning

Explore the real-life stories below for a glimpse into a day in the life of exceptional graduates, showcasing their journeys, challenges, and achievements.

Day in the life of an Environmental Design Grad

As an environmental designer graduate, this is going to sound cliché, but no two days are the same, and the variety mainly depends on the types of projects I’m working on. A typical day in the office could involve performing environmental assessments, like energy modelling or embodied carbon calculations for a cinema in London. I might be reviewing the thermal performance of a façade, and daylight access for a government building in Canada, or analysing the potential for natural ventilation in a retrofit office building. On occasion I would go on site visits, whether it’s during construction to make sure sustainable design features are on track for benchmarking purposes, or before construction kicks off to spot opportunities for circular economy strategies, like material reuse and waste reduction.

A big part of my role involves collaborating with architects and engineers to ensure sustainability goals are integrated smoothly into the overall design, and tools like Rhino and IES-VE are essential in this process. What really helps with this collaboration is being involved in projects from day one. By attending weekly design meetings, even as a junior, I get the chance to learn, contribute, and work closely with the team. Atelier Ten is also great at fast-tracking our learning with internal training sessions that help bridge the gap between academic theory and practical, real-world skills, making it easier to hit the ground running.

On top of that, there is a strong focus on being innovative, so we have dedicated time to research and go to conferences on new materials, technologies, legislation, or manufacturing processes etc. We then have the chance to share our findings in forums like Friday Knowledge Share sessions, ToTs (Training on Thursday), or our weekly team meetings. This really creates a collaborative learning culture across the team.