Principal Civil Design Engineer

Location Bristol
Discipline: Civil Engineering
Job type: Permanent
Salary: £50000 - £60000 per annum
Contact name: Michael Finch

Contact email: michael.finch@aldwychconsulting.com
Job ref: BBBH4793_1773674635
Published: about 1 hour ago

Principal Civil Engineer

Location: Bristol | Hybrid Working
Type: Full Time, Permanent

An established, multi-disciplinary property and construction consultancy is seeking a Principal Civil Engineer to join and further strengthen its growing civil and infrastructure team in Bristol. The business delivers integrated engineering solutions across a wide range of sectors for both public and private sector clients, with projects ranging from commercial developments through to large-scale infrastructure and complex development schemes.

This is an excellent opportunity for a Principal Civil Engineer who is ready to lead projects, influence team growth and play a key role in delivering technically complex civil engineering solutions within a highly respected consultancy environment.

The Role

As a Principal Civil Engineer, you will take a leading role in the delivery of highways, drainage and development infrastructure projects, managing technical outputs, project resources and client relationships across a varied portfolio of schemes.

This role combines technical leadership, project delivery, client interface and commercial responsibility, making it ideal for someone who enjoys both hands-on engineering and broader project ownership.

Key responsibilities include:

  • Lead projects of varying size, complexity and sector type, ensuring successful delivery from concept through to completion

  • Manage project resources, programmes and workloads to ensure timely and effective delivery

  • Manage and coordinate highways and drainage designs relating to large development infrastructure projects

  • Provide pre-planning advice to clients, including Flood Risk Assessments (FRAs), Drainage Strategies and wider development infrastructure input

  • Oversee the design of surface water and foul drainage systems, including SuDS solutions and associated infrastructure

  • Support the design of minor roads, access arrangements, external works and site-wide civil engineering packages

  • Prepare and review technical drawings, calculations, specifications and reports

  • Interface with architects, building services engineers, project managers, cost consultants and other disciplines on multi-disciplinary projects

  • Undertake project administration and financial management, ensuring commercial awareness across delivery

  • Represent the consultancy through external liaison with clients, stakeholders, approving bodies and wider project teams

  • Conduct site visits for technical assessment, design coordination and problem-solving

  • Support and identify new business opportunities, contributing to proposals and tender submissions

  • Lead project teams and contribute to the development of junior and intermediate engineers

  • Apply knowledge of BIM principles within civil engineering delivery

  • Use software such as AutoCAD, Civil 3D and InfoDrainage (or equivalent)

About You

You will be a technically strong and commercially aware civil engineer with proven experience leading infrastructure projects within a consultancy environment.

You should demonstrate:

  • A degree in Civil Engineering or a related discipline

  • Experience in a similar role, ideally within a multi-disciplinary consultancy organisation

  • Strong experience in drainage (foul and surface water) and minor roadway / highways design

  • A good understanding of SuDS, flood risk, highways, cut and fill analysis and development infrastructure design

  • Knowledge of Section 38, 278, 104, 106 and 185 agreements

  • Experience delivering projects from concept through to completion, including calculations, drawings and specifications

  • Familiarity with Part H and Part M of the Building Regulations, British Standards and local authority requirements

  • Good working knowledge of AutoCAD, with strong experience in Civil 3D

  • Familiarity with InfoDrainage (or equivalent drainage software)

  • Awareness of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and its application within civil engineering

  • Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with confidence in client-facing and stakeholder-facing roles

  • Experience of leading project teams and coordinating technical delivery

  • Ideally Chartered (CEng) or working towards Chartership

  • Membership of, or ambition to work towards membership of, ICE (MICE) or an equivalent professional body

  • A proactive, solutions-focused mindset with the ability to solve complex technical challenges and communicate them clearly

What's On Offer

  • Competitive salary dependent on experience

  • Hybrid and flexible working arrangements

  • Structured training and long-term career development pathway

  • Full support toward professional Chartership where applicable

  • Exposure to major multi-disciplinary developments and complex infrastructure schemes

  • Opportunity to take on genuine project leadership and client-facing responsibility

  • Involvement in both public and private sector work across a varied portfolio

  • Collaborative, inclusive working culture within a well-established consultancy

  • Comprehensive benefits package including pension, healthcare and wellbeing initiatives

This is a fantastic opportunity for a Principal Civil Engineer looking to step into a role with genuine project leadership, commercial involvement and long-term progression within a highly respected consultancy delivering major infrastructure and development schemes.

If this sounds like something of interest, please get in touch directly with Michael -

07787 736 270

Aldwych Consulting values diversity and promotes equality. No terminology in this advert is intended to discriminate against any of the protected characteristics that fall under the Equality Act 2010. We encourage and welcome applications from all sections of society and are happy to discuss reasonable adjustments and/or additional arrangements as required to support your application.

Candidates must be eligible to live and work in the UK.

For the purposes of the Conduct Regulations 2003, when advertising permanent vacancies we are acting as an Employment Agency, and when advertising temporary/contract vacancies we are acting as an Employment Business.