Senior / Principal Engineer - Coastal, River & Urban Water Quality Modelling

Job Description

Overview

The Senior / Principal Engineer will act as a technical specialist and delivery lead in coastal, river, sewer and water quality modelling, supporting complex water industry and regulatory projects. The role focuses on deep technical leadership, high‑value project delivery, and expert advisory support to clients and regulators, without formal director‑level line management accountability.

This role is suited to a recognised subject‑matter expert who leads through technical excellence, mentoring, and project‑level authority.

Note: We welcome applications from candidates who may not meet every requirement but demonstrate partial suitability and the potential to grow into the role.

Your role

Provide senior technical leadership on projects involving

• Sewer networks, rivers, estuaries and coastal waters.
• Flood risk and flood alleviation studies.
• Water quality, bathing water and environmental compliance.

Lead water quality (WQ) modelling, including

• MIKE suite (e.g. MIKE 21) for coastal and estuarine modelling.
• Integrated river, sewer and receiving water modelling.

Act as Technical Manager / Technical Lead for complex modelling studies, ensuring

• Appropriate methodologies.
• Robust model build, verification and validation.
• Clear interpretation of results.

Undertake and oversee

• Intermittent discharge investigations.
• EDM and monitoring data analysis.
• Integrated catchment and sewer impact assessments.

Provide expert technical advice to

• Water companies.
• Environmental regulators.
• Internal project teams.

Support regulator liaison on

• Water Framework Directive (WFD).
• Bathing Water Directive.
• Mentor and support junior and mid‑level staff, including technical review and skills development.
• Contribute to innovation and improvement of modelling approaches, including rapid and real‑time assessment tools.

About you

• PhD in Civil Engineering or related discipline (sediment transport / drainage systems).

Professional Memberships

• MCIWEM.
• Chartered Water and Environmental Manager (C.WEM).

Experience

• Relevant years’ experience in research and consultancy.
• Experience delivering and leading complex technical modelling projects.

Strong track record in

• Technical leadership.
• Project delivery.
• Client and regulator engagement.

Rewards & benefits

Explore the rewards and benefits that help you thrive – at every stage of your life and your career. Enjoy competitive salaries and a brilliant range of health, wellbeing, financial and lifestyle benefits. Make the most of a myriad of opportunities for training and professional development to grow your skills and expertise. And combine our hybrid working culture, international remote working opportunities, and flexible holiday allowances to balance a great job and fulfilling personal life.

Be rewarded. Find out more.

About AtkinsRéalis

We're AtkinsRéalis, a world-class engineering services and nuclear organization. We connect people, data and technology to transform the world's infrastructure and energy systems. Together, with our industry partners and clients, and our global team of consultants, designers, engineers and project managers, we can change the world. We're committed to leading our clients across our various end markets to engineer a better future for our planet and its people.

Find out more.

Additional information

We are committed to creating a culture where everyone feels that they belong - a place where we can all be ourselves, thrive and develop to be the best we can be. So, we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements and employee resource groups to support all employees. As an Equal Opportunities Employer, we value applications from all backgrounds, cultures and ability.

Worker Type

Employee

Job Type

Regular

At AtkinsRéalis, we seek to hire individuals with diverse characteristics, backgrounds and perspectives. We strongly believe that world-class talent makes no distinctions based on gender, ethnic or national origin, sexual identity and orientation, age, religion or disability, but enriches itself through these differences.