Principal Geotechnical Engineer

Job Description

Role Overview :

The Principal Geotechnical Engineer leads delivery of complex geotechnical scopes across building and infrastructure projects. The role carries technical authority over geotechnical design decisions, mentors a team of engineers, and serves as the primary geotechnical interface with clients, lead consultants, and specialist contractors.

Key Responsibilities :

Specifications Develop specifications for geotechnical investigation, topographic, geophysical, and remote sensing surveys. Prepare construction specifications covering earthworks, piling, embedded walls and shoring, earth retaining structures (MSE, gabion, nailed walls), ground improvement, slope stabilization, tie-back anchors, rock bolts, and dewatering systems. Prepare Instrumentation & Monitoring specifications including inclinometers, piezometers, and settlement plates.

Technical Writing & Reports Prepare Geotechnical Interpretative Reports, Geotechnical Design Reports and Desk Study Reports. Develop geotechnical chapters within structural design reports. Developing pile load test interpretation reports, and contribute to technical proposals for tendering purposes.

Review & Checking Review method statements against issued specifications, borehole logs, and laboratory testing programs. Review final GIR/GFR reports from soil laboratories and I&M data against trigger levels during construction. Review specialist contractor submissions covering shoring, dewatering design, piling, ground improvement, rock stabilization, and retaining wall designs. Conduct in-house QA/QC and external peer reviews of geotechnical deliverables.

Design & Analysis Skills :

• Bearing capacity, settlement, consolidation, and time-settlement analysis
• Shoring wall design using PLAXIS 2D or Wallap
• Soil-structure interaction analysis using PLAXIS 3D
• CPT interpretation using CLiq / CPT-IT
• Ground improvement design using StoneC
• Lateral pile analysis using L-Pile (p–y curves)
• Slope stability using Slope/W, Slide2, Dips, or Swedge
• Seismic and liquefaction assessment using Liquefy Pro
• Foundation optimization across multiple structural load cases

Software Proficiency :

• Geotechnical Analysis
• PLAXIS 2D & 3D, settle 3D, Wallap, L-Pile, Slope/W, Slide2, Dips, Swedge
• Ground Improvement
• StoneC
• CPT & Liquefaction
• CLiq, CPT-IT, Liquefy Pro
• Rock Engineering
• RocLab , Dips & Slope W
• Geological Modelling
• RockWorks (Rockware) or equivalent
• GIS
• QGIS
• General
• AutoCAD (working knowledge), MS Office Suite

Leadership & Management:

Lead and mentor a small team of senior and junior engineers across concurrent projects. Serve as technical signatory for geotechnical deliverables and manage workstream scope, program, and fees. Attend and lead meetings with clients, lead consultants, sub-consultants, and contractors. Coordinate across structural, civil, and environmental disciplines on multidisciplinary projects. Contribute to business development, client relationship management, and technical proposal preparation. Represent the firm in technical presentations, design workshops, and value engineering sessions.

Qualifications

Qualifications & Requirements :

• Education: Bachelor's in Civil / Geotechnical Engineering; Master's preferred
• Experience: 12–15 years in geotechnical design and investigation, with a proven track record on complex infrastructure and building projects
• Codes: Working knowledge of AASHTO, ASTM, and IBC (American codes) and Eurocode 7 (EC7); familiarity with BS standards is an advantage
• International accreditations are preferred from reputable institutions, such as ICE.
• Language: English proficiency essential for report writing and client communication
• Mobility: Willingness to travel to project sites locally and internationally as required

Additional Information