Senior Civil Engineer – Highways & Drainage
Shape the Future of Infrastructure Delivery
Tetra Tech is seeking an experienced and motivated Senior Engineer to join our Highways and Civils team, based in either Newark or Birmingham, with hybrid working available. This role offers an excellent opportunity for a technically strong highways and drainage engineer who enjoys problem‑solving, working collaboratively, and contributing to the delivery of complex infrastructure projects across residential, commercial, industrial and strategic development sectors.
Purpose & Scope of the Role
As a Senior Engineer you will contribute to the technical delivery of highways and drainage projects across a broad range of infrastructure schemes. You will be involved in all stages of design—from concept layouts and feasibility studies through to detailed design and technical approvals. The role requires strong analytical skills, practical engineering judgement, and the ability to deliver high‑quality design outputs under the guidance of senior technical leaders.
You will work closely with multidisciplinary teams, support the preparation of reports and design documentation, and help maintain a consistent level of technical excellence. Alongside your design responsibilities, you will mentor junior engineers and technicians, helping to build the capability and confidence of the wider team. You will also engage with clients and design partners to coordinate and communicate necessary activities to deliver successful project outcomes.
Your Impact in this Position
You will play an active role in the delivery of highways and drainage designs for development‑led infrastructure projects, including estate roads, junction improvements, access strategies, earthworks, and drainage systems. You will support technical approval processes (S104, S278 and S38) with Water Authorities, Local and National Highways Authorities, preparing submissions, responding to comments and contributing to the approvals strategy.
Your role will involve producing and reviewing technical drawings, models, assessments and calculations, while supporting colleagues across Newark, Birmingham, London and the wider Tetra Tech RPS infrastructure team. You will be trusted to manage your own tasks independently, contributing to smaller projects and supporting the delivery of larger, more complex commissions. Your work will help ensure that technical quality, client expectations and programme requirements are consistently achieved.
Technical Competence
- A solid grounding in highways and/or drainage engineering is essential. You should have experience applying recognised design standards, including DMRB and local authority guidance, and be comfortable working with industry‑standard design tools such as AutoCAD, Civil 3D or PDS, and drainage modelling software including Flow. Experience in development‑led infrastructure design is highly beneficial, particularly on residential, commercial or industrial schemes. What matters most is your ability to apply strong engineering principles, develop technically sound solutions, and contribute positively to design discussions and decision‑making.
Problem Solving & Quality Assurance
- You will be expected to approach engineering challenges with clarity, initiative and independence. The role requires strong analytical thinking and the ability to interpret constraints, assess risks and develop practical, compliant solutions. You will support quality assurance processes, contribute to technical reviews and help ensure that all outputs meet the required standards for accuracy, presentation and technical robustness. Attention to detail and a commitment to delivering high‑quality work are essential.
Mentorship, Support & Technical Review
- As a Senior Engineer you will contribute to the development of junior colleagues through day‑to‑day mentorship, technical guidance and constructive support. You will help build capability within the team by providing direction on design approaches, sharing knowledge and offering assistance as needed to ensure high‑quality outputs. A key part of your role will be the review of technical reports, drawings, models and design documentation. You will support the quality assurance process by checking design work for accuracy, compliance and clarity, helping to maintain consistent technical standards across the team and ensuring that engineering decisions are robust, defensible and aligned with project requirements.
Client Engagement & Communication
- You will engage directly with clients, design partners and approval authorities, supporting the communication and coordination necessary to deliver successful projects. This includes preparing reports, presenting technical information, participating in meetings and helping to manage expectations and technical queries. Your ability to communicate engineering concepts clearly and professionally will be an important part of building strong working relationships and supporting repeat business.
Mandatory Qualifications
The role requires a Level 4 or higher qualification in Civil Engineering or an equivalent discipline, along with substantial experience in civil engineering design for highways, drainage and associated infrastructure. Professional membership or progression towards such status with ICE, or an equivalent professional body, is highly desirable. Practical experience with Civil 3D or Flow is essential.
Beneficial Experience
Additional training or certification in project management, BIM coordination, health and safety or other specialist civil engineering software would be beneficial. Support is available for individuals pursuing formal qualifications, professional development courses and chartership pathways.
Equality and Diversity
In alignment with the Equality Act 2010, we will make reasonable adjustments to support candidates and employees requiring additional arrangements. This could include adaptations to work schedules, training approaches or the physical workspace. Please inform us if you need any accommodations during the recruitment process or in your day‑to‑day role.
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