Head of Design and Engineering, Rail UK

About the role

We’re looking for an exceptional leader to head our Design and Engineering function within Rail UK. This high‑impact senior role shapes strategy, inspires technical teams, strengthens client relationships and drives engineering excellence across a growing, high‑performing business.

As Head of Design and Engineering, you will lead a key function that delivers market‑leading design solutions, supports major work‑winning activity and ensures engineering assurance across Rail UK. You will be accountable for performance, growth and budget delivery, while championing innovation, safety, quality and continuous improvement throughout the business.

What you’ll be doing

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead the vision, strategy and performance of the Design and Engineering function within Rail UK.
• Drive engineering excellence through safe, compliant and high‑quality design delivery.
• Support business development and work winning by providing technical leadership and value‑engineered solutions.
• Build strong relationships with clients, senior stakeholders and internal delivery leaders across the organisation.
• Develop, mentor and inspire engineering teams, creating a culture of high performance, inclusion and continuous learning.
• Oversee capability, resource planning and professional development across the design and engineering community.
• Monitor performance, assurance and improvement activity to strengthen delivery, customer outcomes and commercial success.
• Promote health, safety, environment and sustainability through visible leadership and active engagement across projects.

Who we’re looking for

You will be a credible and commercially aware engineering leader with the ability to influence at senior level, lead diverse teams and deliver outstanding outcomes in complex environments.

• Proven leadership experience in design and engineering, ideally within rail or a comparable infrastructure environment.
• Strong understanding of both design and construction practices.
• Excellent communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills.
• A strong commercial mindset with sound planning and safety awareness.
• A passion for developing people, building capability and creating high‑performing teams.
• A customer‑focused approach with a commitment to quality and continuous improvement.
• Chartered Engineer status, such as MICE CEng, or equivalent.

Benefits

We offer the following benefits:

• Smart working, allowing staggered start and finish times with up to 40% remote working where roles allow.
• 25 days paid annual leave (pro rata).
• Family‑friendly policies which include 28 weeks full pay for maternity/adoption leave and four weeks full pay for paternity/partner’s leave.
• Pension, share incentive plan, volunteering leave, recognition schemes and much more.

Diversity and inclusion

Balfour Beatty believes that diversity and inclusion are essential components of any successful, happy workplace. Through our Value Everyone Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan, we are growing our diverse workforce and developing our inclusive culture where everyone can thrive and reach their full potential, regardless of their identity or background.

We are members of WISE, ENEI, Business Disability Forum and the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE). In 2020, we signed the Audeliss and Involve Open Letter to demonstrate our commitment to taking key long‑term and sustainable actions on Black Inclusion. Balfour Beatty is also a Gold Award holder in the Ministry of Defence ‘Employer Recognition Scheme’ and actively encourages applications from Armed Forces personnel, veterans and reservists.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to working with people who have disabilities and long‑term health conditions to remove barriers for them in obtaining employment. We also commit to offering applicants with a disability an interview if they meet the minimum requirements for the role. For more information, visit https://disabilityconfident.campaign.gov.uk/.

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