Graduate Highways Development Management Engineer

This is a fantastic opportunity to begin a career that helps shape the future of West Northamptonshire.

As a Graduate Highways Development Management Engineer, you will play an important role in assessing and influencing new development proposals, helping to ensure that new homes, schools, employment sites and regeneration projects are supported by safe, sustainable and efficient transport infrastructure.

You can also see our full list of employee benefits on our careers site here:
Why you should work for us | West Northamptonshire Council.

Working alongside an experienced team of Highways Development Management Engineers and reporting to a Principal Engineer, you will gain practical experience across highways engineering, transport planning, development management and infrastructure delivery. As your knowledge and confidence develop, you will gradually take responsibility for your own portfolio of development proposals whilst continuing to receive professional mentoring and support. This role offers far more than a traditional graduate engineering position.

It provides the opportunity to become involved in projects that directly influence how communities grow and function, whilst developing a broad understanding of the planning and development process. Through a structured graduate development programme, you will be supported in building the knowledge, skills and experience required for a successful and rewarding professional career. No two days are the same. You will help assess planning applications ranging from individual developments through to major strategic growth sites and regeneration schemes.

You will be involved in reviewing Transport Assessments, Travel Plans and traffic modelling, undertaking site visits, supporting the technical review of highway infrastructure designs, and assisting with the preparation and monitoring of legal agreements. You will work closely with developers, consultants and colleagues across the Council, helping to create high-quality places and communities while gaining valuable experience in the planning, design and delivery of transport and highway improvements.

We are looking for an enthusiastic and motivated graduate who is keen to develop a career within highways, transport and the built environment.

You will ideally hold a degree in Civil Engineering, Transport Planning, Geography, Urban Planning, Construction Management or a related discipline. More importantly, you will be curious, analytical and eager to learn, with strong communication and problem-solving skills. You will enjoy working collaboratively with a wide range of people and have an interest in understanding how development, infrastructure and transport networks shape places and communities.

This role would suit someone who wants to make a tangible difference through their work while developing a long-term professional career within a supportive and experienced team.

At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.

Our vision is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for:
Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services.

We are committed to ensuring diversity, equality, equity, and inclusion is woven into the fabric of WNC and everything we do, to enable all colleagues to develop and maximize their full potential. We are a disability confident employer, a member of the Armed Forces Covenant, and a Care Leaver Covenant partner.

The following film was created by us to communicate our intentions - watch WNC colleagues explain what DEI means to us.

If you need additional support or reasonable adjustments during the application process, including needing the job description in another format or language, please email  for support.

Please note we reserve the right to close the advert early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications, so we recommend applying as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

West Northants Council, where careers thrive.