Associate Civil Engineer

Overview

Associate Civil Engineer – Development Infrastructure (Drainage Lead) | London

Lead the drainage strategies that unlock complex developments and shape the future of the built environment.

£65,000 - £75,000 plus Excellent Benefits

Our client is a progressive engineering consultancy seeking an experienced Associate Civil Engineer with strong building drainage expertise to help lead and shape a growing development infrastructure team.

This is a senior, influential position where you’ll combine technical leadership, project ownership and team development — shaping both the work we deliver and how the discipline evolves.

You’ll be working on the systems that determine whether a site is viable in the first place: drainage, flood risk, attenuation and infrastructure strategies that unlock complex and high-profile developments.

This role goes beyond delivery.

You’ll lead drainage strategy from the earliest feasibility and pre-planning stages, through detailed design and onto construction support — acting as a key technical authority on some of the most challenging development projects in the UK.

At the same time, you’ll help shape team direction, mentor engineers, and contribute to how the civils function grows.

It’s a role for someone who wants both technical depth and genuine influence.

• Leading development infrastructure and building drainage design across major projects
• Defining drainage strategies that unlock planning approvals and site viability
• Designing complex foul and surface water systems, including basement drainage solutions
• Delivering stormwater attenuation and SuDS-based drainage strategies
• Acting as technical lead on Micro Drainage / Info Drainage modelling
• Providing expert input on flood risk and drainage constraints at early design stages
• Coordinating closely with architects, planners, clients and multidisciplinary teams
• Overseeing technical quality, governance and delivery standards
• Supporting and mentoring engineers and technicians
• Contributing to team growth, capability development and technical leadership

• Significant UK experience in development infrastructure and building drainage
• Proven ability to lead drainage design from concept through to delivery
• Strong understanding of planning processes, drainage approvals and constraints
• Experience across both small-scale and major mixed-use developments
• Advanced knowledge of Micro Drainage / Info Drainage
• Confidence operating as a senior technical and client-facing lead
• A leadership mindset with a desire to shape teams and technical direction

• You’ll lead drainage strategy on complex, high-impact developments
• Your work will directly influence planning outcomes and project viability
• You’ll have genuine autonomy and technical authority
• You’ll help shape the growth and direction of a developing civils function
• You’ll work alongside highly capable engineers on challenging, meaningful projects
• You’ll operate in a culture that values design quality, sustainability and thinking differently

• Hybrid and flexible working in London
• Private healthcare and well-being support
• Employer pension contribution
• Discretionary bonus scheme
• Enhanced parental leave
• Strong learning, development and leadership progression support
• A collaborative environment where technical excellence is genuinely valued

This is a role for someone who wants to move beyond being a project contributor — and become a technical leader, shaping drainage strategy, influencing design outcomes, and helping build something bigger than individual projects