Principal Development Engineer

This is a Gloucestershire County Council job.

• Job Title:
  
  Principal Development Engineer
• Job Location:
  
  Shire Hall, Block 5, 5th Floor
• Salary: £48,226 - £51,356 + (5% market rate supplement) per annum
• Hours per Week: 37.00
• Contract Type:
  Permanent
• Closing Date: 18/01/2026
• Job Requisition Number: 10363
• This post is not open to job share

About the Team and Role

Come and join our friendly Highways Development Management Team in the beautiful county of Gloucestershire. We are responsible for ensuring developer-led infrastructure and new highways are designed and constructed to the highest standards, ensuring Gloucestershire remains a desirable location where people want to visit, work and live.

We need a Principal Development Engineer to take on a senior role primarily undertaking technical audits for section 278 and section 38 agreements. You will play a vital role in our enthusiastic and supportive team, where your skills and experience within the Highways sector will be fully utilised, affording you opportunities to make a genuinely positive contribution to both the team and the local area as well as gaining opportunities to grow both personally and professionally.

To find out more about the Highways Development Management team, and what we do, please visit the Manual for Gloucestershire Streets webpages. Manual for Gloucestershire streets | Highways

About You

To be successful in this role, you will need to demonstrate your experience as a competent Highways/Civil Engineer, capable of working autonomously and possessing strong technical and engineering acumen. You will need to be personable and professional, with a proven track record of providing robust technical solutions to complex engineering problems. You will bring your problem-solving skills and customer-focused nature to a talented team delivering a crucial service.

You may be a design engineer ready for a new challenge or maybe a civil engineer with experience in highways maintenance, scheme delivery or other areas within the Highway Engineering sector. Whatever your background, you will be proactive and committed to your professional development within civil engineering and, more specifically, highways development management.

About Us

We are committed to investing in your development and operate flexible times and ways of working, so you may be out meeting partners anywhere within the region, working on your laptop in one of our offices or staff cafes in the heart of the City Centre or working from home.

As you’d expect, we offer an attractive package of benefits which makes a career in Local Government both flexible and rewarding.

For all your hard work, you will receive the following:

Flexible and agile working opportunities

25.5 days annual leave rising to 29.5 days after 5 years continuous service

An option to purchase 10 days of additional leave per year (pro rata for part-time staff)

Family friendly employer offering benefits to help support you and your family

Career development and qualification opportunities

Supportive and positive working environment with regular, robust supervision

Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)

Access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) that provides free, confidential, counselling and advice for employees, available 24 hours a day, online and by telephone.

An in-house Occupational Health service

Employee discount scheme

Cycle to Work scheme

Gloucestershire Salary Sacrifice Green Car Scheme (T&Cs apply)

Links to employee networks such as Prism (LGBT+) network, DNet (disability) network and the Young Employees Network.

How To Apply

If you believe that this is your kind of environment, and you have the skills, desire and experience required to make a positive difference, then please submit your application and personal statement today by clicking the “Apply Now” button.

For an informal discussion about the role or how your skills set may match ours, please contact Hen Abbott on or

Closing date 18th January 2026

Short-listed candidates will be contacted by email and invited to interview week commencing 26th January 2026

Additional Information

To access the Job Profile for this role, please…