Principal Mechanical Engineer One Alliance

Mott Mac Donald Bentley are recruiting for a Principal Mechanical Engineer to join the Anglian Water @One Alliance. As part of Anglian Water's @one Alliance, we are on a mission to create a sustainable and resilient future for water. With an ambitious £2.3 billion capital investment in AMP8, we are revolutionising infrastructure, sustainability, and digital transformation to protect the environment and support growing communities.

As a Principal Mechanical Engineer within one of our four business units, you'll be at the forefront of designing and delivering innovative water solutions. You'll lead technical delivery, drive sustainable and cost‑effective design decisions, and guide junior engineers to deliver work that is safe, future‑proof, and built to last.

• Lead and review mechanical designs to ensure compliance, safety, and performance excellence.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to deliver projects on time, within budget, and to high quality standards.
• Promote the use of digital tools and modular construction techniques.
• Drive Health & Safety by design, identifying improvements and reducing whole‑life costs.
• Champion sustainability, carbon reduction, and innovation across the design lifecycle.
• Mentor junior engineers and create a culture of technical excellence and continuous learning.
• Work closely with project and engineering leaders, contributing to strategic decisions.

You will ideally have:

• A degree in Mechanical Engineering (or related discipline).
• Preferably chartered, or working towards chartered status.
• Proven experience in mechanical design—ideally in the water sector or similar complex infrastructure environment.
• Strong understanding of industry standards, health and safety legislation, and construction principles.
• Leadership experience with a passion for coaching, mentoring and developing others.
• Proficiency in CAD and engineering software.
• Confident decision‑maker, with a collaborative mindset and strong communication skills.

The Place Based Thinking team delivers some of the largest and most complex projects across the @one Alliance. Made up of six Senior Project Manager teams, we oversee 19 catchments, covering key sites such as Whitlingham, Flag Fen, Great Billing, Cotton Valley, Bedford, Colchester, and Ipswich Cliff Quays. These projects involve managing all parts of the network from rising and gravity mains, pumping stations, high spilling overflows, and water recycling centres.

The Water Business Unit provides strategic support across the clean water network, covering both system performance and infrastructure planning. We assess the future hydraulic state of the network in response to population growth and increased demand, support the design and delivery of capital and infrastructure schemes to ensure hydraulic resilience, and work with optimisation teams to enhance overall network efficiency.

Our Water Recycling Business Unit, split into East and West regions, is responsible for the collection, conveyance, and treatment of wastewater across an extensive network. We operate over 76,000km of sewerage infrastructure and 1,163 treatment centres, ensuring safe and sustainable discharge to the environment while driving innovation and environmental performance.

At Mott Mac Donald Bentley you will be offered a competitive salary which is commensurate based on your experience.

• Pension matched by employer up to 7%
• Option to purchase, sell and carry over annual leave
• Life assurance / Private Medical Insurance / Critical Illness Insurance and Health Screening options
• 26 weeks maternity leave, enhanced paternity and adoption leave / Shared parental leave
• Payment of annual professional institution subscription costs
• Gym Membership discounts UK wide
• Cycle to work scheme, interest free season ticket loans and discounted dining cards also available

Mott Mac Donald is a global engineering, management and development consultancy. Our purpose is to…