Senior Design Engineer

At KAEFER, our success is built on our values and culture, which create a supportive and inclusive environment where employees can thrive. We prioritise growth and development, with abundant opportunities for advancement and a commitment to promoting from within. Our wide range of job openings, including entry-level positions, allows for the first steps on the ladder to success. We provide ongoing training and development opportunities to support our employees throughout their careers.

We are looking for a Senior Design Engineer to join our Engineering team at Devonport on a permanent basis. Our Devonport team supports critical marine and defence infrastructure projects, delivering bespoke access, scaffolding, and temporary works designs in a highly regulated dockyard environment. In this role you will act as a technical lead responsible for delivering robust, compliant, and cost-effective temporary works and bespoke access solutions.

Operating within a high-consequence, complex industrial and marine infrastructure environment, you will oversee designs from initial site survey and conceptual engineering through to detailed analysis, independent checking, and site support.

You will play a pivotal role in driving technical excellence, ensuring strict compliance with UK temporary works procedures and safety standards, mentoring junior engineers and technicians, and integrating modern 3D analysis and BIM workflows into day-to-day project execution.

Technical Design & Analysis

• Undertake structural analysis and calculations for complex temporary works, including heavy-duty access scaffolds, bespoke support structures, suspended systems ot weather protection/temporary roofs.
• Carry out both Design (Category 1/2) and Design Checking (Category 2/3) in accordance with BS 5975, ensuring complete structural integrity, stability, and buildability.
• Prepare clear, concise calculation packs, design risk assessments (DRA), designer hazard logs, and erection sequences in alignment with CDM 2015 regulations.
• Liaise directly with site operations teams, client representatives, appointed Temporary Works Coordinators (TWCs), and Designated Individuals to review Design Briefs and resolve complex site interfaces.
• Conduct structural surveys, site assessments, and inspections inside dockyard facilities to assess existing structures, anchorage substrates, and logistical constraints.
• Address Technical Queries (TQs), Non-Conformance Reports (NCRs), and design changes promptly during erection and operational phases.

Team Leadership & Digital Engineering

• Mentor and provide technical direction to Design Engineers, Trainees, and CAD/BIM Technicians.
• Provide site operations with technical support
• Contribute to continuous improvement by standardizing design details, parametric templates, calculation spreadsheets, and standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Compliance & Safety

• Champion safety-in-design, adhering strictly to KAEFER’s safety culture and Devonport Royal Dockyard’s nuclear/marine site safety rules.
• Ensure all deliverables meet the requirements of relevant UK and European codes, including BS EN 12811-1, BS 5975:2019, NASC TG20.

• BEng or MEng in Civil or Structural Engineering (or equivalent relevant engineering discipline).
• Chartered or Incorporated Engineer (CEng / IEng) with ICE or IStructE, or actively working toward professional review.
• Proven track record in temporary works design, scaffold engineering, or structural steelwork design within the UK.
• Demonstrable experience working under BS 5975 temporary works procedures, including Cat 2 and Cat 3 design checks.
• In-depth understanding of standard modular systems (Cuplok, Layher, Ringlock) as well as traditional tube and fitting…