Lead Civil & Structural Engineer - Tunnelling

Location: Warrington, Cheshire
Job Type: Permanent, Full-time
Working Arrangement: Fully site-based (5 days  - Mon - Fri)
Sector: Nuclear / Major Infrastructure

The Opportunity

Location: Warrington, Cheshire
Job Type: Permanent, Full-time
Working Arrangement: Fully site-based
Sector: Nuclear / Major Infrastructure

The Opportunity

We are currently recruiting for an experienced Lead Engineer – Civil & Structural – Tunnelling to work with our client on a major nuclear infrastructure programme in Warrington.

This is a permanent, full-time, site-based opportunity supporting the delivery of complex tunnelling and underground infrastructure within the nuclear industry.

The successful candidate will provide technical leadership across the development, design and substantiation of tunnelling and underground structures, working closely with multidisciplinary engineering teams and the wider project and supply chain.

Due to the nature of the project, candidates will need to be eligible to obtain the appropriate UK security clearance. Candidates must be able to satisfy the relevant clearance requirements to work on the programme.

We are ideally looking for candidates with previous experience in the nuclear industry or another highly regulated/safety-critical sector, with transferable experience from major infrastructure, energy, defence or similar environments also welcomed.

The Role

As Lead Engineer – Tunnelling, you will lead the technical development, design and substantiation of tunnelling and underground structures across the programme.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Leading the technical development, design and substantiation of tunnelling and underground structures.
• Providing technical leadership and ensuring high-quality, compliant and integrated engineering solutions.
• Coordinating tunnelling design activities with civil, structural, geotechnical, construction, safety and systems engineering teams.
• Overseeing the assessment of ground–structure interaction, excavation support systems, underground works and associated infrastructure.
• Undertaking and coordinating both geotechnical and structural tunnel design, including assessment of ground conditions, tunnel alignment development, excavation support systems, permanent lining design and associated underground structures.
• Managing defined technical work packages and assuring the robustness and validity of technical solutions developed under your direction.
• Taking responsibility for the delivery of technical work packages produced by the supply chain within your scope, to agreed cost, programme and quality requirements.
• Supporting engagement with clients, regulators and independent technical reviewers, responding to technical queries and challenges.
• Promoting safe, sustainable and constructible design solutions throughout project delivery.
• Providing technical leadership and mentoring to junior engineers.
  
  

About You

We are looking for a degree-qualified Civil, Structural or Geotechnical Engineer with Chartered Engineer (CEng) status or equivalent professional experience, alongside extensive experience in tunnelling and underground infrastructure.

Ideally, you will have a background in the nuclear industry or another highly regulated, safety-critical environment, with experience leading complex engineering packages and multidisciplinary teams.

You should have:

• A degree in Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering or a related discipline.
• Chartered Engineer (CEng) status or demonstrable equivalent professional experience.
• Extensive experience leading tunnelling and underground infrastructure packages within major infrastructure, energy, nuclear or other highly regulated sectors.
• Proven tunnelling design experience within a fast-moving engineering consultancy or major project environment.
  
• Strong knowledge of geotechnical engineering design, excavation support systems and underground construction methodologies.
  
• Experience with advanced constitutive soil models and numerical modelling software such as FLAC or PLAXIS.
  
• Experience assessing complex loading conditions, ground movements, seismic effects and construction-stage behaviour.
  
• Understanding of design substantiation, safety justification and engineering assurance within safety-critical environments.
  
• Proven experience using advanced structural analysis and numerical modelling software.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary engineering teams, managing interfaces and integrating site-specific requirements into project delivery.
• Strong technical leadership, stakeholder management and mentoring skills.
• Familiarity with relevant codes and standards, including Eurocodes, BS EN standards, ITA guidance and ASCE.

Desirable Experience

It would also be advantageous if you have:

• Experience with dynamic soil–structure interaction and associated numerical modelling.
• Experience with BIM-integrated workflows and data exchange with Revit.
• Familiarity with systems engineering and requirements management.
• Experience using requirements management tools such as DOORS.
• Knowledge or experience of American engineering codes and standards.
• Previous experience within the nuclear industry, particularly nuclear new-build projects.
• Experience working with clients, regulators and independent technical reviewers.
• Experience managing technical work packages through the supply chain.

Nuclear & Security Clearance Requirements

This role will be supporting a major nuclear infrastructure programme, so previous experience within the nuclear industry or another highly regulated/safety-critical sector is highly desirable.

Candidates must be eligible to obtain the required UK security clearance for the project. The successful candidate will be required to undergo the relevant security vetting and clearance process before undertaking certain project activities.

Previous experience of nuclear new-build projects would be particularly advantageous, although we are also keen to hear from experienced engineers looking to move into the nuclear sector with strong transferable experience from other regulated or safety-critical industries.

Why Consider This Opportunity?

This is an opportunity to take a technical leadership role on a major nuclear infrastructure programme, working on complex tunnelling and underground engineering packages.

You will have the opportunity to:

• Work on a significant UK nuclear infrastructure programme.
• Lead the technical delivery of complex tunnelling and underground structures.
• Provide engineering leadership across multidisciplinary teams.
• Work alongside experienced engineering professionals and technical specialists.
• Engage with clients, regulators and independent reviewers.
• Operate within a highly regulated and technically demanding environment.
• Support the development and mentoring of junior engineers.
• Further develop your career within the nuclear and wider regulated engineering sector.

If you are an experienced Lead Tunnel, Civil, Structural or Geotechnical Engineer with a strong background in tunnelling and underground infrastructure, ideally within nuclear or another highly regulated sector, and you are eligible to obtain the required security clearance, we would be keen to hear from you.

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