Principal Process Engineer

Role Summary:
This role is available for a process expert with substantial experience in water, wastewater, and industrial effluent treatment within the UK environment. As a Principal Process Engineer, you will be a key technical authority, involved in every stage of the project lifecycle, from feasibility and ECI through detailed design, procurement, construction support, and final commissioning.

You will report directly to the Design Manager and provide essential technical support to the Head of Technical Services. This position requires a proactive, solution-oriented professional capable of working independently and integrating seamlessly within a multi-disciplinary team to deliver robust and compliant design solutions for our UK client base.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership & Project Delivery

• Act as the lead technical process authority on UK water and wastewater projects, ensuring all designs meet client specifications, industry standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Perform preliminary and detailed process design of water and wastewater treatment plants, achieving desired treatment criteria and performance guarantees.
• Provide essential process support during the construction and commissioning phases, troubleshooting issues and ensuring seamless transition from design to operation.
• Develop mass balances, P&IDs, control philosophies, and technical specifications for process plant and equipment.
• Integrate effectively within the multi-disciplinary design team (including Civil, Mechanical, and Electrical disciplines).
• Manage the input and output of external process consultants through rigorous technical reviews to ensure quality and compliance.
• Ability to travel to operational sites to provide process troubleshooting, suggest optimisations, and propose innovative approaches to improve site efficiency while strictly adhering to required environmental and discharge consents.

Safety, Compliance, and Legislation

• Ensure the design process strictly recognises and complies with current UK legislation, standards, and codes of practice.
• Maintain a good Awareness of CDM Regulations (CDM 2015) and ensure designers comply with their duties regarding health and safety in design, striving to eliminate risks.
• Demonstrate a strong understanding of process safety requirements, including DSEAR (Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations) and the principles of Hazardous Area Classification.
• Ensure designs comply with COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health) requirements.
• Actively participate in and lead technical input to formal design reviews, including HAZOP (Hazard and Operability) studies.
• Continuously scan the UK regulatory environment to identify risks and opportunities related to legislative changes in the water industry (e.g., environmental permits, Ofwat requirements).
• Consider Environmental Aspects and the Life-cycle perspective (CAPEX/OPEX) during the design process.

Management & Development

• Manage process design elements using commercial, contractual, and programme awareness to ensure timely and cost-effective delivery.
• Mentoring and guiding junior design and project engineers, sharing expertise and best practices within the team.
• Develop relationships with UK-based supply chain partners to enhance design solutions and drive innovation.
• Attend and report at project and senior management meetings as required.

Essential Criteria

• Qualifications: Relevant university degree (BEng/MEng) in Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering, or a closely related discipline.
• Professional Accreditation: Must be a Chartered Member of a relevant UK professional institution (e.g., CIWEM, ICE, IChemE).
• Experience: Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience in process design and delivery within the UK water or wastewater industry, ideally working for a design and build contractor.
• Legislation: Demonstrable, in-depth Awareness of the UK CDM Regulations (CDM 2015) and their application to design duties.
• Right to Work: Must have the unrestricted right to work in the UK.
• Driving Licence: Must hold a Full UK Driving Licence.
• Core Competencies: Proven ability to work independently, excellent problem-solving skills, and strong written and verbal communication skills.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience with biological treatment processes (e.g., activated sludge, MBR, MBBR, trickling filters) or specific industrial effluent treatment.
• Experience in the ECI/feasibility stage of water projects, including optioneering and solution development.
• Experience in mentoring and developing technical staff.