Senior Engineer – Highways & Drainage

Senior Engineer – Highways & Drainage

Shape the Future of Infrastructure Delivery. Tetra Tech RPS is seeking an experienced and motivated Senior Engineer to join our Highways and Civils team, based in either Newark or Birmingham, with hybrid working available. This role offers an excellent opportunity for a technically strong highways and drainage engineer who enjoys problem solving, working collaboratively, and contributing to the delivery of complex infrastructure projects across residential, commercial, industrial, and strategic development sectors.

As a Senior Engineer, you will contribute to the technical delivery of highways and drainage projects across a broad range of infrastructure schemes. You will be involved in all stages of design, from concept layouts and feasibility studies through to detailed design and technical approvals. The role requires strong analytical skills, practical engineering judgement, and the ability to deliver high‑quality design outputs under the guidance of senior technical leaders.

You will work closely with multidisciplinary teams, support the preparation of reports and design documentation, and help maintain a consistent level of technical excellence. Alongside your design responsibilities, you will mentor junior engineers and technicians, helping to build the capability and confidence of the wider team. You will also engage with clients and design partners, supporting the coordination and communication necessary to deliver successful project outcomes.

You will play an active role in the delivery of highways and drainage designs for development‑led infrastructure projects, including estate roads, junction improvements, access strategies, earthworks, drainage systems, You will support technical approval processes (S104, S278 and S38) with Water Authorities, and Local and National Highways Authorities, preparing submissions, responding to comments, and contributing to the approvals strategy. Your role will involve producing and reviewing technical drawings, models, assessments, and calculations, while supporting colleagues across Newark, Birmingham, London, and the wider Tetra Tech RPS infrastructure team.

You will be trusted to manage your own tasks independently, contributing to smaller projects and supporting the delivery of larger, more complex commissions. Your work will help ensure that technical quality, client expectations, and programme requirements are consistently achieved.

A solid grounding in highways and/or drainage engineering is essential for this role. You should have experience applying recognised design standards, including DMRB and local authority guidance, and be comfortable working with industry‑standard design tools such as AutoCAD, Civil 3D or PDS, and drainage modelling software including Flow. Experience in development‑led infrastructure design is highly beneficial, particularly on residential, commercial, or industrial schemes.

What matters most is your ability to apply strong engineering principles, develop technically sound solutions, and contribute positively to design discussions and decision making.

You will be expected to approach engineering challenges with clarity, initiative, and independence. The role requires strong analytical thinking and the ability to interpret constraints, assess risks, and develop practical, compliant solutions. You will support quality assurance processes, contribute to technical reviews, and help ensure that all outputs meet the required standards for accuracy, presentation, and technical robustness. Attention to detail and a commitment to delivering high‑quality work are essential.

As a Senior Engineer, you will contribute to the development of junior colleagues through day‑to‑day mentorship, technical guidance, and constructive support. You will help build capability within the team by providing direction on design approaches, sharing knowledge, and offering assistance as needed to ensure high‑quality outputs.

You will…