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.

Purpose & Scope of the Role
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 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.

Your Impact in this Position
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 and earthworks. You will support technical approval processes (S104, S278 and S38) with Water Authorities, Local and National Highways Authorities, preparing submissions, responding to comments and contributing to the approvals strategy.

In this role you will produce and review 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.

Technical Competence
A solid grounding in highways and/or drainage engineering is essential. 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 such as 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.

Problem Solving & Quality Assurance
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.

Mentorship, Support & Technical Review
As a Senior Engineer you will contribute to the development of junior colleagues through day‑to‑day mentorship, technical guidance and constructive support. A key part of your role will be the review of technical reports, drawings, models and design documentation, checking design work for accuracy, compliance and clarity to maintain consistent technical standards across the team.

Client Engagement & Communication
You will engage directly with clients, design partners and approval authorities, supporting the communication…