Experienced civil engineers have an exciting opportunity to contribute to significant clean water and wastewater infrastructure projects around the United Kingdom by working as civil design engineers in Manchester. Civil Design Engineer, Senior Civil Design Engineer, Principal Civil Design Engineer, and Head of Civil Design are among the career levels at which Rullion is hiring civil engineers.
These positions, which are hybrid and based in the North West, offer the opportunity to collaborate with interdisciplinary engineering teams, design leads, and seasoned project managers. You will support initiatives that are crucial to communities and the UK’s water infrastructure while contributing to workable, secure, and superior engineering solutions.
Both permanent and contract positions are available, with contract positions being given outside of IR35. Depending on your expertise and level of seniority, you might concentrate on delivering technical designs or assume leadership roles in civil engineering, resource planning, technical assurance, and mentoring.
Details of Civil Design Engineer Job:
- Job Title: Civil Design Engineer Jobs in Manchester 2026 – Apply Now
- Employer: Rullion
- Location: Manchester Area, North West, UK
- Working Pattern: Hybrid, approximately 2–3 office days weekly
- Job Type: Permanent or Contract
- Contract Option: Outside IR35 available for applicable roles
- Industry: UK Water and Infrastructure
- Projects: Clean water and wastewater infrastructure
About Rullion:
Rullion is a workforce solutions and recruitment firm that helps businesses in a variety of industries, including infrastructure, engineering, utilities, and energy. Rullion is hiring engineers to support significant projects in the regulated UK water sector in order to take advantage of these prospects.
Available Civil Engineering Positions:
Candidates may be considered for several levels depending on their qualifications and professional experience:
- Civil Design Engineer
- Senior Civil Design Engineer
- Principal Civil Design Engineer
- Head of Civil Design
Civil Design Engineer:
Description:
Designs and develops civil engineering solutions for clean water and wastewater projects, preparing calculations, drawings, reports, and technical documentation.
Requirements
- Civil engineering degree, HND, or equivalent qualification.
- Around 5+ years of relevant design experience.
- Water-sector experience preferred.
- Knowledge of hydraulic calculations and engineering standards.
- Strong communication and teamwork skills.
Senior Civil Design Engineer:
Description:
Leads more complex civil design activities while supporting project delivery, technical reviews, client discussions, and junior engineer development.
Requirements
- Around 5+ years of regulated water-sector experience.
- Strong civil design and hydraulic calculation skills.
- Experience with clean water or wastewater projects.
- Knowledge of UK standards and CDM requirements.
- Professional engineering membership or chartership progress preferred.
Principal Civil Design Engineer:
Description:
Provides technical leadership across civil engineering projects, reviews designs, supports technical assurance, and guides multidisciplinary engineering teams.
Requirements:
- Around 10+ years of relevant water-sector experience.
- Chartered Engineer status.
- Strong technical leadership experience.
- Experience with outline and detailed design.
- Knowledge of water-company standards and governance.
Head of Civil Design:
Description:
Leads the civil engineering discipline, maintaining technical standards while overseeing design quality, team development, resource planning, and major project delivery.
Requirements:
- 10+ years of regulated water-sector experience.
- Chartered Engineer status.
- Proven civil engineering leadership experience.
- Strong multidisciplinary team-management skills.
- Experience with technical assurance, governance, and resource planning.
- Full UK driver’s license where required.
The level offered will depend on your technical background, water-sector experience, leadership capability, and professional qualifications.
Responsibilities for Civil Design Engineer Jobs in Manchester:
Your duties as a Senior Civil Design Engineer or Civil Design Engineer could involve:
- creating superior civil engineering designs for wastewater and clean water projects.
- creating technical reports, specifications, engineering calculations, drawings, and design risk assessments.
- completing hydraulic calculations and creating hydraulic profiles.
- creating solutions in compliance with water-company specifications, CDM rules, and pertinent UK standards.
- creating workable and economical engineering solutions based on site data and client specifications.
- examining design modifications to make sure they are appropriately recorded and managed.
- assisting projects in meeting budgetary, program, quality, and safety standards.
- helping with resource projection, engineering hour estimation, and design planning.
- taking part in customer meetings, design reviews, and technical workshops.
- collaborating with engineering disciplines such as process, mechanical, electrical, and civil.
- assisting and guiding engineers, CAD technicians, and recent graduates.
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Principal Civil Design Engineer and Head of Civil Design:
Senior applicants will have additional technical and leadership responsibilities. These may include:
- serving as a technical authority for projects involving civil engineering.
- overseeing the delivery of civil designs for engineering frameworks and projects.
- examining and approving design risk assessments, reports, specifications, and technical designs.
- upholding strict criteria for technical assurance, governance, and engineering excellence.
- promoting the concepts of safety in design and carrying out pertinent CDM 2015 designer duties.
- evaluating technological proficiency and assisting engineering teams in their professional growth.
- directing technical assessments and, if necessary, setting up independent design verification.
- supporting project planning, resource forecasting, design estimates, and tenders.
- Effective multidisciplinary project delivery is achieved thru coordination with other disciplines.
- enhancing design methods, technical standards, engineering procedures, and governance.
Candidate Requirements:
Civil Design Engineer and Senior Civil Design Engineer:
Applicants should ideally have:
- Around 5 or more years of civil engineering design experience within the regulated water sector.
- Experience working on clean water and/or wastewater projects.
- A strong understanding of civil engineering design principles and relevant industry standards.
- Experience preparing hydraulic calculations and hydraulic profiles.
- Knowledge of engineering drawings, construction methods, and materials.
- A degree, HND, or equivalent engineering qualification.
- Membership of a relevant professional engineering institution or progress toward professional registration.
- Strong communication, teamwork, and stakeholder-management skills.
Principal Civil Design Engineer and Head of Civil Design:
For senior leadership positions, employers are looking for candidates with:
- Chartered Engineer status or an equivalent professional qualification.
- Around 10 or more years of relevant civil engineering design experience within the regulated water sector.
- Significant experience leading civil engineering or multidisciplinary design teams.
- Demonstrable technical leadership within the UK water industry.
- Experience working across infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects.
- Experience covering both outline and detailed design stages.
- Strong knowledge of water-company standards and technical governance.
- Experience mentoring engineers, graduates, and CAD technicians.
- The ability to review complex engineering designs and maintain strong technical standards.
- Experience with resource planning, competency development, and technical assurance.
- A full UK driving licence where required for the position.
Work Location and Working Pattern:
Manchester is one of the recruitment locations for these Civil Design Engineer positions, which are located in the North West of England. Depending on project and business needs, the positions allow for hybrid work, with two to three days a week required in the office.
Contract Options:
The opportunities may be available as:
- Permanent: Suitable for professionals seeking long-term career development, progression, and ongoing involvement in major water infrastructure programmes.
- Contract: Outside IR35 opportunities may be available for suitably qualified contractors, subject to the specific assignment and engagement terms.
Benefits of Civil Design Engineer Job:
- Competitive Career Opportunities: Civil Design Engineer jobs in Manchester can provide competitive salaries, progression opportunities, and pathways from engineering roles into senior technical and discipline leadership positions.
- Major Water Infrastructure Projects: Engineers can contribute to important clean water and wastewater projects that support communities while gaining valuable experience across complex UK infrastructure programmes.
- Professional Development: These roles can offer opportunities to strengthen technical expertise, develop leadership capabilities, work toward professional qualifications, and build experience relevant to Chartered Engineer progression.
- Hybrid Working Flexibility: Hybrid arrangements with approximately two to three office days per week can provide a practical balance between collaborative engineering work and flexibility when project requirements allow.
- Technical and Leadership Growth: Experienced engineers can take responsibility for design reviews, technical assurance, mentoring, multidisciplinary coordination, and engineering standards, creating opportunities for meaningful professional growth.
- Long-Term Industry Experience: Working within the regulated UK water sector can help engineers develop specialist knowledge of civil design, hydraulic calculations, CDM requirements, technical governance, and major infrastructure delivery.
Salary:
Depending on experience and credentials, the average annual income for positions as a civil design engineer in Manchester is between £40,000 and £55,000. Principal engineers and heads of civil design can command between £65,000 and £85,000+ per year, while senior civil design engineers may make between £50,000 and £65,000. Depending on their seniority and the demands of the project, contract professionals may be paid attractive daily rates. Before applying, you should confirm the exact salary for this position with Rullion.
Why Consider These Civil Design Engineer Jobs?
These positions can be particularly attractive to civil engineers who want their work to have a practical impact. Water infrastructure supports homes, businesses, communities, and the environment every day, making projects in this sector both technically challenging and socially important.
For engineers who enjoy solving real-world problems, the role offers exposure to complex design work, multidisciplinary collaboration, client interaction, and major infrastructure programmes. More experienced professionals can also influence engineering standards, mentor developing engineers, and help shape the delivery of future water projects across the UK.
The combination of technical responsibility, professional development, hybrid working, and opportunities across different career levels makes these roles suitable for engineers looking to strengthen their expertise or move toward senior technical leadership.
Application Process for Civil Design Engineer Jobs in Manchester 2026
Interested candidates should review the current vacancy requirements carefully and submit an up-to-date CV highlighting relevant civil engineering and regulated water-sector experience.
Your application should clearly demonstrate:
- Civil engineering design experience.
- Clean water or wastewater project experience.
- Hydraulic design and calculation experience where applicable.
- Relevant engineering qualifications.
- Professional membership or Chartered status where applicable.
- Technical leadership experience for Principal or Head-level positions.
- Experience with UK water-company standards and CDM requirements.
- Availability for the stated permanent or contract arrangement.
Candidates whose experience matches the requirements may be contacted by the recruitment team to discuss the position, project requirements, technical background, and next steps.
Conclusion:
Jobs for civil design engineers in Manchester offer the chance to develop a fulfilling engineering career while supporting vital water infrastructure throughout the United Kingdom. These opportunities give you the chance to create a long-lasting impact, regardless of whether you are advancing in your professional career as a Civil Design Engineer, becoming a senior or principal, or being prepared to manage a civil engineering field.
This could be a worthwhile next step in your career if you appreciate developing safe, useful, and technically sound engineering solutions and have solid experience in the regulated water sector. Examine the job specifications in detail and submit a CV that displays your project experience and pertinent abilities.
Can experienced engineers progress into senior leadership positions?
Yes, experienced engineers can progress toward Senior, Principal, or Head of Civil Design positions. Career advancement typically depends on technical expertise, project experience, professional qualifications, leadership ability, mentoring experience, technical assurance responsibilities, and successful multidisciplinary project delivery.
Are permanent and contract engineering positions available?
The advertised opportunity includes both permanent and contract options, with applicable contract positions offered outside IR35. Availability depends on current project requirements, candidate experience, and employer needs. Applicants should confirm contract duration, day rates, employment terms, and benefits.
Does this Manchester vacancy offer visa sponsorship?
The supplied vacancy information does not confirm visa sponsorship for international applicants. Candidates requiring UK work authorization should contact the recruiter directly to determine whether sponsorship is available for the specific position before submitting an application.
