Senior / Principal Process Engineer

This Senior / Principal Process Engineer role in Bristol sits within the Water Sector, offering hybrid working and a salary of £50,000 to £80,000 per annum. The postholder will provide authoritative technical leadership across a portfolio of projects, ensuring treatment processes deliver optimum operational, environmental and commercial outcomes. Key duties include leading the development and delivery of complex process engineering solutions for water and wastewater treatment projects, and providing technical leadership and guidance across multidisciplinary engineering teams. The role also involves producing and reviewing process calculations, mass balances, process flow diagrams, P&IDs, technical reports and design documentation.

My Client is recruiting for a Senior / Principal Process Design Engineer in the Water Sector

Location - Multiple Locations in North and South of England with hybrid working

As a Senior / Principal Process Design Engineer, you will provide authoritative technical leadership across a portfolio of projects, ensuring treatment processes are designed to deliver optimum operational, environmental and commercial outcomes.

Working closely with Discipline Leads, Chief Engineers, Project Managers, clients and construction teams, you will develop robust process solutions from concept through to detailed design while maintaining excellence in technical governance and quality assurance.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development and delivery of complex process engineering solutions for water and wastewater treatment projects.
• Provide technical leadership and guidance across multidisciplinary engineering teams.
• Develop innovative, practical and risk-balanced treatment process solutions.
• Ensure designs are safe, sustainable, compliant and operationally efficient.
• Produce and review process calculations, mass balances, process flow diagrams (PFDs), P&IDs, technical reports and design documentation.
• Optimise treatment processes to achieve regulatory compliance, operational performance and whole-life cost efficiency.
• Support major project bids and contribute to successful project delivery strategies.
• Act as a technical reviewer and maintain high standards of engineering governance and quality assurance.
• Manage technical delivery from broad project briefs, balancing programme, cost, quality and resource requirements.
• Identify and manage technical risks, ensuring issues are proactively addressed.
• Work collaboratively with clients, regulators, operational teams, contractors and suppliers to deliver successful project outcomes.
• Mentor and develop engineers, supporting the growth of technical capability across the business.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement, innovation, safety and customer focus

About The Candidate:
You'll be an experienced Process Design Engineer with a strong understanding of water and wastewater treatment technologies and a proven ability to lead complex engineering projects.
Essential

• Degree qualified in Chemical Engineering, Process Engineering, Environmental Engineering or a related discipline.
• Significant experience delivering process engineering solutions within the UK water and wastewater sector.
• Strong understanding of water and sewage treatment principles, technologies and operations.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary engineering design projects.
• Ability to develop innovative and cost-effective treatment solutions to meet client and regulatory requirements.
• Experience producing and reviewing process calculations, hydraulic assessments, process flow diagrams and technical specifications.
• Good understanding of related engineering disciplines including civil, mechanical, electrical and ICA engineering.
• Strong technical judgement and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to present technical proposals clearly and confidently.
• Proven ability to manage multiple priorities while ensuring quality and programme commitments are achieved.
• Commitment to health and safety, quality and engineering excellence.

Desirable

• Chartered Engineer (CEng) status or working towards chartership.
• Experience acting as a technical reviewer, approver or signatory.
• Strong knowledge of UK water industry regulations, standards and treatment technologies.
• Experience mentoring or managing engineering teams.
• Established professional network within the water sector.
• Experience across both clean water and wastewater treatment projects.