Job Title: Principal Mechanical Design Engineer

Location: Reading

Hours: 36 hours per week (Hybrid working available)

Salary: £80,000 DOE

Car allowance: £5,800 per annum

First Off - What’s in it for you?

The Principal Mechanical Design Engineer will benefit from a strong package and clear progression within a technically influential environment:

• £80,000 basic salary DOE
• £5,800 car allowance
• Annual performance-related bonus
• 26 days annual leave (rising with service) plus bank holidays
• Private medical cover and wellbeing support
• Life assurance and employee assistance programme
• Professional membership and chartership support
• Opportunity for the Principal Mechanical Design Engineer to influence engineering standards across major UK water programmes

Now - The Role

This Principal Mechanical Design Engineer role offers an opportunity to take a leading technical authority position within a specialist engineering function supporting major UK water and wastewater infrastructure programmes.

The position is focused on engineering governance, design assurance, and the application of industry standards, with a strong emphasis on WIMES compliance, technical approval, and consistency across mechanical design outputs. The Principal Mechanical Design Engineer will play a key role in shaping standards and ensuring robust engineering delivery across sludge treatment, digestion, and related process systems.

Role Responsibilities

Key responsibilities include:

• Checking, reviewing, and formally approving mechanical design deliverables
• Acting as technical authority for mechanical engineering within regulated water environments
• Ensuring compliance with WIMES standards, UK regulations, and client specifications
• Developing and maintaining industry-wide mechanical design standards and practices
• Providing engineering governance and assurance across project lifecycle stages
• Leading technical input into:
• Sludge treatment and digestion systems
• Biogas and CHP infrastructure
• Pumping stations and pipework networks
• Water and wastewater process equipment
• Supporting consistency and standardisation of engineering outputs across teams
• Mentoring and guiding engineers to improve technical quality and compliance

Experience & Qualifications

The Principal Mechanical Design Engineer should demonstrate the following:

• Degree-qualified in Mechanical Engineering (or equivalent)
• Chartered Engineer status (or working towards)
• Strong background in UK water and wastewater engineering environments
• Proven experience with WIMES standards and regulated design frameworks
• Experience in sludge digestion, biogas, CHP, or wastewater treatment systems
• Demonstrable experience in design review, checking, and approval responsibilities
• Strong understanding of engineering governance, compliance, and technical assurance

Interested?

If you are an experienced Principal Mechanical Design Engineer looking to operate as a true technical authority—driving standards, approving critical engineering outputs, and shaping delivery across major water infrastructure programmes—please apply to find out more.