Associate Director (Drainage Design)

Associate Director - Drainage Design EngineerUK Wide (Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Glasgow, London, Bristol) | Hybrid | Major Infrastructure and Development Projects Up to £85,000 + Car Allowance (c. £5,500) + Discretionary Bonus + 10% Pension

Ready to lead nationally significant drainage projects while helping shape the future of a growing technical team?A leading engineering consultancy is looking for an Associate Director Drainage Engineer to play a key role in delivering major highways, rail, water and development schemes across the UK. You'll join a nationally recognised team working on some of the country's most complex infrastructure programmes, combining technical excellence with cutting-edge digital delivery.

You'll provide technical leadership across multidisciplinary projects, taking ownership of drainage design delivery from concept through to construction, while helping grow capability, develop talent and strengthen client relationships.

Key Responsibilities

Lead drainage design for highways, development and SuDS projects
Act as Technical Lead on major multidisciplinary schemes
Oversee and assure drainage models, calculations and design outputs
Manage project delivery, programme performance and budgets
Champion digital engineering and BIM-integrated design
Support and mentor engineers, graduates and technicians
Lead and review work delivered by international design teams
Build strong client and stakeholder relationships
Support bids, fee proposals, quality submissions and risk reviews
Drive the growth and development of the drainage discipline
You'll likely have:

Extensive experience in drainage design, including highways and development projects
Strong knowledge of SuDS, drainage approvals and design standards
Experience leading multidisciplinary project teams
Technical assurance and design review expertise
Client-facing, project management and business development skills
Experience mentoring and developing engineers
Degree qualification and professional accreditation (or equivalent)
Why Join?

✅ High-profile infrastructure projects✅ Genuine technical leadership role✅ Strong pipeline of long-term work✅ Hybrid and flexible working✅ Clear progression and influence within the business✅ Opportunity to shape the future of a national drainage practice
If you're looking for a role that combines technical leadership, project delivery and team development, we'd love to hear from you.

What you need to do now
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