Principal Mechanical Engineer

Join the @one Alliance – a collaborative partnership of eight industry‑leading companies (Anglian Water, Balfour Beatty, Barhale, Binnies, MMB, MWH Treatment, Skanska, and SWECO) delivering over half of Anglian Water’s capital investment programme. As we prepare for the challenges and opportunities of AMP8, we’re looking for talented individuals to help us shape the future of water infrastructure.

At Anglian Water, we’re Always Exploring – ensuring we remain competitive, attractive, and rewarding for both existing and prospective employees. By Doing The Right Thing , we’re committed to recognising and rewarding our people fairly and transparently, while Building Trust through a culture that prioritises health, safety, and wellbeing.

Your Purpose

As a Principal Mechanical Engineer within one of our four business units, you’ll be at the forefront of designing and delivering innovative water solutions. You’ll lead technical delivery, drive sustainable and cost-effective design decisions, and guide junior engineers to deliver work that’s safe, future-proof, and built to last.

What You’ll Be Doing

Lead and review mechanical designs to ensure compliance, safety, and performance excellence.

Collaborate with stakeholders to deliver projects on time, within budget, and to high quality standards.

Promote the use of digital tools and modular construction techniques.

Drive Health & Safety by design, identifying improvements and reducing whole-life costs.

Champion sustainability, carbon reduction, and innovation across the design lifecycle.

Mentor junior engineers and create a culture of technical excellence and continuous learning.

Work closely with project and engineering leaders, contributing to strategic decisions.

About You

You will ideally have:

A degree in Mechanical Engineering (or related discipline).

Preferably chartered, or working towards chartered status.

Proven experience in mechanical design—ideally in the water sector or similar complex infrastructure environment.

Strong understanding of industry standards, health and safety legislation, and construction principles.

Leadership experience with a passion for coaching, mentoring and developing others.

Proficiency in CAD and engineering software.

Confident decision-maker, with a collaborative mindset and strong communication skills

Depending on your skills, experience, and interests, you could be aligned to one of our four business units:

Place Based Thinking

The Place Based Thinking team delivers some of the largest and most complex projects across the @one Alliance. Made up of six Senior Project Manager teams, we oversee 19 catchments, covering key sites such as Whitlingham, Flag Fen, Great Billing, Cotton Valley, Bedford, Colchester, and Ipswich Cliff Quays. These projects involve managing all parts of the network from rising and gravity mains, pumping stations, high spilling overflows, and water recycling centres.

Water

The Water Business Unit provides strategic support across the clean water network, covering both system performance and infrastructure planning. We assess the future hydraulic state of the network in response to population growth and increased demand, support the design and delivery of capital and infrastructure schemes to ensure hydraulic resilience, and work with optimisation teams to enhance overall network efficiency.

Water Recycling (East and West)

Our Water Recycling Business Unit, split into East and West regions, is responsible for the collection, conveyance, and treatment of wastewater across an extensive network. We operate over 76,000 km of sewerage infrastructure and 1,163 treatment centres, ensuring safe and sustainable discharge to the environment while driving innovation and environmental performance.

Why Join Us?

This is a fantastic opportunity to work with one of the UK’s most successful capital delivery alliances. You’ll have the chance to contribute to cutting‑edge projects that shape the future of water infrastructure, working alongside a team of experts across various disciplines. We offer a culture that values innovation, continuous learning, and professional growth, with a focus on delivering sustainable solutions that make a positive environmental impact.

At Anglian Water's @one Alliance, we believe in being Safer Every Day

Safety is at the heart of everything we do. Being Safer Every Day means making positive choices, moment by moment, to protect ourselves and those around us. We create a culture where health, safety and wellbeing come first.

Together, we will be the change

Please note - internally this role is recognised as a Senior Mechanical Engineer