Principal Environmental Engineer

Principal Environmental Engineer – Major Projects (Thames Water)
Join Thames Water’s Major Projects team and play a pivotal role in delivering a £4.5 billion investment programme through to 2030. As the Lead for Environmental Engineering, you’ll be at the forefront of shaping sustainable infrastructure and driving environmental excellence across our AMP8 ambitions and beyond.

In this key leadership role, you’ll guide a team to identify environmental risks and opportunities throughout the project lifecycle, ensure regulatory compliance, and champion continuous improvement across standards and processes. You’ll collaborate with other senior engineers and stakeholders to advance the discipline and embed environmental best practices into every stage of delivery.

If you're passionate about making a lasting environmental impact and ready to lead at scale, we want to hear from you.

What you’ll be doing as a Principal Environmental Engineer

• Lead excellence in the Environmental Engineering discipline for Thames Water.
• Managing and developing a team of environmental professionals
• Lead the environmental team to procure required environmental services.
• Lead provision of advice and guidance on compliance with environmental-based regulatory requirements.
• Champion continuous improvements for Environmental Engineering.
• Support development of a cohesive, sustainable Environmental Engineering structure from apprentice/graduate to industry experts that leads Thames Water’s Engineering requirements into AMP8 and beyond.
• Builds and maintains strong relationships with consultants’ and contractors’ environmental leads.

Hybrid based at Clearwater Court, Reading

As part of this role, you will be required to be on-site or in the office up to 3 days a week, as the business requires.

36 hours a week - Monday to Friday.

Successful candidates should hold a valid driving licence and have access to personal transportation – this role does come with a £5,800 annual car allowance.

What you should bring to the role

• Understanding of the regulatory environment and awareness of forthcoming legislation, to achieve compliance with our environmental regulatory requirements.
• Excellent leadership and communication skills, both internally and externally
• Sensitivity to commercial and contractual implications of environmental decisions.
• Collaborative and the ability to influence senior colleagues.
• Degree level or equivalent in an appropriate Environmental / Sustainability discipline and a member of a relevant professional body, either chartered or actively working towards chartership.
• A passion for continuous professional development and a collaborative approach to driving diversity within Engineering at Thames Water.

What’s in it for you?

• Competitive salary from £57,090 to £80,000 per annum, depending on the skills and experience of the successful candidate.
• This role will come with a car allowance of £5,800.
• 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service (plus bank holidays).
• Annual Bonus.
• Private Medical Health Care.
• Contributory pension – Defined Contribution - Maximum of 12% - 2x employee contribution.
• Personal Medical Assessments – Open to all once a year.
• Wider benefits scheme including our benefits hub, which is packed full of offers and information to save you money and support your wellbeing.

Find out more about our benefits and perks

Who are we?
We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Learn more about our purpose and values

Working at Thames Water
Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy fast-tracked career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

Whether you’re interested in a role in one of our call centres or science labs, we’re looking for people like you with real passion and a burning desire to make things better.

So, if you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

Our overarching aim is to ensure that Thames Water is great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and offer extra support for those who need it throughout the recruitment process. Our aim is to remove any real or perceived barriers to success, so if you need assistance, we’re here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.