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Principal Geotechnical Engineer

Glasgow, GB; Edinburgh, GB; Norwich, GB

Early career friendly - 83%
Great office - 81%
Faith friendly - 81%
10

/10

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Ranking
10

/10

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Senior Civil Engineer

Newport, GB; Leeds, GB

16 Dec 2025

Early career friendly - 83%
Great office - 81%
Faith friendly - 81%
10

/10

Transparency
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Senior Geotechnical Engineer

£126,000 – £155,000 per annum

Toronto, ON, CA

Early career friendly - 83%
Great office - 81%
Faith friendly - 81%
10

/10

Transparency
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Principal Geotechnical Engineer

Noida, UP, IN; Bengaluru, KA, IN

11 Feb

Early career friendly - 83%
Great office - 81%
Faith friendly - 81%
10

/10

Transparency
Ranking

Job Description

Mott MacDonald

We’re a global engineering, management, and development consultancy.
Our purpose is to improve society by considering social outcomes in everything we do, relentlessly focusing on excellence and digital innovation, transforming our clients’ businesses, our communities and employee opportunities.

A fundamental part of this is respecting each person’s differences and striving to meet their needs.

We are proud to be a one of Glassdoor’s top employers to work for in the UK, as well as being recognised as a Top Inclusive Company in the UK.

Our values: Progress, Respect, Integrity, Drive, Excellence.

Position Locations; Cambridge & Leeds UK

Recruiter: Nicola Coyle

About the division

The Water Consultancy Division is Mott MacDonald’s centre of excellence for responding to water and wastewater challenges, offering fantastic opportunities to get involved in diverse and technically challenging work. The work we do is at the forefront of ensuring safe water supplies for future generations and protecting our environment. Our multi-disciplinary teams provide a variety of services throughout the full project life cycle, from advisory services and feasibility studies, through outline and detailed design, to construction support and site supervision.

Ready for your next challenge? We're a company that actively fuels the creativity of our people. We create the right foundations to bring brain and soul together and we understand that careers take many forms. We've had enormous success in the AMP8 frameworks, and we know that variety is key to job satisfaction. We use our success to help our people learn through new challenges. So take the next step in your career, with a company focused on supporting the development of our people through defined technical career pathways and supporting creativity with global and local mentors. You have the skills, now use them at Mott MacDonald, a company that values a different perspective. If water's the new gold - shift your career and help address our planet's needs.

Job Description

As a Senior Geotechnical Engineer, you will be responsible for:

  • Developing design solutions, and associated deliverables, drawing on a range of geotechnical skills, including:
  • Foundation, slope, earthwork, and retaining wall design; notably working alongside structural engineers to design structures involving complex soil-structure interaction.
  • Geotechnics in the context of dam and reservoir engineering.
  • Geotechnical risk management through desk studies, site investigation, geotechnical data management, and ground modelling.
  • Supervising the work of more junior staff and providing technical and professional guidance to aid their development.
  • Delivery of packages of design work, requiring collaboration with external and internal stakeholders, quality control, management of inputs from other team members, and travel to project sites when necessary.
  • Advancing the team’s capability by advancing technical excellence and digital innovation.
  • You may also be involved in project commercial management, and proposal delivery.
  • You will be able to express the contribution of your work in the context of social outcomes.

For your longer-term career development, we can offer a number of paths, including technical leadership, staff resource management, and client engagement.

The position can be offered on either a full-time or a part-time basis. We operate an agile working policy with the expectation that around 50% of your time will be spent in the offices stated above, fluctuating as required to suit business and individual needs.

Candidate Specification
You will likely have:

  • A strong academic background, with a Masters level degree in Civil Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, or Engineering Geology
  • Chartered status with a relevant professional body (for example the ICE)
  • Experience in developing innovative geotechnical engineering solutions to current design standards; with experience in the water sector in general, and dam engineering in particular an advantage.
  • Capability with foundation, slope, and retaining wall design software; with numerical modelling software experience, and coding capability an advantage.
  • Experience of the implementation or construction of design solutions on construction sites.
  • Effective communication, interpersonal, and teamwork skills; able to collaborate effectively with all levels of staff and clients and nurture the development of junior staff.
  • Ability and enthusiasm for supervising the work of others, including check and approval of key deliverables.
  • Have gained project management skills and demonstrable technical lead and collaborative capabilities.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion

We put equality, diversity, and inclusion at the heart of our business, seeking to promote fair employment procedures and practices to ensure equal opportunities for all. We encourage individual expression in our workplace and are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone feels they can contribute.

UK Immigration

Mott MacDonald Ltd. are not currently offering sponsorship to candidates under the Skilled Worker visa route in the UK. This decision is as a consequence of the changes made to the Skilled Worker route by the UK Government in April 2024. We continue to welcome applications from candidates who are eligible for alternative immigration routes in the UK, that do not require sponsorship as a Skilled Worker now or in future.

Accessibility

We want you to perform your best at every stage in the recruitment process. If you are disabled or need any support to enable you to apply or attend an interview, please contact us at reasonable.adjustments@mottmac.com and we will talk to you about how we can support you.

Agile working

Happy to talk Flexible Working and how we can support your responsibilities beyond the workplace.

We offer some fantastic benefits including:

Health and wellbeing

  • Private medical insurance for all UK colleagues.
  • Health cash plan to support you with every day health costs and treatments.
  • Access to Peppy, providing free support from menopause experts for all UK colleagues.
  • A variety of wellbeing support is available through our comprehensive wellbeing program, including access for you and your family.
  • Ability to flex your salary to opt into a wide range of health benefits, many of which can be extended to your family too.

Financial wellbeing

  • We match employee pension contributions between 4.5% and 7%.
  • Life assurance equal up to 4 x your basic salary, with an option to increase the level of cover to 6 x your salary.
  • Our income protection scheme provides a financial benefit, as well as absence and return to work support due to long-term illness or injury.
  • Flexible benefits, including increased life assurance cover, critical illness insurance, payroll saving and will writing.
  • As an independently owned business we share the financial success of the business with all our colleagues in various ways including annual bonus schemes.

Lifestyle

  • A minimum of 33-35 days holiday each year, inclusive of public holidays and dependent on level, with the ability to buy or sell leave through our flexible benefits programme.
  • Holiday entitlement increased to a minimum of 35 days after 5 years’ service.
  • Variety of employee saving schemes and discounts from high-street retailers.

Enhanced family and carers leave

  • Enhanced family leave policies, including 26 weeks paid maternity and adoption leave, and two weeks paid paternity/partner leave.
  • Our shared parental leave matches maternity leave meaning we pay up to 24 weeks at full pay.
  • Up to five additional days leave are provided for those with significant caring responsibilities, two of which are paid.

Learning and development

  • Primary annual professional institution subscription.
  • A broad range of opportunities to enhance both technical and soft skills through mentoring, formal training, and self-development options.

Networks, communities, and social outcomes

  • Join a wide range of groups including our Advanced Employee Networks which support our LGBTQ+, gender, race and ethnicity, disability, and parents/carers communities.
  • Make a difference within our communities through our social outcomes.

Apply now, or for more information about our application process, click here.

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Company benefits

Accrued annual leave
Adoption leave – 26 weeks full pay
Annual bonus
Annual pay rises
Bank holiday swaps
Bike parking
Book swaps
Buddy scheme
Buy or sell annual leave
Carer’s leave – up to 5 days, two of which are paid
Compassionate leave
Critical Illness Insurance
Cycle to work scheme
Dental coverage
Employee assistance programme
Employee discounts
Enhanced maternity leave – 26 weeks full pay
Enhanced paternity leave – 2 weeks
Enhanced pension match/contribution – matched up to 7%
Enhanced sick pay
Ergonomic workstations
Eye Care Support – Eyecare vouchers
Faith rooms
Fully stocked snack cupboard
Further education support
Health assessment
In house training
Income protection
L&D budget
Learning platform
Life assurance
Life insurance – 4 x salary
Lunch and learns
Meditation space
Meditation space
Mentoring
Modern office
On-site shower
On-site yoga classes
Open to part time work for some roles
Open to part-time employees
Pregnancy loss leave
Pregnancy support
Private booths
Private GP service – Private Medical care for all UK staff
Professional subscriptions – We pay for your primary professional annual subscription
Referral bonus
Religious celebration leave
Reservist leave – 10 days leave
Returnship
Salary sacrifice
Share options
Shared parental leave – We match up to 24 weeks full pay
Study support
Tax-free childcare
Teambuilding days
Theme park discounts
Travel loan
Women’s health leave
Menopause support

Working at Mott MacDonald

Company employees:

18,000 worldwide

Gender diversity (m:f:n-b):

0:35:65

Hiring in countries

Australia

Bulgaria

Canada

Czechia

France

Germany

Hong Kong

India

Indonesia

Ireland

Italy

Japan

Malaysia

New Zealand

Saudi Arabia

Serbia

Singapore

South Korea

Spain

Taiwan

Thailand

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

United States

Office Locations

Awards & Accreditations

2nd – Career Progression

2nd – Career Progression

Flexa awards 2025
3rd – Family Friendly

3rd – Family Friendly

Flexa awards 2025
Flexible

Flexible

Flexa awards 2025
Work-Life Balance

Work-Life Balance

Flexa awards 2025
Culture

Culture

Flexa awards 2025