Senior Mechanical Engineer

Job Description

Job Purpose

We’re looking for an experienced and forward‑thinking Senior Mechanical Engineer to join our established Engineering Team at our Lingley Mere head office in Warrington. If you’re ready to take on complex engineering challenges, influence major capital projects, and help shape the standards that keep essential services running for millions of people, this is your opportunity.

This is a hybrid role, giving you the flexibility to balance home and office working while being part of a collaborative, supportive engineering community.

Why this role matters

As a Senior Engineer, you’ll play a key role in delivering safe, reliable and efficient mechanical engineering solutions across our entire asset base. You’ll work closely with colleagues across multiple disciplines, internal clients and external partners, providing technical leadership, design expertise and operational insight.

You’ll be at the heart of projects that protect public health, support environmental sustainability and keep the North West flowing — from early‑stage design through to operational support.

And while experience in the water sector is beneficial, it’s absolutely not essential. We welcome mechanical engineers from industries such as energy, manufacturing, chemicals, defence, FMCG, utilities and beyond. If you bring strong engineering fundamentals and a passion for solving real‑world problems, we’ll help you build the sector knowledge you need.

What you'll be doing

• Leading and delivering a wide range of mechanical engineering activities across capital projects and operational support
• Producing and reviewing design requirements, specifications, drawings and technical documentation
• Translating operational and strategic needs into practical, deliverable engineering solutions
• Acting as a Subject Matter Expert within your discipline, maintaining and developing mechanical engineering standards
• Providing technical assurance and guidance to internal teams and partner organisations
• Supporting investigations, studies and feasibility assessments across the asset lifecycle
• Ensuring all engineering outputs meet legislation, best practice and UU technical standards
• Collaborating closely with other engineering disciplines, project teams and operational colleagues
• Leading, mentoring and developing engineers within the team
• Championing safety and compliance throughout the full project lifecycle

What you’ll bring

We’re looking for a confident, capable engineer with strong technical grounding and the ability to influence, collaborate and lead.

You’ll need:

• Incorporated Engineer (IEng) status with the IMechE (or equivalent) — essential
• Chartered Engineer (CEng) status — highly desirable, and we’ll support you if you’re working towards it
• Strong mechanical engineering expertise, ideally with experience delivering capital or strategic projects
• Experience providing operational support or engineering assurance in any relevant sector
• Excellent understanding of UK and international engineering standards, legislation and health & safety requirements
• Familiarity with mechanical assets used in process‑driven industries (water experience is a bonus, not a requirement)
• Strong communication, leadership and stakeholder engagement skills
• A full UK driving licence

Why join us

At United Utilities, you’ll be part of a FTSE 100 organisation with a clear purpose: delivering great water for a stronger, greener and healthier North West. You’ll work on meaningful engineering challenges, develop your expertise, and be part of a team that values innovation, collaboration and continuous improvement.

You’ll also benefit from:

• Competitive Salary
• 10.5% Annual Bonus
• Up to 21% pension
• Private Healthcare
• Hybrid working
• Industry‑leading training and development
• Professional accreditation support (including CEng)
• A supportive engineering community with real opportunities to grow