Balfour Beatty plc
Senior Design and Engineering Manager
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About The Role
We are seeking an experienced and driven Senior Design and Engineering Manager to lead the integration, management, and assurance of design solutions across the full project lifecycle—from concept through construction to handover. This is a pivotal role working at the heart of delivery, collaborating with commercial, engineering, production, and asset stakeholders to ensure that all design outputs are coordinated, compliant, and buildable.
You will play a critical leadership role in ensuring that designs not only meet statutory and contractual requirements but are also optimised for safe construction, efficient delivery, and long-term asset performance. Acting as the focal point for design assurance and integration, you will guide multidisciplinary teams, manage technical risk, and provide confidence that the solution is robust, mature, and ready for delivery at every stage.
This role offers the opportunity to shape complex infrastructure projects by embedding best practice in design management, progressive assurance, digital engineering, and value-driven decision-making—ensuring excellence from concept through to operational handover.
What you'll be doing
As a Senior Design and Engineering Manager, you will be tasked with leading the development, coordination, and delivery of integrated design solutions in line with Employer’s Requirements, programme, and budget. Manage multidisciplinary teams, including consultants, subcontractors, and specialists, ensuring clear scope definition, effective interface management, and timely delivery. Provide leadership on constructability, sequencing, temporary works, and commissioning considerations to ensure designs are practical and efficient.
Ensure all design outputs comply with relevant standards, legislation, and governance requirements. Lead design and technical reviews, maintaining control of the technical baseline and managing change through formal processes. Identify and mitigate technical risks, supporting safety and assurance forums to embed quality, safety, and buildability throughout design development.
Progressive Assurance & Design Maturity
Define and implement a Design Maturity Roadmap aligned with project stages and delivery strategy. Lead risk-based assurance activities, focusing on complex or high-risk areas. Monitor and report on design maturity and confidence, ensuring assumptions, dependencies, and residual risks are clearly understood to support informed decision-making and readiness for construction and procurement.
Programme, Information & BIM
Manage the design deliverables programme, ensuring alignment with construction sequencing and commissioning needs. Oversee the production and coordination of design information, models, and documentation in line with contractual and BIM requirements, promoting collaborative working and effective information management.
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Digital Model Maturity (3D & 5D)
Drive the development of coordinated and reliable digital models to support design integration, clash avoidance, construction planning, cost forecasting, and risk management. Collaborate with planning, BIM, and commercial teams to ensure model outputs are robust and suitable for procurement, cost control, and change management.
Construction Phase Support
Provide technical leadership during construction, ensuring design intent is maintained and issues such as RFIs and non-conformances are resolved efficiently. Manage design changes through appropriate assurance and approval processes, and liaise with statutory authorities as required.
Handover & Close-Out
Ensure design outputs enable effective commissioning, handover, and transition to operations. Oversee the delivery and assurance of as-built information and documentation, while capturing lessons learned and promoting continuous improvement.
Wider Project Integration & Leadership
Support client engagement by clearly communicating design maturity, risks, and confidence levels. Align design assurance with commercial, procurement, and risk strategies to strengthen project outcomes. Lead value engineering initiatives to optimise safety, cost, and whole-life performance, while championing a strong culture of safety, collaboration, and continuous improvement
Who we're looking for
Proven experience delivering design management and technical assurance on complex infrastructure projects. Strong leadership capability within a matrix organisation, managing multiple stakeholders and interfaces under programme pressure. Clear understanding of “what good looks like” in design maturity, assurance, and handover readiness. Good working knowledge of BIM and modern procurement routes. Relevant professional membership (e.g. RIBA, CIBSE, IET or equivalent). Valid CSCS card. Strong IT capability; Microsoft Office essential. Detailed knowledge of applicable standards, codes of practice, and regulatory requirements. Strong numeracy, reporting, and technical communication skills.
Why work for us
Day in, day out, our teams deliver some of the UK’s most ambitious, exciting and meaningful projects; developing, building and maintaining the vital infrastructure that supports national economies and strengthens communities.
Why join us?
Benefits
As if contributing to and supporting work that makes life better for millions wasn’t rewarding enough, we offer a full range of benefits too. You’ll have the freedom to shape the package that’s right for you and your life. Here are some of our key benefits:
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Smart working, giving you more flexibility such as staggered start and finish times, with up to 40% remote working, where roles allow. 25 days paid annual leave (pro rata) Family friendly policies which include 28 weeks full pay for maternity/adoption leave and four weeks full pay for paternity/partners leave Pension, share incentive plan, volunteering leave, recognition schemes and much more…
About Us
Balfour Beatty’s Highways business delivers major schemes including motorway upgrade programmes, complex national infrastructure projects and regional investment programme works for National Highways. We have a strong orderbook and a positive pipeline of opportunities, we put the road user, at the heart of everything we do. We work safely, reduce carbon emissions and added social value to the communities within which we work.
Diversity and inclusion
At Balfour Beatty we believe that diversity and inclusion are essential components of any successful, happy workplace. Through our Value Everyone Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan, we are growing our diverse workforce and developing our inclusive culture where everyone is able to thrive and reach their full potential, regardless of their identity or background. To find out how we are making this a reality, visit www.balfourbeatty.com/diversityandinclusion
To help and support us with our desired commitment to create an inclusive culture we are members of WISE, enei, Business Disability Forum and the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE). In 2020, we signed the Audeliss and Involve Open Letter to demonstrate our commitment to taking key long term and sustainable actions on Black Inclusion. Balfour Beatty is also a Gold Award holder in the Ministry of Defence 'Employer Recognition Scheme' and actively encourage applications from Armed Forces personnel, veterans and reservists.
As a Disability Confident Employer, we are committed to working with people who have disabilities and long-term health conditions to remove barriers for them in obtaining employment. We are also committed to offering applicants with a disability an interview if they meet the minimum requirements for the role. For more info, visit: https://disabilityconfident.campaign.gov.uk/
We are looking to continually improve our resourcing process and ensure that it is fair and inclusive for all. If you have any feedback on the process, please share this with us at: candidaterecruitmentqueries@balfourbeatty.com
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