Graduate Water Engineer
We are looking for a Graduate to join our Water team in either our Bath or London office. With a world class reputation, our creativity and our people have delivered positive change to clients, the environment, and communities alike. If you want to be part of something bigger, this is your chance.
Join our Water team
We have an exciting opportunity for a talented graduate level engineer to join our Water Group based in either our Bath or London office, with the opportunity for travel across the UK and oversees.
Water is one of our planet’s most precious assets and our engineers ensure that this finite resource is managed in the most sustainable way possible, whether it is at a building, city or regional project scale. We specialise in identifying innovative solutions to ensure maximum, sustainable performance. Practising expertise in cloud-to-coast engineering, we deliver sustainable civil engineering solutions across the globe, from the earliest stages of project feasibility, through to planning and delivery through detailed design and site supervision.
- This Graduate role is suitable for engineers beginning their career.
- We also have a Graduate Hydrologist role available.
Please apply to the one role that interests you the most.
To find out more about the Water discipline, please click here.
Our Projects
The Water Group works at a range of project scales; from individual buildings through to regional strategies; from feasibility studies at project inception to detailed design and site supervision, practising our expertise across the UK and also the Middle East, North and South America, Africa and Asia.
We practise our expertise in the following core areas of the water sector:
- Flood Risk Management
- Water Resource Management
- Coastal and Maritime
- Waterfront development
- River Engineering
Our team has delivered an enviable range of projects of varying scale and complexity. In London, the team has helped to deliver some of the most high profile riverside developments on the Thames including Lots Road Power Station and Battersea Power Station redevelopment. Since 2005 we have been “water” at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, taking responsibility for site wide flood risk management, drainage strategy, water strategy and the waterspace masterplan. Outside of London our engineers have delivered lasting, sustainable transformation of the area around Folkestone Harbour and rehabilitated the River Medlock as part of the regeneration at Mayfield. Sandford Hydro is a fine example of our engineers using their hydraulic expertise to create a renewable energy scheme on the River Thames.
The Water Group works across the globe and is able to create lasting change through climate change adaptation and providing resilience to Cities. The Detroit Future Cities and Nairobi Rivers Restoration are two examples where our engineers have used their skills to identify strategies that can bring lasting change in these cities.
Nowhere is our ability to create change more evident than in the Middle East. The Wadi Hanifah project in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, an exciting and challenging environment for water engineers, is a project that has rehabilitated the wadi, provided resilience in terms of flood risk management and transformed the relationship between the cities inhabitants and the natural environment. This project has spawned a host of projects in the region that build on the success of Wadi Hanifah and further establish our reputation as industry leaders in the region.
Key Duties
- Undertake water resource and flood risk management assessments.
- Support coastal design including harbour design and beach management.
- Work competently on an independent basis, as well as collaborating within the design team.
- Communicate directly with external stakeholders, such as the Environment Agency, Local Planning Authorities, and design team members.
- Develop numerical modelling skills for hydrology, open channel flows, piped networks, and coastal flushing
- Working with spatial mapping software such as QGIS.
- Prepare concept and design drawings and take responsibility for delivering engineering solutions.
We would like to hear from you if you are studying (or have graduated) in any of the below degrees:
- You will be educated to at least Degree level, with Masters level preferred.
- The members of the Water Group have a range of educational backgrounds. Civil Engineering is a common degree but by no means required. Whatever your degree subject you should be able to demonstrate a passion for a sustainable approach to water.
- You may also have basic CAD and/or GIS skills.
- You will be a self-motivated, have a keen interest in sustainable engineering, an understanding of climate change adaptation and a desire to learn within the context of a strong, highly skilled team.
Graduates at Buro Happold
When you join Buro Happold you are embedded into an exciting network of engineers and consultants, that supports your career development. We have a Graduate Connect learning programme that targets specific learning and supports your journey to chartership as well as our Young Employee's Forum that links all our young talent in terms of knowledge sharing, learning and very importantly socialising.
We place great importance on a having a safe and inclusive environment and will seek to make any arrangements that may be required to enable all who work with us to thrive. We have flexible working hours and hybrid working, and welcome applications from all backgrounds and walks of life. If you have any questions about how this could apply to your specific circumstances, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.
Check out what our YEF Global team thought of their 2024 Global Meet
Please see our Early Careers Candidate Pack for further guidance and information.
Application Process
We typically complete shortlisting after the role has closed. Therefore, you can expect to hear from us with 2-4 weeks of the job closing on our website. Should you wish to contact us to find out more information or to get an update, please contact earlycareers@burohappold.com
Please note that this role is for an Autumn 2025 start.
A place for everyone
Buro Happold values an individual's flexible approaches to working patterns as an important part of how you work and achieve balance. We welcome applications from those who are seeking flexibility in their careers.
Our exceptional portfolio of projects is the result of the diversity of thought, identities, backgrounds, and experiences that shape us. Appreciating each other’s differences is key, we want employees to feel they don’t have to mask elements of their identity to thrive.
We are working to change the lack of representation of marginalised groups in the built environment. We are particularly keen to hear from anyone who feels they are underrepresented in the industry. We have much to learn from one another. Embracing differences allows us to develop the most innovative and elegant solutions.
Please let us know if there are any adjustments we could make to the application process to make it easier and more comfortable for you. Contact recruitment@burohappold.com so we can work with you to support you throughout your application.
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