Materials Engineer

Location/s: Bristol, UK
Recruiter contact: Christopher Raybould

Mott MacDonald is a global engineering, management, and development consultancy with over 20,000 employees across more than 50 countries and 140+ offices. 

We work across incredible global industries, delivering exciting work that is defining our future and making an important societal impact in the communities we serve. Our people power our performance – we succeed when they do. With countless opportunities to collaborate, learn, and grow, the possibilities for excellence are as varied as every individual. 

Whether you want to grow as a subject matter expert or broaden your experience with roles across our international community, you’re surrounded by global specialists who want to combine their expertise and champion you to be your best. As a proudly employee-owned business, we benefit our clients, our communities, and each other, investing in creating the right space for everyone to feel empowered, included, and valued. Whatever your ambition, Mott MacDonald is where people come to be brilliant.

About the business unit  
The Buildings Unit (BLD) has a major presence in Mott MacDonald's regional offices throughout the UK and mainland Europe, providing a wide range of diverse and transferable cross-sector skills across five key Sectors; Advisory, Built Environment, Energy, Transportation and Water. We also provide local services to customers and technical leadership to the rest of the Group in these sectors.  

Overview of the role
We are looking for a motivated, proactive Materials Engineer with a profound knowledge on durability of concrete, corrosion of metals and/or coatings, to join our Materials and Corrosion team. You will be working with other Materials Engineers, Civil and Structural Engineers within a highly skilled specialist team. You will be working on unique, technically demanding projects across a range of sectors. This will involve working with new and existing infrastructure and buildings (including bridges, tunnels, water treatment and hydropower structures, jetties etc.) to address technical queries, prepare durability assessments for new structures including durability modelling and writing specifications; evaluate the condition and performance of existing structures and apply engineering knowledge to the data gained to help develop remedial and maintenance strategies for managing risk and optimising asset value, including cathodic protection, and providing advice on sustainable solutions, asset management and technical problem solving. You will have the opportunity to work with major asset owners, primarily in the buildings, infrastructure, water and energy sectors but also road and rail sectors.

You’ll manage your own work on a variety of projects of various sizes across different project stages and ensure work is carried out to a high standard and following necessary quality, environmental and safety requirements. You will share your skills and knowledge across the team as well as develop knowledge from other disciplines teams when necessary. Using your technical and problem-solving abilities, you will need the capability and willingness to take responsibility for undertaking assessments and management of projects while establishing professional inter-personal relationships with internal and external clients and ensuring that their needs are met by efficiently producing high quality project deliverables.

Key responsibilities and duties include:

• Preparing durability assessments which involves identifying potential deterioration mechanisms of structural elements and other construction products and developing solutions to ensure the structure will achieve its design life
• Providing support to internal and external clients on the selection, specification, performance, deterioration and repair of materials in structures and for general construction uses
• Planning and carrying out investigations to evaluate the current condition, performance and residual life of a wide range of existing structures
• Root cause analyses and forensic engineering of deteriorating materials and structures
• Developing protection, maintenance and repair strategies, including cathodic protection
• Carrying out research into new materials and to support novel and innovative applications of established materials and techniques
• Analysing and interpreting data and producing reports and presentations that effectively and ensuring the deliverables meet project requirements, including handling of internal/ external client expectations and relationships
• Understanding, supporting and influencing clients, preparing and reviewing reports, giving presentations and author guidance for publication
• Contributing to a variety of global projects, both small and large, and project stages, providing technical input and quality deliverables to British, European or International Standards
• Ensuring effective communication with colleagues on the project team, with clients and other stakeholders, both verbally and in writing

Candidate specification
As a professional working within the construction industry, you have a foundation in materials technology within civil engineering disciplines and you have an interest in growing and strengthening your technical and management skills and experience.

You have experience writing technical reports to a high standard and are used to presenting project material to both colleagues and clients. You are willing to take on new problems and are able to adapt to new problem-solving opportunities. You have good time management skills and are willing to work on varied and multiple commissions with a range of project stakeholders and represent Mott MacDonald to colleagues or clients. You will also spend time on site which will include working in confined spaces and tunnels, above railways and roads, in rivers and on boats, as well as climbing scaffolding and ladders. Site visits will mainly be in the South West, Midlands and Wales but may also comprise national and international travel with overnight stays. You may have experience managing projects with commercial awareness and are able to interpret complex technical information and present to a variety of audiences through reports and presentations (both in person and virtually). Additionally, you appreciate contractual commercial requirements and are able to react to these with managing your workload.

You will also be able to demonstrate the following:

• Master’s degree qualified (or equivalent) in an Engineering or Science discipline, preferably specialising in construction Materials or demonstrating an interest in the field through dissertation or projects selected. Additional qualifications such as PhD or equivalent in the field of materials and civil engineering are highly beneficial
• Chartered with a relevant professional institution, working towards chartership or an experienced IEng
• Knowledge of civil engineering assets
• Specialist knowledge and experience of one or more of the commonly used construction materials (concrete and cementitious materials, metals, masonry and building stone, coatings)
• Experience in inspection, investigation, monitoring and assessment of civil engineering structures, an understanding of how they perform, deteriorate and fail and how they can be protected, maintained and repaired
• An interest in getting out on site to see a range of structures in different environments. Therefore, you will need to have a full UK driving license and can travel with occasional night-time and/or weekend working
• The drive to continuously learn and enhance the understanding of various materials
• The ability to approach and solve problems in a logical manner
• The enthusiasm and flexibility to take on new challenges and, when necessary, to respond by developing and confidently applying new knowledge outside existing specialist fields
• Due to the nature of our industry, you will be willing to travel nationally or internationally for projects as well as be flexible to work non-standard hours when necessary

Please be advised that offers for this role are conditional upon obtaining the appropriate level of Security Clearance.

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.

Agile working  

At Mott MacDonald, we believe it makes business sense for you and your manager to choose how you can work most effectively to meet your client, team, and personal commitments. We offer a hybrid working policy that embraces your well-being, flexibility, and trust.

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.

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.

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.