Senior Architect - HS2

Senior Architect | High Speed Two | Line of Route

High Speed Two Ltd | Direct Client Side Employment

Salary:                £65,000 to £70,755 + Package
Location:           Euston, London (3 days in office)
Next step:          Lead Architect (£90 – 100k + pkg)
Programme:      HS2 Line of Route through to 2039

Shape the Architectural Identity of the HS2 Line of Route

Are you an architect looking for an opportunity that is broader than a single building, station or development?

High Speed Two Ltd is looking for a Senior Architect to join the London based Engineering Team and help protect and deliver the architectural vision across the HS2 line of route.

This is one of the most varied architectural positions within HS2. Rather than being focused on one individual building, you will work across a railway extending for approximately 200 miles, encompassing major engineering structures, rural landscapes, urban environments and some of the UK's most sensitive natural and heritage settings.

Your portfolio will include headhouses, tunnel portals, bridges, viaduct structures and other architectural elements of the HS2 line of route, ensuring that the architectural quality and design vision remain consistent as the railway moves through different environments.

You will support the Lead Architect as the design client interface with the engineering design teams across the four Main Works Civils Contracts, ensuring HS2 specifications and requirements are being met and that the HS2 Design Vision is applied throughout the developing design.

Architecture Across an Entire Railway

The HS2 line of route passes through a remarkably diverse range of environments, including:

• Urban and industrial zones
• Rural and farmland landscapes
• Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty
• Sites of Special Scientific Interest
• Wildlife habitats and environmentally sensitive areas

Along the route you will encounter some of HS2's most significant structures, including the Colne Valley Viaduct, Delta Junction Viaducts, Wendover Dean and Small Dean Viaducts, Thame Valley and Edgcote Viaducts, together with numerous tunnel portals and headhouses.

The challenge is to ensure that each structure responds appropriately to its engineering, operational and environmental context while maintaining the architectural quality and wider HS2 Design Vision.

You will work alongside civil, structural, environmental, landscape, rail systems and project delivery specialists, acting as the architectural interface between HS2 and the teams responsible for developing and delivering the railway.

This is not a conventional architectural practice role. If you enjoy working alongside engineers, solving complex design problems and seeing architectural ideas translated into major infrastructure, this could be an excellent opportunity.

If you are primarily looking for concept design work within a traditional architectural environment, this is probably not the role for you.

The Role

Reporting to the Lead Architect, you will support the architectural client function across the four Main Works Civils Contracts.

The architectural concepts for the major assets are already established through the project design process. Your role is to help ensure that the design intent is maintained as the scheme develops through detailed design and construction.

You will work directly with engineering design teams, contractors and consultants, providing architectural input and constructive challenge where proposals do not meet the required quality or the HS2 Design Vision.

You will need to understand the engineering and operational constraints that shape major infrastructure while ensuring that architectural quality is not lost during delivery.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the Lead Architect in providing architectural leadership across the HS2 line of route.
• Act as the architectural client interface with engineering design teams across the four Main Works Civils Contracts.
• Review and challenge contractor and consultant proposals to ensure HS2 specifications, requirements and the Design Vision are being met.
• Provide architectural input across headhouses, tunnel portals, bridges, viaducts and other line of route assets.
• Work closely with civil, structural, environmental, landscape and other engineering disciplines to resolve complex design interfaces.
• Ensure architectural quality and design intent are maintained through detailed design and construction.
• Consider the relationship between infrastructure and its surrounding urban, rural, landscape and environmental context.
• Support design reviews, technical assurance, approvals and the management of architectural risks and opportunities.

About You

• We are looking for a qualified architect with strong design and delivery experience who wants to develop their career within major infrastructure.
• You could currently be working as a Senior Architect, Project Architect, Transport Architect, Infrastructure Architect, Design Architect or Architectural Lead.
• A transportation or infrastructure background would be particularly attractive, although direct rail experience is not essential.
• Relevant experience could include rail and railway infrastructure, railway stations and depots, airports, highways, bridges and viaducts, tunnels and portals, transportation hubs or other major infrastructure.
• You will ideally have experience working within a multidisciplinary environment and be comfortable engaging with engineers, contractors, consultants and client side project teams.
• You should understand how engineering, operational, environmental and construction requirements influence architectural design, while retaining a strong focus on design quality.
• Professional architectural qualification and ARB registration are essential, with RIBA membership advantageous.
• Experience within a Design and Build environment, where contractors hold design responsibility and the client provides oversight and assurance, would also be beneficial.

Long Term HS2 Career Opportunity

You will be joining High Speed Two Ltd directly, with the wider programme continuing through to 2039.

The immediate progression route is to Lead Architect, with the next level paying approximately £85,000 to £92,400 + Package.

As your experience develops, there is potential to move into increasingly senior architectural and design leadership positions across the wider HS2 programme, including major stations, railway systems and other infrastructure assets.

The Opportunity

This is an opportunity to work across the architectural identity of an entire high speed railway rather than being restricted to a single building or project.

For an ambitious architect who wants to develop their experience at the intersection of architecture, engineering and major infrastructure delivery, it offers an exceptional breadth of exposure and a clear route towards senior architectural leadership.