Technical Lead

Help Shape the UK’s Energy Future

Technical Lead Opportunity with the Civil Works Alliance (CWA), Supporting Sizewell C

As part of the CWA (Civil Works Alliance), you will support the building of Sizewell C. Sizewell C will be a 3.2-gigawatt power station generating low-carbon electricity for around 6 million homes and will play a key role in our energy future, supplying reliable, clean electricity for at least 60 years. This role will be within the CWA Wide Section.

What will you do?

The role provides visible technical leadership across CWA: troubleshooting, problem solving, multi-disciplinary coordination, technical challenge, engineering capability development, succession, lessons learned and leadership of the engineering community. The role provides a credible and authoritative technical voice through professional experience and judgement.

The Technical Lead provides CWA-wide functional leadership for technical disciplines within the Engineering & Assurance function. The role leads functional standards, capability, performance and development across Design Management, Temporary Works, Survey, Materials, Competencies and future technical functional lead areas.

Technical Assurance is led separately under the Engineering Lead. The Technical Lead does not own the Technical Assurance Plan, TOC Technical Assurance Plan, gateway/passport assurance system, assurance governance or assurance evidence management. The role supports assurance outcomes by mobilising functional expertise and resolving cross-disciplinary technical issues.

Your primary responsibilities will include:

• Multi-Disciplinary Engineering Leadership and Integration: Promote seamless integration between permanent works design, temporary works, construction methodology, materials, survey, digital/information management and delivery readiness. Lead CWA-wide technical initiatives requiring multi-disciplinary coordination, and convene cross-disciplinary troubleshooting for significant or recurring technical issues affecting delivery across the alliance.
• Functional Technical Authority: Hold functional line authority over the Design Manager Functional Lead, Temporary Works Lead, Survey Lead, Materials Lead, Competencies Manager and future technical functional leads. Set expectations for functional standards, reporting, maturity, consistency and improvement; hold functional leads accountable for discipline management plans, standards, dashboards, risks, interventions and improvement actions.
• Technical Problem-Solving and Judgement: Provide senior technical judgement where issues span design, temporary works, survey, materials, constructability, methods, digital/IM, interfaces or technical risk. Act as the escalation point for complex cross-functional technical issues that cannot be resolved within individual disciplines or sections.
• Engineering Community Leadership: Lead the CWA engineering community rhythm, including monthly engineering briefings, technical updates, learning events and knowledge-sharing forums. Build a visible engineering identity across CWA that connects centrally managed functional leads with section-based technical and engineering teams. Communicate priorities, emerging risks, lessons learned, innovations, good practice and technical alerts.
• Capability, Competence and Succession Planning: Own the CWA engineering capability agenda alongside the Competencies Manager and functional leads. Support onboarding, mentoring, coaching, role mobility, early careers development and succession planning across the engineering community. Identify capability gaps and develop pragmatic plans to close them.
• Interface Management Leadership: Hold overall CWA accountability for Interface Management as a technical functional discipline. Delegate day-to-day responsibility for design interface management to the Design Manager Functional Lead and escalate client-side, cross-section or systemic interface issues where delivery teams cannot resolve them independently.
• Lessons Learned and Continuous Improvement: Ensure lessons from technical issues are captured and converted into functional improvement, briefing material and changes to standards or ways of working across the alliance.

What are we looking for?

You will be a degree-qualified civil engineer or equivalent technical professional with significant leadership experience across major infrastructure engineering programmes. We are seeking candidates who can demonstrate:

Essential Qualifications and Experience:

• Degree qualification in civil engineering or equivalent technical professional qualification, with Chartered Engineer status or equivalent professional registration.
• Significant experience in major infrastructure engineering leadership, preferably spanning both design and construction phases of complex projects.
• Broad multi-disciplinary engineering experience including design management, temporary works interfaces, survey and materials integration, and constructability assessment.
• Proven track record of successfully leading functional teams within matrix organisations, with demonstrated ability to influence and lead without direct authority across multiple stakeholder groups.
• Strong technical problem-solving capability and proven ability to lead cross-discipline resolution of complex engineering challenges.
• Excellent communication and senior stakeholder management skills, with the ability to translate technical complexity into clear, actionable insights for diverse audiences.

Desirable Experience:

• Background in nuclear or similarly regulated environments where technical governance and compliance are critical.
• Experience with HPC/SZC, EPR, major civils, marine, tunnelling, earthworks or ancillary works programmes.
• Track record developing engineering communities, technical briefings, knowledge-sharing forums and engineering capability development programmes.
• Knowledge of CDM regulations, Safe by Design, Temporary Works regulations, SQEP (Suitable and Qualified Experience) and regulated engineering competence arrangements.

What we will offer you?

The CWA is a single delivery organisation made of up of the client (Sizewell C) and three parent companies - Balfour Beatty, Bouygues and Laing O'Rourke - which offer industry leading packages including market leading salaries, generous annual leave entitlements, pension scheme and other flexible benefits.

About Us

The CWA celebrates the creativity and innovation that comes from a diverse workforce, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds — especially those from under‑represented communities. Our project is built on five core values: Humility, Positivity, Respect, Solidarity, and Clarity.

By joining us, you’ll be encouraged to bring your whole self to work, speak up, and share your ideas. We encourage applications from all suitably qualified candidates, regardless of gender, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, or pregnancy and maternity.

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