Adoptions & Waste Pre Planning Engineer

As an Adoptions & Waste Pre-Planning Engineer, you’ll lead on key applications with developers and local authorities, ensuring our sewerage network is protected and future-proof. This is a role where technical expertise meets collaboration, giving you real ownership and impact across major UK housing projects.

What you’ll be doing as an Adoptions & Waste Pre-Planning Engineer

In this role, you’ll be at the heart of shaping communities - working with major housebuilders, local authorities, and developers to ensure our sewerage infrastructure is safe, sustainable, and future-ready. You’ll take ownership of your portfolio, build strong stakeholder relationships, and play a vital part in protecting Thames Water’s assets while supporting the UK’s biggest housing projects.

• Engage with a wide network of stakeholders – from internal teams (Asset Planners, Operations, Major Projects) to external partners including Local Planning Authorities, Environment Agencies, developers, contractors, and customers.
• Take ownership of your geographical portfolio, managing multiple local authority areas and overseeing the end-to-end delivery of adoption, diversion, pre-planning, and surface water applications with major UK housebuilders.
• Conduct detailed technical reviews to safeguard Thames Water assets and the public sewerage system, ensuring compliance and minimising risk.
• Develop deep expertise in sewerage policy and legislation, staying fully up to date with the latest Code for Adoptions, Design and Construction Guidance, and WaterUK service standards.
• Drive performance by meeting annual sewer vesting targets, ensuring technical assessments and consultations follow all required standards and regulatory processes.
• Balance customer satisfaction with commercial awareness, recognising the financial implications of decisions while delivering positive customer outcomes.

This one-year maternity cover offers the chance to step into the full SADOP Engineer role, with responsibilities growing as your experience develops — supported every step of the way with full coaching and training.

Based in our Clearwater Court office in Reading

This is a Hybrid role with 2 office days per week

What you should bring to the role

• Demonstrate strong engineering expertise — with a relevant engineering qualification, professional development towards chartership (e.g. ICE, IMechE, CIWEM, or similar), and practical post-qualification experience.
• Apply strong technical knowledge – able to undertake design work that meets both commercial and technical objectives, with experience in CESWI, WIMES, Eurocodes, and British Standards.
• Lead and collaborate effectively – working as part of a high-performing engineering team while supporting, developing, and guiding colleagues.
• Deliver projects with precision – skilled in planning, estimating, forecasting, and resource management within budgetary constraints.
• Champion safety and compliance – with excellent knowledge of Health & Safety in design and construction, and a strong understanding of CDM regulations.
• Bring industry insight – with relevant water industry experience and awareness of wider business drivers, ensuring engineering solutions are practical, safe, and future-ready.

What’s in it for you?

• Offering a starting salary from £41,000 per annum, depending on skills and experience
• 26 days holiday per year, increasing to 30 with the length of service (plus bank holidays)
• Generous Pension Scheme through AON
• Access to lots of benefits to help you take care of you and your family’s health and wellbeing, and your finances – from annual health MOTs and access to physiotherapy and counselling, to Cycle to Work schemes, shopping vouchers and life assurance.

Find out more about our benefits and perks

Who are we?

We’re the UK’s largest water and wastewater company, with more than 16 million customers relying on us every day to supply water for their taps and toilets. We want to build a better future for all, helping our customers, communities, people, and the planet to thrive. It’s a big job and we’ve got a long way to go, so we need help from passionate and skilled people, committed to making a difference and getting us to where we want to be in the years and decades to come.

Learn more about our purpose and values

Working at Thames Water

Thames Water is a unique, rewarding, and diverse place to work, where every day you can make a difference, yet no day is the same. As part of our family, you’ll enjoy meaningful career opportunities, flexible working arrangements and excellent benefits.

If you’re looking for a sustainable and successful career where you can make a daily difference to millions of people’s lives while helping to protect the world of water for future generations, we’ll be here to support you every step of the way. Together, we can build a better future for our customers, our region, and our planet.

Real purpose, real support, real opportunities. Come and join the Thames Water family. Why choose us? Learn more.

We’re committed to being a great, diverse, and inclusive place to work. We welcome applications from everyone and want to ensure you feel supported throughout the recruitment process. If you need any adjustments, whether that’s extra time, accessible formats, or anything else just let us know, we’re here to help and support.

When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business and meet colleagues.

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date, so we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.