Senior Civil Design Engineer – Utilities

Senior Civil Design Engineer - Utilities & Energy Projects

With a strong pipeline of Utilities projects coming through, our workload is growing fast and we’re expanding the civil design team to support this growth and deliver some of Australia’s most impactful energy projects. Positions can be based in Brisbane, Melbourne or North Sydney.

You’ll join a collaborative, tight knit civil team that works closely, where people bounce ideas around, review each other’s designs, and genuinely enjoy working together. You’ll be surrounded by a group that values innovation, continuous improvement, and practical engineering.

Our work spans NSW, QLD, WA, and SA including major national energy programs, across substations, BESS sites, transmission access tracks, renewable energy projects and large scale grid connection infrastructure. You’ll work on complex, high‑profile civil designs that support Australia’s energy transition.

Typical Projects

Current/recent projects include HumeLink and Snowy Hydro 2.0, involving substations, access tracks, tower pads, bulk earthworks, drainage and remote‑terrain design, utility‑scale BESS systems such as Western Downs, delivering large battery pads, drainage, access roads and high‑voltage civil interfaces, switching stations and substations, including civil works for foundations, pavements, drainage and site infrastructure, transmission line access and tower infrastructure, covering permanent and temporary access tracks, foundations, laydown areas and erosion controls, and renewable‑energy grid connections, supporting pumped hydro, solar, wind and storage projects through early works to delivery‑phase design.

Why this role

• Develop skills and work across three core civil disciplines, including earthworks, stormwater and pavements.
• Gain exposure to major Australian energy projects, including Snowy Hydro 2.0, HumeLink West, Western Downs BESS and other major utilities programs.
• Grow into a future leadership pathway as the civil design team expands across major national utilities and energy projects.
• Take on increasing ownership of civil design packages, technical coordination and mentoring as your capability and confidence grow.
• Learn directly from a highly experienced Principal Engineer who is committed to developing capability and future technical leaders.
• Join a collaborative team where people support each other, share ideas and continually look for better ways to design.

About the role

This is a hands-on civil design engineering role where you’ll produce models, drawings, calculations and technical design outputs across major utilities and energy projects. You’ll work across the full scope of civil design, including earthworks modelling in 12d, cut and fill modelling, pad and bench development, stormwater design using DRAINS, and internal roads and pavements for substations and access tracks.

Beyond the immediate design delivery focus, this role offers a strong development pathway for someone who wants to step up over time. You’ll have the chance to deepen your technical capability across earthworks, stormwater and pavements, while progressively building leadership skills through design coordination, review support, mentoring and ownership of increasingly complex civil work packages. For the right person, this is an opportunity to grow into a future civil design leadership role within a team with a significant pipeline of utilities and energy work.

Key responsibilities

• Develop earthworks models, balance bulk earthworks, set site levels and prepare cut and fill volumes, producing clear sketches, drawings and civil layouts.
• Design stormwater systems, culverts, trenches, access roads and pavements, working closely with drafters to turn models into high-quality drawings.
• Prepare technical documents, specifications and design reports across formal design stages.
• Coordinate with electrical, structural, primary plant and other multidisciplinary teams through client reviews, tenders and early contractor involvement.
• Support design quality, innovation and continuous improvement across civil design outputs.
• Contribute to the development of junior engineers and designers where required, including design review support and knowledge sharing.
• Build capability toward future ownership of civil design packages and broader technical coordination responsibilities.

What we offer

• Enjoy a hybrid work arrangement working from home 1-2 days per week.
• Benefit from 16 weeks of paid primary parental leave.
• Complimentary salary continuance insurance.
• Discounted Medibank health insurance.
• Shape your career with an Individual Development Plan.
• Participate in our Wellness Program with AIA Vitality.
• Access our OneRewards Discount Program.

About you

You’re keen to remain hands-on with design while developing the confidence and capability to step into greater technical leadership, mentoring and design coordination over time.

You’ll need:

• Experience in 12d, Civil 3D, or similar tools (we can train you on 12d).
• A background in civil site design in at least one discipline; Earthworks modelling, Road/access track design, Stormwater drainage, or Pavement design.
• Comfortable working through structured design stages and collaborating with multiple engineering disciplines.
• A practical, design focused mindset and willingness to learn new civil domains.

About Us

UGL is a respected of end-to-end engineering, construction, operation and maintenance services within various sectors including rail, transport, communications, oil and gas, power, renewables, resources, water and defence. We partner with some of the world’s largest blue-chip companies, government agencies, private enterprises, and public institutions. As a member of the CIMIC Group of companies, we value diversity in our team’s backgrounds, ideas, work styles.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and strongly encourage applications from people with disabilities, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people, mature aged workers and individuals from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Please note that relevant screening checks will be conducted as part of the recruitment process. These may include a national criminal history check and for you to complete a pre-employment medical questionnaire.

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