Summer Placement - Water Bath, London, United Kingdom

Buro Happold group.; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 20,000 - 24,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading engineering consultancy is offering an 8-week summer internship in their Water Group, based either in London or Bath. As a student intern, you will work on exciting projects focused on sustainable water management, under the guidance of experienced engineers. The role welcomes candidates passionate about climate adaptation and sustainability, offering flexible working hours and competitive pay in line with the UK Real Living Wage.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Flexibility in working patterns

Opportunity to work on multidisciplinary projects

Qualifications

• Candidates should demonstrate a passion for sustainability.
• Basic CAD and/or GIS skills are welcomed.
• An understanding of climate change adaptation is beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Join the Water Group for innovative civil engineering projects.
• Contribute to environmental and climate adaptation initiatives.
• Work under the guidance of experienced engineers.

Skills

Basic CAD skills

Basic GIS skills

Passion for sustainable engineering

Self-motivated

Job description

From helping shape entire cities to adapting infrastructure to deal with the climate emergency, a career at Buro Happold presents the chance to make a difference. This is an exciting opportunity to join our Water team in Bath or London for an 8-week summer placement.

Join our Water team

From the projects you will work on to the clients we work with. From career-defining opportunities to an inclusive and diverse practice where we all contribute to a more equitable world. From our reputation to our relationships. Wherever your Buro Happold career takes you, it’ll be anything but ordinary.

We have a hybrid working policy in place for all staff members, the successful candidate can be based in our London or Bath office. Please indicate your preference upon application.

Your next role

We have an exciting opportunity for a talented student to join our Water Group.

Water is one of our planet’s most precious assets and our engineers ensure that this finite resource is managed in the most sustainable way possible, whether it is at a building, city or regional project scale. We specialise in identifying innovative solutions to ensure maximum, sustainable performance. Practising expertise in cloud-to-coast engineering, we deliver sustainable civil engineering solutions across the globe, from the earliest stages of project feasibility, through to planning and delivery through detailed design and site supervision.

The Water Group works at a range of project scales; from individual buildings through to regional strategies; from feasibility studies at project inception to detailed design and site supervision, practising our expertise across the UK and also the Middle East, North and South America, Africa and Asia.

We practise our expertise in the following core areas of the water sector:

• Water Resource Management
• Coastal and Maritime

Our team has delivered an enviable range of projects of varying scale and complexity. In London, the team has helped to deliver some of the most high profile riverside developments on the Thames including Lots Road Power Station and Battersea Power Station redevelopment. Since 2005 we have been "water" at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park , taking responsibility for site wide flood risk management, drainage strategy, water strategy and the waterspace masterplan. Outside of London our engineers have delivered lasting, sustainable transformation of the area around Folkestone Harbour. Sandford Hydro is a fine example of our engineers using their hydraulic expertise to create a renewable energy scheme on the River Thames.

The Water Group works across the globe and is able to create lasting change through climate change adaptation and providing resilience to Cities. The Detroit Future Cities and Nairobi Rivers Restoration are two examples where our engineers to have used their skills to identify strategies that can bring lasting change in these cities.

Nowhere is our ability to create change more evident than in the Middle East. The Wadi Hanifah project in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, an exciting and challenging environment for water engineers, is a project that has rehabilitated the wadi, provided resilience in terms of flood risk management and transformed the relationship between the cities inhabitants and the natural environment. This project has spawned a host of projects in the region that build on the success of Wadi Hanifah and further establish our reputation as industry leaders on the region.

About you:

• The members of the Water Group have a range of educational backgrounds. Civil Engineering is a common degree but by no means required. Whatever your degree subject you should be able to demonstrate a passion for sustainable approach to water.
• You may also have basic CAD and/or GIS skills.
• You will be a self-motivated, have a keen interest in sustainable engineering, an understanding of climate change adaptation and a desire to learn within the context of a strong, highly skilled team.

What's in it for you?

A plethora of interesting and challenging projects to stretch your professional skills, a friendly and close knit team, flexible working and a competitive reward package. The opportunity to work on multidisciplinary projects aside a range of specialist engineers, scientists and designers both within Buro Happold and our collaborators.

Application Process

The recruitment timeline can vary depending on the role and team you are applying to. Successful applications are progressed to interview stage within 2-3 months from the closing date of the advert. We will endeavour to keep you informed throughout the time that your application is being considered, however, due to the volume of applications received and the size of our team, we are not able to respond to individual requests for status updates.

This is a paid role for current university students for an 8-week placement taking place during Summer 2026. Exact dates can be flexible depending on candidate and team availability.

The annual salary for this placement will be in-line with the UK Real Living Wage.

Buro Happold values an individual's flexible approaches to working patterns as an important part of how you work and achieve balance. We welcome applications from those who are seeking flexibility in their careers.

Our exceptional portfolio of projects is the result of the diversity of thought, identities, backgrounds, and experiences that shape us. Appreciating each other’s differences is key, we want employees to feel they don’t have to mask elements of their identity to thrive.

We are working to change the lack of representation of marginalised groups in the built environment. We are particularly keen to hear from anyone who feels they are underrepresented in the industry. We have much to learn from one another. Embracing differences allows us to develop the most innovative and elegant solutions.

Please let us know if there are any adjustments we could make to the application process to make it easier and more comfortable for you. Contact [e-mail] so we can work with you to support you throughout your application.