CV Example · Engineering · UK 2026
Civil Engineer CV Example UK
Civil Engineering CVs in the UK are read by chartered engineers, and they are looking for credibility cues: ICE membership status, project values, your role on each project, and the design standards you have worked to. CIBSE, BS, Eurocode, DMRB — name them where relevant. The biggest CV failure I see is candidates listing every project their firm worked on rather than the ones they personally contributed to. Be clear about scope: did you lead the drainage design or were you the assistant on a team of six? Hiring managers will probe this in interview, so do not over-claim.
Example header
Thomas Whiteley CEng MICE · Senior Civil Engineer · 11 years · Manchester
Personal statement / Professional summary
CEng MICE Senior Civil Engineer with 11 years of UK design experience across highways, drainage and infrastructure for major housebuilders and the public sector. Currently project lead on a £38m residential infrastructure scheme of 1,400 homes, owning the S104 and S278 design and adoption process with two LPAs and the Lead Local Flood Authority. Comfortable working to DMRB, Sewers for Adoption 8 and Eurocode standards. Chartered through the ICE in 2022. Looking for a Principal Engineer or Associate role with a multidisciplinary consultancy in the North West.
Bullet point examples
Strong bullets follow the same shape: action verb, specific scope, quantified outcome. Use these as patterns, not as copy-paste templates — the numbers must be your own.
Project leadership
- Project lead on a £38m residential infrastructure scheme of 1,400 homes, owning the S104 drainage and S278 highways design and adoption with two LPAs and the LLFA.
- Lead engineer on a £14m primary substation civils package, coordinating with the DNO and three subcontractors and delivering on programme during a 14-month build.
Technical design
- Designed surface-water drainage strategies for six residential sites in 2024-25 in line with the SuDS Manual (CIRIA C753) and the National Standards for Sustainable Drainage Systems.
- Produced highway designs to DMRB and Manual for Streets standards for adoption schemes, including S38, S278 and S106 packages.
Stakeholder and approvals
- Negotiated technical approvals with eight Local Authorities, three Lead Local Flood Authorities and five Statutory Undertakers across 2024-25 schemes.
- Led pre-application meetings and discharge-of-conditions submissions for two complex urban regeneration schemes, securing approvals within the agreed planning timetables.
Mentoring and chartership
- ICE Supervising Civil Engineer (SCE) for two Graduate engineers; both currently working towards their Chartered Professional Review with full development action plans in place.
- Internal training lead for the SuDS-design CPD programme; delivered five sessions in 2025 to 28 engineers across the Manchester and Leeds offices.
Software and standards
- Daily user of MicroDrainage, AutoCAD Civil 3D, PDS and InfoDrainage; lead in-house user for the recent migration from MicroDrainage to InfoDrainage.
- Specified design works to Eurocode BS EN 1991 and 1992, DMRB CD 350 and CD 533, Sewers for Adoption 8 and the relevant Local Authority highway design guides.
Skills section — what to list
Mirror the skills exactly as they appear in target job ads. The ATS reads this section literally — synonyms hurt match scores.
Civil Engineer-specific CV mistakes that get you binned
- × Listing the firm's projects rather than yours — hiring managers want to know what you personally designed or led, not what your office delivered.
- × Hiding chartership status — CEng MICE goes after your name, on every page if necessary. Recruiters filter on it.
- × Generic software lists — name the packages you have used as a daily user and separate them from the ones you have only opened twice.
- × Forgetting design standards — naming Eurocode parts, DMRB sections and SuDS Manual chapters signals technical credibility instantly.
- × Skipping project value and your role — '£38m scheme of 1,400 homes, project lead' is far stronger than 'large residential project'.
Common questions
- How important is ICE membership on a Civil Engineer CV?
- Critical above 5 years post-graduate experience. CEng MICE is the standard chartered designation in the UK and consultancies treat it as a baseline expectation for Senior Engineer and above. If you are working towards chartership, name the stage explicitly: 'IEng working towards CEng (CPR planned 2026)' or 'Graduate Member, ICE Initial Professional Development in progress'. If you are an EngTech or Incorporated Engineer with no plans to pursue CEng, be honest about it; some specialist roles do not require it, but most consultancy paths to Principal Engineer do.
- Should I list every project I have worked on?
- No. Pick six to ten projects that show range, value and the depth of your involvement. Name the project, the value, your role (project lead, lead designer, assistant engineer), the duration, the design standards and the outcome. If your firm has worked on a high-profile scheme but you were a junior contributor, say so — overclaiming a Crossrail or HS2 contribution is the fastest way to fail a technical interview when the panel asks you specific design questions. Honest scope wins; inflation loses.
- Do I list software like AutoCAD and Revit at the top?
- Yes, but distinguish daily-use software from familiarity. AutoCAD Civil 3D, MicroDrainage, InfoDrainage and PDS are the workhorses for most UK Civils roles, so name the ones you use daily. Add a separate, shorter line for software you have used on specific projects (Tekla, Plaxis, Robot, Revit MEP). BIM and ISO 19650 capability is increasingly expected for any role on a public-sector scheme, so name your BIM Level if you have one. Avoid listing 14 packages you opened once at university; senior engineers will spot it.