Graduate Civil Engineer

Location

Exeter

Salary

£30,000

Start Date

September 2026

Application Deadline

20th March 2026

Who we are...

At Pennon, we literally bring water to life. We keep taps running, protect the environment, and support communities across the Southwest. Our engineering teams make all of that happen, every single day.

We care about doing things safely and doing them well. We experiment, we learn, we share ideas freely, and we'll welcome yours from the moment you arrive. If you're someone who likes making real world systems better, and you enjoy the feeling of solving a problem that actually helps people, you'll find something for you here.

What you’d be doing...

If you’re the sort of person who learns best by getting involved, this role lets you dive into the action and build confidence through real engineering challenges.

As a Graduate Civil Engineer, you could:

• Work on the physical infrastructure that delivers clean water and manages wastewater across the Southwest
• Take on technical challenges around pipework design, treatment structures, reservoirs, and network expansion
• Dig into hydraulic modelling and site investigation data to understand network performance and plan improvements
• Bring fresh ideas to infrastructure projects, from early design through to construction and commissioning
• Find ways to strengthen resilience, extend asset life, and improve structural integrity across our network
• Help deliver sustainable drainage solutions and environmental protection measures
• Play your part in our safety-first culture through site visits, risk assessments, and quality checks
• Build the technical and professional skills you'll need for chartership (if that's where you're headed)

If you enjoy getting stuck in straight away, experimenting, learning fast, and getting involved in real engineering work, this could be a great fit for you.

Who you are...

We’re keen to meet engineering graduates who get curious about systems, love tackling unfamiliar challenges, and learn as they go.

• Are working toward (or have) a degree in Civil Engineering or a closely related engineering discipline
• Enjoy understanding how systems work and aren't afraid to ask the questions that get you there
• Can explain things clearly, whether your audience is technical or not
• Bring integrity, care and good judgement to the work you do
• Put safety and people at the heart of your choices
• Care about the environment and designing for a sustainable future
• Have an instinct for problem-solving, seeing possibility in unexpected places
• Have the right to work in the UK

If you’re drawn to this role and feel this might be you, we’d love to hear from you.

Don’t have everything on this list? That’s ok, you won’t be expected to arrive with all the answers. In fact, a curious mind and proactive attitude will carry you a long way as you explore everything this role has to offer. You'll learn about our assets, our systems, and how engineering theory translates into keeping vital services running around the clock.

What’s in it for you...

• A structured grad programme: Learning that strengthens your technical instincts, people skills and your sense of how engineering fits into the bigger picture
• A mentor or buddy: An experienced engineer who can guide you along the way
• Real experience: Work on assets and projects with real impact across familiar spaces and communities in the Southwest
• Competitive salary and benefits package
• The chance to make a difference: Work that carries genuine social and environmental meaning
• A culture shaped by values: safety, integrity, collaboration, innovation and customer care
• Support toward professional registration and clear pathways to chartership

Closing Date: 20th March 2026 – We reserve the right to close this vacancy before the advertised closing date.

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK for the full duration of the 2-year programme. We are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this programme.

We’re committed to building a team that reflects the communities we serve and ensuring everyone can participate in our recruitment process fully and fairly. If you need any adjustments or face any barriers in our processes, just let us know. We'll work with you to make sure you can show us what you can do.

Division

South West Water

Department

Early Careers

Locations

Exeter

Yearly salary

£30,000

About South West Water

We look after the water and wastewater services for 1.8 million customers across Cornwall, Devon, the Isles of Scilly and parts of Dorset and Somerset.

From treatment and maintenance, to innovation and improvements, we're busy every day finding and fixing leaks, unblocking sewers and going bigger and further in our environmental work to be a company you can be proud of.