T&i senior engineer

Senior Innovation Manager – Offsite Construction (Infrastructure)

Laing O'Rourke is recruiting a Senior Innovation Manager to join our Technology & Innovation team, with a focus on offsite construction in infrastructure. This role will play a pivotal part in advancing offsite manufacturing, product‑led construction, process automation, and low‑carbon research across the transport and power sectors.

As Senior Innovation Manager, you will lead and manage multiple innovation initiatives within infrastructure applications, while supporting the transfer of knowledge into other strategic growth areas. You'll work closely with in‑house specialists and external partners, helping to bridge the gap between innovation and delivery.

The role requires strong control of scope, programme and budget, alongside sound technical and commercial understanding of construction. You will also play a key role in developing people, fostering a positive team culture, and supporting the effective operation and resourcing of the innovation team across projects.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and manage construction innovation projects with internal and external stakeholders
• Prepare business cases for new research and innovation opportunities
• Provide technical guidance and advisory support to project teams
• Mentor, support and develop team members
• Control work allocations, programme delivery and team budgets
• Work with delivery teams to deploy product‑led solutions across multiple sectors
• Lead research to evaluate opportunities, address challenges and explore new materials
• Pursue research grants and academic collaborations
• Act as an ambassador for industrialised and offsite construction

What We Are Looking For?

We're looking for a personable, self‑driven individual with strong construction industry experience and a genuine enthusiasm for making a lasting impact. If you are motivated by solving complex problems and turning innovation into real‑world outcomes, this is an opportunity to shape the future of infrastructure delivery.

Core Skills & Experience:

• Enthusiastic, self‑driven and inquisitive, with a passion for problem‑solving
• Proven experience leading teams and working with multiple stakeholders
• Essential construction sector experience (site, project, design or design management)
• Highly organised, responsible and commercially aware
• Confident communicator, able to lead meetings and clearly articulate ideas

Desirable Skills:

• Professionally qualified or chartered with a recognised UK body
• Knowledge of manufacturing in construction / Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA)
• Experience using MS Project, Primavera or similar planning tools
• Experience in reinforced concrete design and/or construction
• Experience working on UK infrastructure projects

Don't Meet Every Requirement? That's okay. We value transferable skills, diverse experience and a commitment to learning. If you're excited about innovation and industrialised construction, we'd love to hear from you.

Disability Confidence: We are a disability‑confident company and welcome applications from all candidates. If you require adjustments to the interview process, please let us know.