Job Title: Technical Proposals Engineer
Location: Clevedon, Somerset
Employment Type: Full Time, Permanent (Hybrid Working – Minimum 3 Days in Office)
Reports to: Applications Engineer – European Stormwater
About Us
Hydro International, a CRH Company, is a global leader in water management solutions. With over 40 years of engineering excellence, we support municipal, industrial, and construction customers to improve water processes, enhance operational efficiency, and reduce environmental impact.
Operating in over 40 countries through a network of 80+ distribution partners, we are part of CRH Infrastructure Products and proud to lead in innovation, sustainability, and safety in the water sector.
Role Overview
As a Technical Proposals Engineer, you will:
1. Work closely with Hydro customers to understand their technical requirements and ensure our product range meets their needs.
2. Collaborate with Product Development and Management teams to update supporting documentation for existing ESW products and create clear, concise materials for new product launches. These documents must effectively communicate quality, performance, testing, flexibility, and correct sizing to support customer design.
3. Build strong relationships with consultants and designers to influence the specification of Hydro products in their projects, including attending client visits.
4. Confidently present product features and benefits to specifiers, clearly explaining how each product meets relevant performance standards, guidelines, and legislation.
5. Support specifiers in designing bespoke drainage solutions that are tailored, effective, and difficult for competitors to challenge.
6. Produce detailed technical design proposals for Stormwater Management products.
7. Provide technical support, including drawing requests, for ESW, European partners, and the AMEA region across the Stormwater product and service portfolio.
8. Approve orders and technical drawings, ensuring accurate manufacturing specifications, with visits to manufacturers and contractor sites as needed.
9. Deliver CPD (Continuous Professional Development) presentations to clients across the full product range on a regular basis.
Essential Qualifications and Skills
* HND or higher in Engineering (civil, hydraulic, or related discipline).
* Experience working in an engineering office environment.
* Proficient in Microsoft Office applications.
* Skilled in AutoCAD and Autodesk Inventor or SolidWorks, including modifying drawings.
* Working knowledge of iLogic within Autodesk Inventor.
* Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
* Strong written and verbal English.
* Highly organised with attention to detail and ability to self-manage.
* Valid UK driving licence and passport.
* Willingness to travel occasionally for client visits, site work, and exhibitions.
* Previous involvement in technical sales or customer-facing engineering roles.
* The ability to deal competently and confidently with clients in person, by telephone and via email and to produce proposals whilst under pressure is essential.
* A logical thinker who has the ability to problem solve, reference data, and use our design tools to create solutions that benefit both Hydro and the client.
Desirable Qualifications and Experience
* Familiarity with drainage design drawings and optioneering.
* Experience with hydraulic modelling software such as InfoDrainage, MicroDrainage, Causeway Flow, or InfoWorks.
* Knowledge of Design and Construction Guidance (formerly Sewers for Adoption) and CIRIA 753 guidance.
* Understanding of SuDS and surface water management principles.
* Project Management experience
* Additional languages (e.g. French, Spanish, German) are an advantage.
* Experience of drainage design, and technical drawings would be advantageous
* Hydraulic and civil / drainage disciplines would be advantageous
* The ability to recognise opportunities and ability to upsell products is desirable.
Key Responsibilities
1. Dealing with telephone, web based, e-mail, enquiries received into the business. This often involves understanding engineering principles, the interpretation of drainage/ site drawings and data, relevant guidelines and legislation, the clients’ specific requirements, and how all of these relate to our range of products.
2. Working closely with clients/ consultants/designers providing optioneering and design advice for proposed schemes and influencing them as a trusted advisor to specify our products.
3. Producing competitive designs, proposals, and quotations. Be mindful of the design requirements to lead on specification and offering a solution that the competition will find hard to match. To keep information up to date on competitors and track their activity within the marketplace. Being able to identify competitor products specified in design drawings and challenge these with our equivalent products. Highlight any activity that will offer intelligence to our business in terms of the direction of competitor activity.
4. Assist external sales teams, business managers and regional managers in the optioneering, technical operation and lead on the specification of our products within the designs. This includes the production of drawings required for order, and quotations including General Arrangement, fabrication, installation, transport, and packing. Supporting CPD presentations, attending site visits for installation and retrofits, or to offer technical assistance to products that have already been installed.
5. Support our core ESW business, European and AMEA business partners/ units with the encapsulation and management of the Europe product portfolio with the capability of applying problem solving and analytical skills to resolve issues encountered which involve our competitors or the quality performance of our products. Supporting new product launch within Europe and AMEA.
6. Ensuring proposals are despatched to the client within the required SLAs outlined in the Task Trak system and ensuring the proposal meets client’s requirements.
7. Negotiation with clients regarding price, terms and conditions and delivery.
8. Assisting with order processing for technical approval of designs including checking levels, orientations, correct features of products are specified, fixtures and fittings, and sizing.
9. Ensuring all necessary details are completed for each technical proposal, including specification and pricing
10. To perform duties in accordance with all relevant legislation in particular the Health and Safety at Work Act.
11. To apply requirements of BS EN ISO 9001 as appropriate within the areas of responsibility.
12. Other duties which the company may reasonably require the individual to undertake.
What We Offer
* Company pension scheme
* 2x life assurance
* Enhanced sick pay
* Minimum 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
* Employee referral scheme
* Mental health first aiders
* Annual flu jabs