Civil Design Engineering Recruitment
CADagency specialises in recruiting CAD and BIM professionals for civil design and infrastructure projects across the UK. We support consultancies, contractors and multidisciplinary engineering firms delivering work across highways, drainage, utilities, rail and wider infrastructure schemes.
Our experience covers civil design roles operating in both traditional CAD and BIM-led environments. We work with businesses of all sizes, tailoring our recruitment approach to suit project workload, regulatory requirements and the level of technical responsibility within the role.
By taking the time to understand the technical scope of your projects and how your team is structured, we ensure candidates are aligned not only on software capability, but also on delivery expectations and working style.
Roles We Recruit For Within Civil Design Engineering
We regularly recruit across a range of civil design and infrastructure-focused roles, including:
Civil Design Engineers
Professionals specialising in highways, drainage, earthworks, utilities and infrastructure design.
Civil CAD and Civil 3D Technicians
Designers responsible for drawing production, modelling and data management within infrastructure projects.
BIM Technicians and Coordinators
Specialists managing model coordination, clash detection and BIM-integrated workflows.
Project and Infrastructure Engineers
Engineers overseeing technical delivery, coordination and compliance across live projects.
Many of the candidates we place work across AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Revit and InfraWorks, with BIM-integrated workflows now common across much of the civil engineering sector.
Civil Engineering Market Trends
Civil design engineering continues to see steady demand, driven by infrastructure investment, regeneration projects and long-term water and transport programmes.
The use of Civil 3D and BIM-led workflows has increased consistently over the past five years. Designers who can operate confidently within model-based environments, while also understanding technical standards and regulatory requirements, remain in particularly high demand.
Hybrid working is now common across many civil design roles, especially within consultancy environments. While fully remote roles remain limited, businesses offering flexibility alongside clear project ownership are generally more successful in attracting experienced civil design professionals.
There is also growing demand for engineers and technicians who can bridge technical delivery with coordination, communication and project awareness, rather than operating in isolated production roles.
2026 Civil Design Engineering Salary Insight
Based on data from the CADagency 2026 Employment Survey, average UK salaries for civil design roles currently sit as follows:
Civil CAD / Civil 3D Technicians: £35,100
Intermediate Civil Designers / BIM Technicians: £39,800
Senior Civil Design Engineers / BIM Coordinators: £46,700
Project Engineers / Technical Leads: £55,200
Salary progression in civil engineering is closely linked to technical responsibility, coordination exposure and involvement in multidisciplinary projects rather than software use alone.
London and the South East continue to offer the highest salaries, particularly at senior and project level. However, regions such as the Midlands and North West have seen steady growth as long-term infrastructure investment and regeneration projects expand outside the capital.
Software Capability and Progression
Civil 3D remains a core requirement for many civil design roles, particularly within highways, drainage and utilities projects. Candidates using Civil 3D reported higher average salaries than those working solely in AutoCAD, reflecting the increased technical complexity and data-driven nature of model-based design.
Revit usage has also increased steadily in civil roles that sit alongside building services or multidisciplinary BIM environments. Designers able to work comfortably across both Civil 3D and Revit tend to progress more quickly into senior or coordination-focused positions