Drainage Engineer – Road and Highway Infrastructure

About the role

SMEC is seeking an experienced Drainage Engineer to join its Road and Highway Infrastructure team in Papua New Guinea. The role involves providing geotechnical and hydraulic expertise across planning, design, construction supervision, and risk management for transportation projects in challenging terrain.

Key responsibilities

• Design and analyse highway drainage systems, including roadside drains, culverts, channels and stormwater networks.
• Conduct hydraulic and drainage assessments for roads, bridges and related infrastructure.
• Prepare drainage reports, hydraulic calculations, design drawings and technical specifications.
• Design cross‑drainage structures such as culverts, causeways and flood‑relief structures.
• Develop erosion and sediment control measures for road construction and operation.
• Evaluate climate‑change impacts on drainage infrastructure and propose resilient design solutions.
• Ensure compliance with project standards, local regulations and international design guidelines.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree in civil or environmental engineering (Master’s preferred).
• Minimum 5 years of experience in hydraulic analysis and drainage system design for road/highway projects.
• Experience with environmental regulations and projects financed by multilateral development banks is advantageous.
• Fluent English communication skills.

Required skills

• Hydraulic analysis
• Drainage system design
• Hydraulic calculations
• Culvert and stormwater network design
• Erosion and sediment control
• Climate‑change impact assessment