Graduate Façade Engineer

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  Location

  (UK) and London

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  Job Reference

  21172

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  Functional Area/Experience

  Construction/property / Fresh Graduate

Job Description & Qualifications

From helping shape entire cities to adapting infrastructure to deal with the climate emergency, a career at Buro Happold presents the chance to make a difference. With a world class reputation, our creativity and our people have delivered positive change to clients, the environment, and communities alike. If you want to be part of something bigger, this is your chance

What is Façade Engineering?  

The quality of the 'skin' of your building is about much more than achieving the aesthetic vision, it's about buildability, efficiency and long-term sustainability.  

What makes a façade function properly? Apart from the obvious, like weather resistance, airtightness and making sure it doesn't fall off the building, a big consideration is the energy impact on the building itself. An efficient, buildable façade makes for a better building and we work constantly to provide more efficient skins.  

A thorough knowledge of the way in which façades are constructed means a client can trust us with a project from concept design, through to 'nuts and bolts' of construction, during the operation and maintenance of the façade and all the way through to consideration of refurbishment/re-purposing options. Whether this is for an intricate design such as for the Louvre, Abu Dhabi, or the repurpose of the Grade II Listed The Whiteley, London, we apply engineering and surveying rigour.  

What sort of projects would I work on?  

Whiteleys Redevelopment, London - This interesting multi-use project in a Grade II listed building combines the design of large precast and glazing systems with specialist advice to historic facades. The strength of our advice for both new build and conservation allowed us to support the Client in important planning discussions and to develop innovative glazing solutions that will be a benchmark in years to come for conservation projects. Our team is also closely advising the client in the assessment and monitoring of the historic fabric during construction. This will ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy the significance of the building for years to come.  

Bee’ah Headquarters, UAE  - Dedicated to enabling an environmentally responsible future for the region, Bee’ah advocates revolutionary strategies for utilising renewable energy sources and setting benchmarks for sustainability. The organisation’s new headquarters needed to embody their ethos and vision. Formed to evoke the impression of intersecting sand dunes, the awe-inspiring building features a sweeping curved exterior. By using our previous knowledge of geometrically complex buildings, such as Glasgow Museum of Transport in Scotland, and City of Dreams in Macau, we were able to apply our expertise to realise this striking long span structure. The result draws comparisons with an enormous three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle, featuring a system of parallel structural steel ribs that were prefabricated off site. This approach meant that the components could be easily transported and then assembled using typical skills and equipment found on any construction site.  

Which degree could I be studying towards?  

• Façade Engineering 
• Architectural Engineering 
• Civil Engineering 
• Structural Engineering 
• Sustainability 
• Building Physics 
• Architecture  
• Building Surveying  

What would I do?  

• Assist in developing jobs technically from initial client ideas, using various materials such as: aluminium, steel, concrete, stone, glass and timber. Understand architectural component detail design including aesthetics. 
• Deliver work in a timely and technically competent manner. 
• Increase your awareness of basic weather performance issues, basic building physics including ventilation, solar gain control, thermal insulation and glare control. 
• Help assess and advice on the impact of design decisions in terms of embodied carbon, operational carbon and durability/life-cycle.
• Develop your experience of the practical aspects of handling and fabricating typical cladding materials. 
• Understand the design life of various façade components and materials and have the opportunity to inspect existing buildings to understand what failure or a defect looks like. 
• Hone your understanding of international standards and building codes. (For example, British Standards, Eurocodes, International Building Code, UBC, Aluminium Design Manual, Australian and NZ standards, ASTM Standards, Saudi Building Code.) 
• Work with other teams and gain an awareness of the problems and constraints of the other major design disciplines such as Architectural, Structures, Building Services/MEP, Fire Engineering, Acoustics, and computer modelling. 
• Develop strong design leadership on façade issues to the rest of the Client's design team. 
• Maintain good client relations throughout the job. 
• Improve your competency across various software such as Autodesk Robot, STAAD, Strand, SAP2000, MEPLA and Therm.

Graduates at Buro Happold 

When you join Buro Happold you are embedded into an exciting network of engineers and consultants, that supports your career development.  We have a Graduate Connect learning programme that targets specific learning and supports your journey to chartership as well as our Young Employee's Forum that links all our young talent in terms of knowledge sharing, learning and very importantly socialising.  

We place great importance on a having a safe and inclusive environment and will seek to make any arrangements that may be required to enable all who work with us to thrive. We have flexible working hours and hybrid working, and welcome applications from all backgrounds and walks of life. If you have any questions about how this could apply to your specific circumstances, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.   

Application Process 

We typically complete shortlisting after the role has closed. Therefore, you can expect to hear from us with 2-4 weeks of the job closing on our website. Should you wish to contact us to find out more information or to get an update, please contact earlycareers@burohappold.com 

Please note that this role is for an Autumn 2025 start. 

Closing date: 6 January

A place for everyone

Buro Happold values an individual's flexible approaches to working patterns as an important part of how you work and achieve balance. We welcome applications from those who are seeking flexibility in their careers.   

Our exceptional portfolio of projects is the result of the diversity of thought, identities, backgrounds, and experiences that shape us. Appreciating each other’s differences is key, we want employees to feel they don’t have to mask elements of their identity to thrive. 

We are working to change the lack of representation of marginalised groups in the built environment. We are particularly keen to hear from anyone who feels they are underrepresented in the industry. We have much to learn from one another. Embracing differences allows us to develop the most innovative and elegant solutions.

Please let us know if there are any adjustments we could make to the application process to make it easier and more comfortable for you. Contact recruitment@burohappold.com so we can work with you to support you throughout your application.