Drainage & Water Resources Section Manager

Are you motivated, energetic and connected with clients, contractors and subconsultants in the A/E/C industry? Is your passion for leading transportation projects contagious? Do you enjoy executing winning strategies for pursuits? Is work/life balance important to you? If this describes you, we are looking for a talented and ambitious Transportation Drainage and Water Resources Section Manager in our Chicago, IL office to lead our technical staff and project managers. This position offers an exciting opportunity to lead and grow a transportation design team for an ENR Top 100 Design Firm. The successful candidate will be well versed in transportation design and project management with entities throughout the state of Illinois. The Section Manager role will require mentoring young engineers and engineering interns, leading senior level engineers and designers, and growing and developing a passionate engineering team. Project planning, workload distribution, and effective communication skills are essential.

Responsibilities

Serve as the drainage and water resources technical lead on projects, providing oversight of design, analyses, and deliverables; Serve, as needed, as Project Manager, Project Lead, or Task Lead on transportation and site civil projects; Build, lead, and develop a high-performing team of project managers, engineers, and interns to support growth in the Illinois transportation drainage market; Manage the preparation of drainage designs and construction documents, including storm sewer systems, detention facilities, flood control, open channels, and erosion control; Lead the development of drainage studies and reports, including drainage studies, hydraulic reports, and conceptual drainage evaluations; Develop and evaluate drainage alternatives and recommend preferred solutions based on technical, regulatory, and cost considerations; Lead regulatory coordination and permitting efforts, including stormwater, floodplain, and agency approvals; Manage project delivery, including scope development, fee estimating, budgeting, scheduling, staffing, and subconsultant coordination; Support business development through client relationship management, marketing strategy, proposal preparation, and interviews; Establish and maintain project quality through QA/QC oversight and adherence to company and agency standards; Serve as a primary point of contact for clients and represent the firm in meetings, presentations, and industry engagement

Requirements

Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from an accredited program; Minimum 10 years of drainage and water resources experience; Illinois Professional Engineer (PE) license or ability to obtain within 6 months; Experience with Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Illinois Tollway, and county/local drainage and transportation standards and procedures; Demonstrated experience producing roadway drainage design, including plans, profiles, calculations, drainage reports, and estimates; Experience preparing drainage studies and reports, including hydraulic analyses and Phase I deliverables; Proven experience using drainage design and hydraulics/hydrology modeling software, including Open Roads Designer & StormCAD, PondPack, HY-8, HEC-RAS, XPSWMM, and other industry-standard tools; Ability to coordinate with multidisciplinary teams, mentor staff, and support project scoping, proposals, and delivery

Nice to have

Experience with alternative delivery projects

Benefits

Flexible work options; Competitive pay; Member-owned company; Paid holidays; Generous PTO; Parental leave; Professional development leave; Medical insurance; Dental insurance; Vision insurance; FSA; HSA; Doctor On Demand; Wellness reimbursement; Mental health resources; Life insurance; Short-term disability insurance; Long-term disability insurance; Identity theft protection; Tuition assistance; Professional society membership; Company stock ownership; 401K match; Incentive compensation; Profit-sharing contributions