Water Resources Engineer-Chicago
Job Description
This Opportunity
Provides technical leadership and project delivery support for stormwater, surface water, and water resources planning, analysis, and design. Focus areas include hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) modeling, stormwater management, drainage system design, and delivery of water resources projects across transportation, site development, data centers, municipal infrastructure, and watershed-related programs.
Leads the analysis, design, and delivery of stormwater systems, including conveyance, detention/retention, water quality treatment, culverts, open channels, and drainage infrastructure. Oversees H&H modeling efforts and development of supporting calculations for runoff, routing, storage, floodplain analysis, and hydraulic capacity. Manages preparation of stormwater management plans, drainage studies, watershed studies, FEMA modeling efforts, and technical reports.
Responsible for delivering water resources projects utilizing software such as OpenRoads Designer (ORD), Civil 3D, GIS, HydroCAD, HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, and other industry-standard tools as needed. Provides support for conveyance-related projects, including pump stations, water, sewer, and storm utility design.
Leads and coordinates the work of junior engineering staff, providing technical guidance, task delegation, quality reviews, and mentoring to ensure high-quality, timely, and on-budget project delivery. Ensures work products meet applicable standards and project objectives while supporting multidisciplinary project teams.
Primarily supports water resources and stormwater design efforts, with additional support to multidisciplinary projects such as transportation, energy, site development, municipal infrastructure, and data center development.
Your Impact
- Under the direction of engineering staff and project managers, lead portions of stormwater, surface water, and water resources planning, analysis, and design tasks, with a focus on hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) modeling and drainage system design.
- Develop, oversee and review engineering calculations for runoff estimation, flow routing, detention/retention sizing, and hydraulic capacity.
- Lead and perform H&H modeling using industry-standard software to evaluate drainage systems, watershed response, and flood risks.
- Prepare and oversee the preparation of stormwater management plans, drainage reports, and technical memoranda, including clear documentation of methodologies, assumptions, and results.
- Lead the design and delivery of stormwater infrastructure, including conveyance systems, storm sewer networks, culverts, open channels, and water quality treatment practices.
- Develop and review figures, exhibits, and model outputs to support technical reports and project documentation.
- Lead and coordinate drafting and plan production for stormwater and drainage design efforts as part of project delivery.
- Review and interpret site data (e.g., topographic, hydrologic, and geotechnical information) to inform drainage design and modeling efforts.
- Prepare, review and provide quality control for technical documentation, including reports, exhibits, and supporting calculations.
- Lead junior engineers on project assignments by developing task plans, delegating work, providing technical guidance, and monitoring progress to support high-quality, timely and on-budget project delivery.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to support multidisciplinary projects, including transportation, energy, and site development.
- Support compliance with applicable stormwater regulations and design standards as directed.
- Manage scope, schedule, and budget for assigned drainage and water resources tasks, identifying and communicating risks or challenges to project managers and technical leads.
- Coordinate effectively, both verbally and in writing, with project managers, supervisors, drainage task leads, technical specialists, and multidisciplinary project teams to support successful project delivery.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to support multidisciplinary projects, including transportation, energy, site development, municipal infrastructure, and data center development.
- Support compliance with applicable stormwater regulations and design standards and provide technical guidance related to regulatory requirements.
- Deliver water resources projects including transportation drainage, data center and site development, watershed studies, municipal stormwater capital projects, FEMA modeling and floodplain studies, H&H modeling, drafting, and design efforts using software such as ORD, Civil 3D, GIS, HydroCAD, HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, and other tools as needed.
- Support conveyance-related projects as needed, including pump station, water, sanitary sewer, and storm utility design.
- Mentor and support the development of junior staff through technical guidance, training, and project experience.
- Exercise responsible and ethical decision-making and adhere to company policies and procedures.
- Perform additional responsibilities as required by business needs
Who You Are
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s Degree in Civil or Environmental Engineering, with a focus in Water Resources or closely related discipline.
- 5-7 years of relevant post education experience in water resources engineering.
- Knowledge of Hydrologic and Hydraulic (H&H) modeling software such as HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, HydroCAD, SWMM, FlowMaster, or similar tools.
- Experience with design and drafting software such as Civil 3D or OpenRoads Designer (ORD).
- Proficient knowledge of water resources engineering principles, including stormwater management, drainage design, open channel hydraulics, and floodplain analysis.
- Familiarity with stormwater regulations, permitting requirements, and design standards at the local, state, or federal level.
- Experience preparing engineering calculations, technical reports, and supporting documentation for stormwater or drainage projects.
- Experience developing figures, exhibits, and plan sheets to support engineering design and reporting.
- Analytical mindset with an ability to exercise sound judgement in evaluating situations and making decisions.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills when interacting with others, expressing ideas effectively and professionally to an engineering and non-engineering audience.
- Highly capable self-leadership with attention to detail, multi-tasking, and prioritization of responsibilities in a dynamic work environment.
- Ability to work independently and provide guidance and leadership to junior team or project members, with strict adherence to QA/QC.
- Proficiency with technical writing, office automation, software, technology, math principles, predictive models, spreadsheets, and tools.
- Adept at coordinating technical matters with public and private groups.
- Ability to oversee others work, and help them manage their time according to scope/schedule/budget.
- Proven track record of upholding workplace safety and ability to abide by WSP’s health, safety and drug/alcohol and harassment policies.
- Ability to work schedules conducive to project-specific requirements that may extend beyond the typical workweek.
- Occasional travel may be required depending on project-specific requirements.
Preferred Qualifications:
- Engineer in Training Certification.
- Prior stormwater/surface water design experience.
- A member of and/or actively participate in local professional practice organizations.
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WSP USA is the U.S. operating company of WSP, one of the world's leading engineering and professional services firms. Dedicated to serving local communities, we are engineers, planners, technical experts, strategic advisors and construction management professionals. WSP USA designs lasting solutions in the buildings, transportation, energy, water and environment markets. With more than 15,000 employees in over 300 offices across the U.S., we partner with our clients to help communities prosper.
WSP provides a flexible and agile workplace model while meeting client needs. Employees are also afforded a comprehensive suite of benefits including medical, dental, vision, disability, life, and retirement savings focused on providing health and financial stability throughout the employee’s career.
At WSP, we want to give our employees the challenges they seek to grow their careers and knowledge base. Your daily contributions to your team will be essential in meeting client objectives, goals and challenges. Are you ready to get started?
WSP USA (and all of its U.S. companies) is an Equal Opportunity Employer Race/Age/Color/Religion/Sex/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/National Origin/Disability or Protected Veteran Status.
The selected candidate must be authorized to work in the United States.
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