Water Program Manager - Data Centers

Overview

We have an exceptional opportunity for a Water Infrastructure Program Manager focused on developing, coordinating, and delivering water infrastructure consulting, design projects and tasks for data center clients. The role will coordinate and collaborate with teams inside HDR to support water infrastructure oriented tasks including environmental, permitting, industrial water/wastewater treatment, building architecture, and other expertise from all HDR’s service areas relating to data center water infrastructure.

The role will also work with vendors and subconsultants as needed.

This role includes program development, planning, and project delivery responsibilities supporting water infrastructure relating to designing and constructing data centers for a specific client or set of clients. It manages teams working to complete tasks from front‑end site due‑diligence evaluation, consulting, planning, and detailed design support through the construction administration and commissioning phases of data center projects. Services provided may include planning/consulting (due diligence/campus planning phase), design (including construction administration and commissioning phases), and O&M/retrofit scopes.

The Program Manager will also support water sustainability initiatives as aligned by client goals.

To execute HDR’s water infrastructure scopes and responsibilities, this role will collaborate with our practices and professional discipline groups across HDR on staff assignments, technical services, activities to continually improve standards and best practices, and implementation of effective quality assurance and quality control procedures. This person will need to balance the fast pace and variable environment of working with data center clients.

The Program Manager will participate in and oversee the execution of consulting, planning, and design scope delivery. The delivery includes overall performance, financial metrics for water infrastructure tasks, schedule, quality, contractual compliance, HDR task order safety planning, risk mitigation, and overall excellent client experience and satisfaction.

Responsibilities also include day‑to‑day coordination of new potential task orders with the client and HDR’s Tech/Media/Telecom (TMT) business development teams. The Program Manager will work with our TMT leadership and business development team to grow HDR’s water‑related work for data center clients and continue our growth as one of the top data center designers in the world. They will collaborate with business development teams to identify and develop opportunities and pursuits and work with HDR’s client managers and interface with clients to formulate project approaches and develop detailed project scopes that meet client expectations.

HDR’s responsibilities to serve our client will require work on diverse geographic locations. As such, travel is estimated at 20‑30%.

• Incorporate HDR Corporate 2027 Goals and specific strategic vision within the data center / mission critical market to become the industry leader.
• Communicate strategic and growth business plans to meet key financial objectives of our TMT sector specifically focused on Data Centers.
• Serve as the Client Manager for water infrastructure scope with selected data center clients in North America and be active and visible in the industry.

• Support business development and pursuit activities through identification of project opportunities, proposal development, presentation to clients and scope development/contract negotiations after selection. Business development opportunities may include both new and existing sites.
• Cultivate long‑term, sustainable, value‑based client relationships. In time the role may expand to include partners, such as subconsultants, water treatment vendors, and water treatment equipment manufacturers.

• Take on Project Management (PM) and Principal in Charge (PIC) assignments that leverage this leadership role by driving client satisfaction, staff development, technical excellence and mentoring…