West Tunnel Practice Lead

Overview

At HDR, our employee-owners are fully engaged in creating a welcoming environment where each of us is valued and respected. We foster a culture of inclusion throughout our company and communities. This is a key leadership role in HDR’s Water Business Group, focusing on hydraulic tunnel engineering and overseeing trenchless projects within the Central/West Regions.

This is a leadership position that will lead some of the largest and most significant infrastructure projects and will support design teams, client relations, and project development across a variety of tunnel and civil infrastructure projects related to water, wastewater, stormwater, and reclaimed water.

HDR embraces a robust workshare program and emphasizes risk management, quality control, and strategic direction for our tunneling practice. Regular travel can be expected to support project execution and business development.

EEO statement: HDR is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer. We consider all qualified applicants, regardless of criminal histories, arrest and conviction records. See  for details.

• Primary Responsibilities
  • Direct involvement and oversight on select projects to manage tunnel related services
  • Advising on and review of alternatives analyses and feasibility studies related to tunnels
  • Risk Management and risk awareness of the WBG tunneling portfolio
  • Subconsultant vetting and coordination for subconsultant risk management including Quality Assurance activities and scope provisions
  • Assessment and enhancement of HDR’s capabilities regarding tunnel construction and trenchless technologies (e.g., SEM, NATM)
  • Collaboration with HDR’s WBG Tunnel Practice Lead and Geotechnical Cross Sector
  • Verify qualifications and training of field staff assigned to construction phase services related to tunnels
• Secondary Responsibilities
  • Cost engineering support
  • Skills and bench-depth management for tunnel instrumentation, mechanical, civil, and design support
  • Assessing terrestrial and marine construction capabilities
  • Numerical modeling to support tunnel projects (ground/structure interaction, underpinning)
  • Coordination/production of design calculations, contract documents
  • Site characterization and geotechnical evaluations
  • Construction engineering support
  • Inspections and condition assessments
  • Resiliency, operations, and emergency response issues

This role supports HDR’s tunnel practice focusing on execution, supervision, and planning of tunneling projects, and will involve managing client relationships. Regular travel is expected to support project execution and business development endeavors.

• Required Qualifications
  • Bachelor's degree in Engineering
  • 10 years related experience
  • A minimum 5 years project management experience
  • Professional engineering license recognized by the licensing board for the position’s location (e.g., PE or P.Eng)
  • MS Office and MS Project experience (Access is a plus)
  • Demonstrated leadership, business development and strategic planning skills
  • Commitment to participating in HDR’s employee-owned culture
• Preferred Qualifications
  • Master's degree
  • Ability to communicate and coordinate work within an integrated multidisciplinary team
  • Experience in U.S. tunneling design and construction
  • Leading design and construction of tunnels for major projects
  • Geotechnical expertise (rock/mechanics, ground conditions)
  • Knowledge of SEM, NATM, SCL, EPBM, cut-and-cover techniques
  • Publications or professional involvement in industry groups
  • Ph.D. in engineering or related field
  • Experience managing staff, clients, contracts; hiring engineers
  • Strong marketing and business development skills and industry contacts
  • Experience with numerical analysis tools (e.g., FLAC, PLAXIS, MIDAS, MODFLOW)
  • Knowledge of FEM-based ground-structure interaction modelling
  • Experience with large-scale underground projects and urban tunneling
  • Prior construction or contractor experience

HDR is committed to a culture of inclusion and offers a comprehensive benefits package to support employee ownership and success.