Dams Risk Lead

At HDR, our employee-owners are fully engaged in creating a welcoming environment where each of us is valued and respected, a place where everyone is empowered to bring their authentic selves and novel ideas to work every day. As we foster a culture of inclusion throughout our company and within our communities, we constantly ask ourselves:
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Each and every role throughout our organization makes a difference in our ability to change the world for the better. Read further to learn how you could help make great things possible not only in your community, but around the world.

We believe water is more than a resource, it's a shared responsibility. As part of our Water Business Group, you’ll help shape how communities manage water for generations to come. From delivering safe drinking water and treating wastewater responsibly to developing sustainable water supplies and protecting lives and property through flood control, your work will directly support public health, environmental sustainability, and infrastructure resilience.

We bring together experts across disciplines to solve complex challenges with bold thinking and technical excellence. Whether you're modernizing aging systems or pioneering innovative approaches, your contributions will make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. This isn’t just a job, it's a chance to lead change, drive progress, and leave a lasting legacy.

The California Dam Risk Lead is responsible for strategic planning with a focus on growing the practice in California, staff development and succession planning, and supporting planning and delivery of dam risk projects in California. The position will coordinate closely with HDR’s National Technical Lead for Dam Safety and Risk.

The person in this position will assist HDR’s clients in dam risk analysis (SQRA and QRA), portfolio risk assessments, and risk informed decision making (RIDM). This person will facilitate risk workshops, serve as a subject matter expert (SME), build and maintain client relations, and lead project delivery. The person in this position will also mentor mid- and junior-level staff across a variety of disciplines in risk related practices.

HDR incorporates risk into all aspects of dam planning, analysis, decision making, and design. Therefore, this position will participate in and provide risk oversight of a variety of project types including planning, design, inspection, construction management of dams and reservoirs projects involving hydropower, water supply, recreation, flood control, and navigation.

The person in this position will coordinate projects with HDR’s National Technical Lead for Dam Safety and Risk and coordinate with subject matter experts in inter-related disciplines such as hydrology, hydraulics, structural, geology, geotechnical, civil, mechanical, CADD, and GIS. The person in this position will also coordinate with HDR’s other regional and corporate business class technical leads and advisors to support California’s program delivery and growth.

In the role of Dams and Risk Lead, we’ll count on you to:

• Direct and coordinate work of single or multidiscipline teams throughout the project’s lifecycle (from development and initiation to close-out)
• Responsible for all aspects of complex small to medium projects or routine large projects
• Produce and coordinate several small to medium projects concurrently
• Establish and maintain client relations, and be involved with marketing, contractual, design and production meetings
• Conduct work sessions for deliverable development in conjunction with other staff and stakeholders
• Coordinate staffing and workload through entire project life cycle, and ensure completion of deliverables on…