Levees Practice Lead

Responsibilities

In this role, you will provide strategic and technical leadership for the planning, design, evaluation, and rehabilitation of levee systems and related flood risk management infrastructure, while also driving business development to grow the practice. This includes identifying and pursuing new opportunities, developing client relationships, and supporting proposal and capture efforts. You will lead multidisciplinary teams and coordinate closely with structural, geotechnical, hydrology and hydraulics, mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation and controls disciplines to deliver integrated, resilient, and high‑quality solutions.

As a project leader, you will be responsible for integrating cross‑disciplinary inputs into cohesive design deliverables—including plans, specifications, and basis of design reports—that meet client objectives, regulatory requirements, and industry standards, while ensuring technical consistency, resolving interface challenges, and maintaining quality across all phases of project delivery.

As Levees Practice Lead
, you will lead business development efforts by identifying, pursuing, and securing new clients and projects while building and maintaining strong relationships with public agencies and private sector partners. You will develop and implement a strategic plan for the levees practice that aligns with overall company objectives, including identifying target markets, defining service offerings, and setting growth priorities such as levee evaluation, design, rehabilitation, risk assessment, and regulatory compliance.

You will build and grow a high‑performing levees practice by recruiting, hiring, and onboarding top talent while establishing a clear organizational structure and defined career pathways.

You will oversee multi‑site and multi‑phase civil works programs involving levees, flood walls, embankments, hydraulic control structures, pump stations, and associated infrastructure. You will guide due diligence, site investigations, risk assessments, and remediation strategies, with a strong focus on geotechnical and hydraulic performance, system reliability, and long‑term resilience. You will also lead efforts related to impact evaluation, stakeholder coordination, and environmental permitting in complex regulatory environments.

Your responsibilities include advancing the assessment, design, and rehabilitation of levee systems, including embankments, foundations, seepage control measures, closure structures, and erosion protection systems. You will apply geotechnical engineering principles—such as subsurface characterization, seepage and stability analyses, deformation and settlement evaluation, and seismic performance—to assess levee integrity, failure modes, and risk to protected areas. You will also integrate hydrologic and hydraulic analyses to inform loading conditions, freeboard requirements, system operations, and flood risk reduction performance.

You will support the design and implementation of system improvements and modernization initiatives, including cutoff walls, stability berms, ground improvement, relief wells, armoring, and upgrades to aging or underperforming infrastructure. You will also contribute to watershed‑and system‑level planning studies, helping clients prioritize investments and improve overall flood resilience.

A key aspect of the role includes preparing and overseeing technical documentation that evaluates site conditions, material performance, construction risks, and potential failure mechanisms affecting public safety, economic assets, and environmental resources. You will provide leadership in developing risk‑informed solutions, including geotechnical risk mitigation strategies, construction considerations, and adaptive management approaches.

You will ensure that all work is performed in accordance with applicable levee safety guidelines, USACE and FEMA requirements, geotechnical engineering standards, and emerging industry best practices. Through your leadership, you will promote technical excellence, innovation, and quality, delivering solutions that enhance infrastructure reliability, reduce flood risk, and support…