Design Lead – Utility Infrastructure & ROW

About Us

HBK Engineering, LLC is a fully licensed, professional engineering design firm headquartered in Chicago, IL with a staff approaching 700 individuals. HBK provides civil, environmental, structural, electrical, subsurface utility, construction support services and permitting facilitation. Since our founding in 1998, we have earned a reputation for delivering outstanding, accurate services in extremely time-sensitive, multilayered environments. That "industry-recognized" performance has propelled our expansion and the ability to provide engineering services in all 50 states.

With 25 offices nationwide, including concentrations in the Midwest and on the Coasts, HBK brings together a dedicated team whose main focus is the design and protection of utilities and utility networks. We have successfully performed engineering work for a complete spectrum of utility infrastructure projects providing solutions and construction support from Coast to Coast in areas ranging from complex urban city centers, to rural greenfields, to limited access rights-of-way.

In July 2020, HBK Engineering was acquired by Quanta Services. Quanta Services provides infrastructure services for electric power, pipeline, and communications industries and employees over 50,000 people. Quanta’s focus on the utility industry and HBK’s focus on constructability in our designs has made our integration into the Quanta family of companies seamless.

A Design Lead at HBK Engineering is a position responsible for leading the coordination of detailed design phases for all aspects of utility engineering work. This senior‑level role involves applying broad knowledge of engineering principles and practices while directly overseeing a team of up to 6 entry‑ and mid‑level engineering staff. The position requires independently evaluating, selecting, and adapting standard techniques and procedures to address unique and complex electrical, structural, civil, and construction‑related challenges while interfacing directly with clients on technical design considerations.

A key component of this role includes driving utility/roadway conflict analysis, right‑of‑way (ROW) engineering corridors, and managing design packages that interface with municipal and state DOT frameworks.
This position can be seated in one of the following office locations:
Chicago, IL;
Oak Brook, IL;
Geneva, IL;
Spring, TX; or Denver, CO.

• Design engineering systems in compliance with specifications, codes, and client requirements for overhead and subsurface utility projects.
• Apply broad knowledge of engineering principles and practices to ensure design compliance with relevant specifications, codes, and client requirements.
• Evaluate utility impacts on roadway profiles, perform utility conflict matrix tracking, and design distribution reroutes around complex municipal and DOT roadway expansion corridors.
• Coordinate directly with public works departments, utility asset owners, and state/local DOT permitting agencies to secure necessary Right‑of‑Way (ROW), maintenance of traffic (MOT), and utility occupancy permits.
• Independently evaluate, select, and adapt standard techniques, procedures, and criteria to address unique and complex challenges.
• Act as team lead in coordinating detailed design phases for all aspects of utility engineering work.
• Directly oversee a team of up to 6 entry‑ and mid‑level engineering staff, approve timesheets, and conduct annual reviews.
• Work with project management to load balance engineering resources across projects.
• Coach and mentor entry‑level and mid‑level staff in their professional development.
• Perform quality control reviews of engineering designs under the oversight of professional engineering staff.
• Interface with clients to discuss engineering topics including project scope, technical design considerations, and material selection.
• Own all phases of the design lifecycle from project initiation through construction completion and closeout.
• Prepare detailed engineering and construction documents using AutoCAD, Micro Station, GIS systems, and client‑specific enterprise asset management platforms.
• Analyze information from…