Underground Works Engineering Lead

Project Overview

Our customer is a utility in central Arizona looking to add 2000 MW of pumped energy storage to meet growing demand on its network. The project will use the existing Apache lake as the lower reservoir and build an upper reservoir by constructing dams in the Alchesay Canyon. Underground water‑walled tunnels will transit water down a ~1,200‑ft drop. The scope includes access roads, upper‑reservoir dam and overflow spillway, underground tunnel waterways and surface facility construction.

This is a historic, high‑performing EPC civil project.

The position will be based in the Design Subcontractor offices in Denver, Colorado with regular visits to the BTJV Central Design Office in Mesa, Phoenix, Arizona.

The Underground Works Engineering Lead is the senior technical authority responsible for the overall leadership, integration, and assurance of all underground works for the SRP project. The role spans design development, discipline integration, technical governance, and construction support for the underground scope. It requires extensive underground works experience, strong leadership, and advanced professional judgment to ensure safe, constructible, risk‑managed and compliant designs.

• Serve as the underground engineering authority for the project, providing technical leadership and governance.
• Lead and integrate engineering for access, headrace, and tailrace tunnels, vertical and inclined shafts, underground caverns, hydraulic structures, galleries, permanent ground support, and linings.
• Work with the Design Subcontractor and discharge responsibilities as set out in the Management of Third‑Party Engineering, 10G‑M41‑00013.
• Ensure effective integration between civil, structural, geotechnical, hydraulic and construction disciplines for underground scope.
• Approve underground design criteria, assumptions, methodologies and key technical decisions.
• Lead review and acceptance of design calculations, technical reports, specifications and drawings from design consultants.
• Ensure compliance with project design criteria, applicable codes and standards (e.g., ACI, AISC, Eurocode, USACE/US ) and SRP requirements.
• Oversee underground design maturity planning and alignment with EDD/design stage gateways.
• Identify, manage and mitigate underground‑specific risks, including geotechnical uncertainty, groundwater, excavation stability, constructability constraints and interface risks.
• Ensure alignment between design assumptions and construction methodologies, excavation sequencing and support classes.
• Provide technical oversight on temporary works interfaces affecting underground construction.
• Offer senior engineering support during construction, including resolution of complex RFIs, technical queries, evaluation of nonconformances and approval of field‑driven design changes.
• Support resolution of unforeseen ground conditions in coordination with construction, site engineering and geotechnical teams.
• Lead and participate in constructability reviews, safety‑in‑design workshops, risk reviews, and HAZID/HAZOP studies relevant to underground works.
• Apply Bechtel’s Engineering Quality Management System, including independent reviews and verification requirements.
• Interface with SRP, JV partners, owners’ engineers and regulatory stakeholders on underground technical matters.
• Chair underground engineering and discipline‑specific meetings, ensuring actions are recorded and closed.
• Represent the project in technical reviews and value engineering exercises related to underground scope.

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Civil Engineering, Structural, Geotechnical Engineering, or closely related discipline.
• Minimum 20+ years overall experience, including at least 12 years in underground works for pumped‑storage, hydropower and/or tunneling projects.

• Strong experience leading the design and construction support of tunnels, shafts and large underground caverns.
• Professional/Chartered engineer preferred with broad knowledge of U.S. government compliance standards.
• Excellent understanding of underground excavation methods, support…