Water Business Group Data Steward

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.

This role shapes how our data is defined, used, and reused across the Water Business Group and HDR.

Across the company, we all rely on data to plan work, deliver projects, answer questions, and make decisions. When data is defined differently from team to team, project to project, or region to region, it becomes harder to trust, reuse, and scale. Water Data Stewardship helps fix this at the source.

By clearly defining how our data aligns to proper business terminology and creating shared understanding for delivery teams, this role supports turning our data into solutions that our Water BG and employees can confidently use, reuse, and build upon. It reduces confusion, prevents rework, and makes it easier for teams to answer questions and deliver work without starting from scratch.

• Establish and coordinate a network of SME expertise across the Water Business Group to define technical standards, ensuring alignment to Water data practices and enterprise expectations.
• Develop and maintain business‑aligned data definitions for key engineering and technical terms that support structured data models, reporting, automation, and AI use cases.
• Use your technical network to build alignment and consensus around data processes, priority, and expected use.
• Promote consistent, responsible use of technical data, including access, data quality, formats, and reuse.
• Support governance of externally sourced datasets (access, approvals, inventory awareness, storage, lifecycle considerations).
• Promote data fluency across the Water Business Group.
• Coordinate with the Technology Director to align data workflows and initiatives to Water BG Strategy.
• Lead change management efforts to drive adoption of data standards, practices, and tools across the Water BG.
• Regularly communicate and collaborate with other Data Stewards, Enterprise Data Science Teams, and Enterprise Data Operations staff.
• Ensure new tools identified for implementation within the Water BG are aligned to data strategy.

• Embedded in the Water Business Group (not an IT role)
• Enablement‑focused and collaborative
• Part of technology leadership, focused on supporting effective project delivery
• Connected to a broader Data Steward network
• Focused on defining and enabling use of Water and service line data

• Understand how data is delivered, defined and used in the Water industry and on projects
• Trusted by peers and leaders
• Can translate complex practices into clear, usable guidance
• Comfortable making decisions and driving consensus
• Have strong data fluency and curiosity to keep learning
• Bring a solid technical network you can tap for feedback and alignment
• Demonstrate credibility in data, technology, and delivery practices and can influence teams through clarity, consistency, and outcomes
• Able to clearly communicate the importance of data integrity at all levels of the organization
• Established leader with influence and credibility (not intended for early‑career staff)

• This role establishes repeatable data practices by defining how data is captured, structured, governed, and reused across systems, workflows, and delivery teams.
• Maintained Water service line data glossary used by the organization
• Water Business Groups have a well‑known steward who can train staff and answer data questions
• Data definitions and classifications translate into reliable data models and AI tools that answer leaders’ and teams’ questions
• Teams have the tools to effectively leverage data for project delivery and pursuits
• Teams proactively reference shared definitions instead of creating local terminology

In the Water facilities program of Business Classes (WWT&EM, Water Treatment, Pump Stations and Pipelines, Fisheries), a standardized data catalog classifies facility design according to tags such as facility type, size, geographic…