Head of Engineering and Land Development; executive

EYA is a premier developer and builder of thoughtfully designed, urban, walkable communities in the Washington, DC metro area. For more than 30 years, we have specialized in complex infill residential development—transforming constrained, entitlement-intensive sites into distinctive townhome and mixed-use neighborhoods.

Our projects often involve intricate jurisdictional requirements, structured parking, shared infrastructure, phased delivery, finished pad transfers, and coordination with third-party builders. We operate in some of the region’s most demanding entitlement environments—and we do so successfully because of disciplined planning, technical expertise, and strong execution leadership.

As our portfolio continues to grow in scale and complexity, we are seeking a Head of Engineering and Land Development to lead and evolve our land development platform.

The Head of Engineering and Land Development is a senior executive responsible for the strategy, structure, and execution of horizontal development across EYA’s portfolio—from early feasibility input during land pursuit through infrastructure delivery, bond release, parcel transfers, and HOA turnover.

While EYA’s real estate acquisitions and development team leads entitlement strategy and jurisdictional approvals, the Head of Engineering and Land Development ensures that engineering oversight, infrastructure planning, budgeting, contractor engagement, and field execution are aligned with the realities of delivering complex urban communities.

This leader evaluates risk, determines delivery structure, safeguards capital, and ensures disciplined execution in environments where precision matters.

The Head of Engineering and Land Development leads:

• EYA’s internal engineering group (which oversees civil engineering consultants)
• The land development preconstruction and estimating function
• Land development buyout and contractor procurement
• Field land development execution
• Bond release and HOA turnover processes

This role reports to the COO and works closely with acquisitions, real estate development, construction, finance, and legal.

Strategic Partnership in Land Pursuit

• Partner with acquisitions and development during feasibility and underwriting to assess infrastructure complexity, grading constraints, utility capacity, off-site obligations, and sequencing risk.
• Develop and validate horizontal budgets and schedules that accurately reflect urban infill conditions and jurisdictional requirements.
• Identify capital exposure and infrastructure risk early in the deal lifecycle.
• Advise on land development structuring considerations, including factors that may impact phased delivery and third-party parcel strategies.
• Provide executive oversight to EYA’s internal engineering team, which manages external civil engineering consultants.
• Ensure that site design and infrastructure planning align with cost discipline, constructability, and horizontal sequencing strategy.
• Coordinate closely with the acquisition & development team as entitlement plans evolve, advising on execution implications without leading the entitlement process.
• Drive transition from approved plans to construction-ready documents with clarity, discipline, and accountability.

Infrastructure Delivery Strategy

• Evaluate each project’s complexity, phasing, jurisdictional environment, and risk profile to determine the optimal horizontal delivery approach.
• Oversee engagement of qualified site developers who perform all horizontal construction work.
• On larger or technically complex communities, determine when to engage a horizontal general contractor early—beginning in preconstruction—with EYA serving in an owner’s representative capacity for infrastructure…