Engineering Director 1

GAI Consultants•Jacksonville, FL

2d•Onsite

About The Position

GAI Consultants is seeking a Director of Water – Florida to lead, grow, and execute the firm’s water, wastewater, and stormwater practice in Florida while playing a key role in supporting GAI’s national water initiative. This is a senior leadership position for a proven, hands-on leader who combines technical excellence, people leadership, client development, and strategic vision. The Director will lead a team of engineers, actively identify and pursue new work, write and lead proposals, and direct project execution for water-related infrastructure programs. This role also contributes to firm-wide strategy for client development, service expansion, and long-term growth nationwide.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, or a related field.
Florida Professional Engineer (PE) license (or ability to obtain).
15+ years of progressive experience delivering water, wastewater, and/or stormwater projects within a consulting environment.
Demonstrated experience leading teams, identifying pursuits, writing proposals, and directing project execution.
Strong understanding of Florida water, wastewater, and stormwater markets, regulatory frameworks, and funding mechanisms.
20+ years of experience.
B.S. or M.S. Engineering, Master's Degree or Equivalent Experience Preferred
Professional Engineer (P.E.) License, reciprocity in multiple states.
Driver's License

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Engineering or Business (MBA).
Experience contributing to or leading regional or national water initiatives.
Proven ability to grow services across multiple offices or client sectors.
Established relationships with Florida and national water-related clients.

Responsibilities

Lead and manage GAI’s Florida water, wastewater, and stormwater practice, including direct supervision, mentoring, and development of engineers and project managers.
Serve as a key contributor to GAI’s national water initiative, collaborating with executive leadership and peer Directors to align regional execution with firm-wide water strategy.
Establish staffing strategies, workload planning, and resource coordination to support growth and successful project delivery.
Support organic and inorganic growth initiatives, including evaluation of new services, strategic hires, partnerships, and potential acquisitions.
Proactively identify, qualify, and prioritize pursuits for water, wastewater, and stormwater projects in alignment with Florida and national strategies.
Lead and contribute to proposal development, including pursuit strategy, positioning, technical authorship, pricing, and interviews.
Serve as capture lead or senior technical lead for major pursuits, partnering with marketing, operations, and leadership teams.
Build on existing client relationships while developing new opportunities with municipal utilities, counties, authorities, state agencies, and private-sector clients.
Act as a senior client relationship manager and trusted advisor for key water, wastewater, and stormwater clients.
Expand services within existing accounts while supporting national key client initiatives and cross-regional pursuits.
Represent GAI through industry organizations, conferences, and professional networks, strengthening the firm’s Florida and national water market presence.
Provide direct project leadership and executive oversight for planning, design, and delivery of water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure projects.
Serve as Project Manager or Executive in Responsible Charge on select key projects.
Ensure excellence in technical quality, schedule, budget performance, risk management, and client satisfaction.
Guide and support project managers and technical leads in resolving complex technical, contractual, and client issues.
Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of engineers and project professionals.
Support recruiting, onboarding, and succession planning to build long-term depth in water, wastewater, and stormwater capabilities.
Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.
Promote consistent best practices and integration across offices to support scalable national growth.
Frequently performs advisory or consulting work for the practice across broad project areas or within a specialized area with innovative/complex aspects.
Assesses practices and requirements to achieve sustainable performance of complex engineering projects from a systems perspective.
Evaluates project management plans for complex engineering projects.
Develops risk mitigation plans to address project risks.
Evaluates effectiveness of leaders and teams.
Leads an entire project of critical importance.
Develops projects needed for accomplishing the objectives of the practice.
Develops practice strategy for staff development through mentored experience, continuing education, and self-development.
Instills and fosters professional attitudes within the practice.
Negotiates critical and controversial issues with leadership of other practices.
Represents their practice at important functions and conferences.