Principal Water Resources Engineer

AECOM•Portland, OR

21h•Hybrid

About The Position

AECOM is seeking a Principal Water Resources Engineer to lead high-quality project delivery and support the continued growth of our Pacific Northwest water resources practice. This Principal will work closely with the existing management team and technical staff in Portland, Seattle and Northern California to enhance ongoing project and client management, as well as develop a regional strategic growth plan. This role focuses on stream and river restoration, fish passage design, floodplain management, coastal resiliency and stormwater management, while combining technical leadership, project management, and practice growth responsibilities. The successful candidate will bring deep water resources expertise, strong client relationships, and a proven ability to develop opportunities, lead pursuits, and grow a project portfolio across Oregon, Washington, and the broader Pacific Northwest. As a senior member of the team, they will provide technical leadership and mentorship, help solve complex business and engineering challenges, and play a key role in expanding AECOM's regional presence while leveraging the resources, technical depth, and global reach of one of the world's leading infrastructure consulting firms. This opportunity is ideally suited for a seller-doer who wants to help build a leading Pacific Northwest water resources practice while leveraging the technical depth, brand recognition, and resources of AECOM's global water business.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering and 10+ years of relevant experience or demonstrated equivalency of experience and/or education
Professional Engineer in Oregon and/or Washington (or ability to obtain PE license within 6 months of hire)

Nice To Haves

20+ years of relevant Water Resources experience and 10+ years of Project Management experience
Strong relations and work history with clients in the Pacific Northwest and ability to leverage existing relationships to grow the business.
Demonstrated “seller-doer” experience, including both successful project delivery and measurable contributions to client development, proposal wins, revenue growth, or strategic market positioning.
Experience building or strengthening a regional practice, service line, client account, or technical team.
Ability to work collaboratively with AECOM’s national and global technical experts while developing a stronger local water resources presence in the Pacific Northwest.
Experience in preparing site civil design plans and grading.
Experience in construction management or engineering support during construction.
Demonstrated proficiency in AutoCAD/Civil 3D, Microstation, ArcGIS.
Experience with hydrologic, hydraulic, and geomorphic concepts, principles, and models (e.g., SRH-2D/SMS, HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, HydroCAD, SWMM).
Experience and familiarity with geomorphic field data collection techniques including pebble counts, channel and floodplain morphology measurements, and stream stability assessment.
Understanding of federal, state and local regulatory and permitting processes for water resources engineering projects.
Demonstrated experience in floodplain modeling/mapping and knowledge of FEMA requirements.
Experience with hydrology and hydraulics associated with dams, reservoirs, levees (e.g., precipitation frequency analysis, dam breach inundation analysis, spillway capacity analysis/design).
An MS or PhD in a relevant subject.
Membership in an appropriate professional organization (River Restoration Northwest, Northwest Regional Floodplain Management Association (NORFMA), etc).
Certified in WSDOT Fish Passage and Stream Restoration Training.
Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM)
Coding experience (e.g. Python) and experience in using/developing digital tools for hydrology and hydraulics.

Responsibilities

Proven experience in water resources engineering (e.g., restoration, hydrology/hydraulics, dams, levees, stormwater, flood control, drainage, culverts, bridges, bank stabilization) from planning to modeling to detailed design and construction supervision.
Identifies new business opportunities for AECOM, coordinates and participates in project presentations to clients and other external groups, and promotes AECOM’s capabilities, marketing its services among existing and prospective clients.
A key expectation of this role is active business development, including maintaining and expanding relationships with public-sector, transportation, municipal, environmental, and infrastructure clients in the Pacific Northwest.
Participates in project opportunity evaluation, consultant selection, and the preparation of AECOM's qualification/experience statements. This includes helping identify the right opportunities for AECOM, shaping capture strategies, contributing to go/no-go decisions, and developing winning proposal approaches.
Coordinates and participates in contract negotiations with clients and subcontractors and drafts complex professional service agreements and addenda for review by senior management.
The candidate should be comfortable moving projects from early client conversations through scope development, contracting, delivery, and follow-on work.
Directs project team and client compliance with contract terms and monitors subcontractors' compliance with contractual commitments.
Prepares project work plan, scope, schedule, and budget, and communicates these to project team members; monitors/manages project production for compliance with schedule, budget, and quality objectives.
The role requires strong project management discipline, including proactive communication with clients, technical staff, teaming partners, and AECOM leadership.
May supervise technical professionals, associate project managers, and design staff including workload and staffing management.
The candidate will also help mentor and grow staff in the Pacific Northwest, with support from AECOM’s broader regional and national water resources teams.
Monitors and reports financial status of projects to technical managers.
Performs such other duties as the supervisor may from time to time deem necessary.