Principal Water Treatment Planning Engineer/Manager

Arcadis•Los Angeles, CA

1d•$170,000 - $220,000

About The Position

Arcadis is seeking a Principal Water Treatment Planning Engineer/Manager to join its Resilience Water Planning Practice in Southern California. The role leads water quality and treatment planning projects, develops long-term strategies, and supports complex multidisciplinary planning projects. It also provides mentorship to planners, engineers, and scientists. The position collaborates with regional and national leaders, market sector leads, and client account managers to shape water and recycled water planning. It supports municipal and utility clients addressing regulatory requirements, climate uncertainty, water supply resilience, and infrastructure investment needs. Travel of up to 20% is anticipated across Southern California for client and project meetings, team engagement, planning initiatives, and industry events.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Civil, Environmental, or Chemical Engineering, or a related field.
At least 12 years of progressive experience in water resources planning, water system planning, or related fields.
Professional Engineer (PE) license.
Ability to lead multidisciplinary teams, manage client relationships, and deliver large, complex water planning projects.
Deep understanding of California’s regulatory environment and municipal water and recycled water utility market.
Experience partnering with municipal agencies and utilities to develop and implement long-term planning, resilience, and sustainability strategies.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Civil or Environmental Engineering, MBA, or a related field.
Professional Engineer (PE) license in California.
At least 15 years of progressively responsible experience in water resources, water planning, or related consulting services.

Responsibilities

Lead water and recycled water quality and treatment planning, including regulatory-compliance treatment processes, operations evaluations, and distribution-system water quality improvements.
Develop strategies addressing long-term water quality and treatment reliability, reuse, sustainability, resilience, and regulatory compliance.
Lead evaluations of existing water and recycled water treatment infrastructure and plan improvements to operability, water quality, and reliability.
Support treatment utility start-up, commissioning, and operations troubleshooting.
Represent municipalities and utilities as the Owner’s Agent on alternative delivery projects; evaluate water quality and review treatment approaches, basis of design, and calculations.
Lead development of performance guarantees and associated start-up and commissioning requirements; support commissioning to represent owner interests.
Provide technical leadership on water policy, regulatory frameworks, and planning best practices; advise clients on climate adaptation, drought resilience, water recycling, and sustainability.
Partner with Area Managers and Account Leaders to develop and implement client engagement strategies, build client relationships, pursue opportunities, and represent Arcadis at industry events and conferences.
Oversee multidisciplinary planning projects, ensuring deliverables meet scope, schedule, budget, and Arcadis quality standards.
Provide technical guidance and quality assurance on planning analyses and documentation.
Lead capital improvement plans and asset investment strategies, incorporating risk-based prioritization, lifecycle costing, funding strategies, and long-term objectives.
Participate in state and local professional associations, industry committees, and thought leadership initiatives.
Mentor and develop water planning professionals, support recruitment, and foster a collaborative, inclusive, growth-oriented team culture.