Senior Vice President, California Technical Excellence Director

WSP•Los Angeles, CA

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

WSP is seeking a Senior Vice President, California Technical Excellence Director for its Southern California offices. The position is part of the California leadership team and provides direct leadership and functional oversight of the Southern California Civil group, while championing technical excellence across the California region. It combines regional technical leadership with direct project engagement, with approximately 50% of the role focused on major, complex, and high-visibility programs. The director provides technical decision-making, quality oversight, strategic guidance, mentorship, and support for successful project delivery. Working with regional, local, and national business line leaders, the role supports pursuits, client engagement, regional marketing and business growth strategies, and the growth of WSP’s transportation infrastructure business in California. The director contributes to regional strategy, operational performance, business growth, project performance, and financial metrics, and reports directly to the Regional Business Lead for California. The role also supports organizational effectiveness and team development by assessing capabilities, resolving delivery risks, mentoring future leaders, recruiting and developing high-performing teams, and fostering an inclusive and collaborative culture. The director is expected to uphold WSP’s principles and policies concerning quality, safety, sustainability, ethics and compliance, and inclusion and diversity. Occasional travel may be required depending on project-specific needs.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in engineering or a closely related discipline.
15 or more years of relevant post-education experience in the A/E/C industry, including leadership on large, complex infrastructure programs.
Demonstrated advanced experience in a senior technical leadership role, such as Chief Engineer, Technical Director, Senior Technical Program Director, or equivalent.
Proven ability to lead across multiple teams, projects, and business units with clear accountability for outcomes.
Excellent track record of client engagement, business development, and successful delivery of major programs.
Advanced experience with business performance and project economics, with the ability to contribute to or lead a profit center over time.
Demonstrated ability to assess teams, make difficult decisions, and drive organizational and delivery improvement.
Strong leadership presence and communication skills, with the ability to operate effectively at executive, client, and project levels.
Commitment to technical excellence, delivery quality, and client-focused outcomes.
Advanced knowledge and proficiency with office automation, discipline-specific design software, technology, mathematical principles, predictive models, spreadsheets, and tools used in a corporate environment.
Proven track record of upholding workplace safety and ability to comply with WSP health, safety, drug/alcohol, and harassment policies.

Nice To Haves

California Professional Engineer (P.E.) licensure or equivalent.

Responsibilities

Provide leadership and oversight of technical work across the California region, including technical decision-making, delivery quality, and standards.
Establish and reinforce a clear technical leadership structure with accountability aligned to responsibilities.
Balance regional leadership with direct involvement in major, complex, and high-visibility project delivery, targeting approximately 50% project engagement.
Contribute to regional performance and key performance indicators, which may include net revenue, EBITDA, direct and indirect labor, utilization, sales, and funding.
Serve as a core member of the regional leadership team, contributing to business strategy, operational performance, and growth in the California market.
Collaborate with regional and local leaders to drive business growth, manage project performance, oversee overhead expenditures, and meet operational, business, and financial metrics.
Support regional growth, forecasting, and business development strategies with regional and national business line leaders, particularly in transportation design and delivery, rail and transit, and alternative delivery.
Act as a client-facing leader by strengthening relationships, supporting pursuits, and enhancing WSP’s presence with key clients and programs.
Assess team capability, project leadership, and organizational effectiveness, and drive changes in coordination with the Regional Business Lead and leadership team.
Identify and intervene in project risks, underperformance, and delivery issues, driving timely resolution and strong client outcomes.
Align technical delivery, client satisfaction, and commercial performance while reinforcing a seller-doer leadership model.
Develop and inform proposal and project scopes, timelines, pricing, and budgetary metrics; plan, develop, and manage projects in compliance with applicable codes, regulations, and engineering practices.
Exercise responsible and ethical decision-making regarding company funds, resources, and conduct, and follow WSP’s Code of Conduct and related policies.
Work with the California Region Business Leader on business vision and culture, talent development, team building, client engagement, and performance and growth strategy.
Mentor senior technical staff and project managers to develop future leaders and strengthen leadership depth.
Lead recruiting, mentoring, and development of high-performing teams.
Collaborate with the Region Business Leader to attract industry talent and foster an inclusive, collaborative work environment that supports creative thinking.
Provide strategic process and people leadership for engineering and technical disciplines’ project and program involvement across the district and organization.
Promote employee engagement and morale and represent WSP positively to clients and communities.
Support WSP programs and guiding principles, including quality, safety, sustainability, ethics and compliance, and inclusion and diversity.
Perform additional responsibilities as required by business needs.

Benefits

Medical coverage
Dental coverage
Vision coverage
Disability coverage
Life coverage
Retirement savings
Paid sick leave
Paid vacation or other personal time
Paid parental leave
Paid time off for bereavement, voting, and/or attendance at naturalization proceedings