Senior Water Resources Planning Engineer

Freese and Nichols•Denver, CO

13d•Hybrid

About The Position

Freese and Nichols is seeking an experienced Senior Water Resources Planning Engineer to join our growing team in either our Denver or Loveland, Colorado office. This role will support and help grow our Colorado Water Resources Planning practice with a strong emphasis on Colorado water rights, basin-scale hydrology, and long-range water supply planning. The position will support public-sector clients throughout Colorado and nationally, including municipal and regional water providers, special districts, and state or basin-driven planning entities. The successful candidate will have a seller/doer role, helping to identify, pursue, win, and manage technically complex planning and water rights-related projects while providing senior technical leadership within multidisciplinary teams. This role is intended to support Freese and Nichols’ strategic expansion of water resources planning services in Colorado with close integration across water/wastewater planning, environmental services, and infrastructure planning disciplines, nationally. Project focus will include geographically and technically diverse efforts across Freese and Nichols geographies.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Water Resources Engineering, or related engineering discipline
Professional Engineer (P.E.) license in the State of Colorado (or ability to obtain via comity within a defined timeframe)
10+ years of progressively responsible experience in water resources planning and/or water rights analysis
Demonstrated experience working in Colorado’s prior appropriation system
Experience supporting or leading projects involving Colorado water rights administration, such as: Augmentation plan support, Change of water right analyses, Yield and reliability analyses, Conjunctive use or replacement water evaluations
Strong technical writing and presentation skills
Experience preparing scopes, schedules, and budgets for professional services
Ability to work independently while functioning as part of a collaborative team

Nice To Haves

Direct experience working with or supporting: Municipal or regional water providers in Colorado, Basin roundtables or Colorado Water Plan–related efforts, State agencies such as the Colorado Water Conservation Board or Division of Water Resources
Modeling experience relevant to Colorado water rights and planning, such as: StateMod, RiverWare, StateCU
Experience with groundwater flow modeling (e.g. MODFLOW or equivalent), particularly for: Stream–aquifer interaction analyses, Well depletions and lagged response evaluation, Support of water rights and augmentation planning decisions, Planning‑level evaluation of groundwater supplies as part of integrated municipal or regional water supply portfolio
Experience with scenario‑based and risk‑informed planning approaches
Familiarity with climate‑driven hydrologic stressors affecting Colorado supply systems
Experience collaborating with legal teams on water rights matters; May provide technical support for water court proceedings, including preparation of engineering analyses and coordination with legal counsel
Existing professional relationships within the Colorado water community (utilities, agencies, or legal firms)
Advanced degree preferred but not required

Responsibilities

Serve as Project Manager and/or Technical Lead for complex Colorado water resources planning projects, including: Long‑range water supply and integrated water resources plans, Water rights evaluations and strategy support, Basin‑scale hydrologic and yield analyses, Scenario‑based planning related to climate variability, demand growth, storage, reuse, and operational constraints
Provide technical support to water rights applications and processes, including: Support for water court change cases (engineering analyses, yield impacts, depletion accounting), Evaluation of conditional and absolute water rights, Analysis of augmentation plans, substitute supply plans, and conjunctive use operations, Coordination with legal counsel on water rights matters
Lead or contribute to development of quantitative planning and decision‑support models, including surface water and/or integrated surface water–groundwater systems
Prepare and review technical memoranda, reports, exhibits, and expert‑support documentation suitable for planning studies, regulatory review, and legal proceedings
Support business development by: Assisting in preparation of proposals (scope, staffing, fee), Participating in client meetings and industry events, Leveraging existing and developing new client relationships across Colorado
Supervise and mentor engineers, planners, and analysts; provide technical guidance and quality control
Coordinate with multidisciplinary internal teams (environmental, water/wastewater, planning) and subconsultants