Transportation Engineering Practice Lead

Lochner•Monterey Park, CA

15h

About The Position

Founded in 1944, Lochner is a trusted infrastructure services provider for aviation, surface transportation, and water clients who need high-quality, forward-looking solutions to complex challenges. Our vision is to become a Top 100 leader in the A/E industry, centered on an agile, engaged, and empowered workforce coming together to embrace the art of the possible and make a lasting difference in our world. Are you ready to join us on this journey? As a people-centric company, Lochner’s purpose is to empower our team to put their knowledge to work, enhancing communities across the US. To achieve this, we hire candidates of all experiences and skill sets because amazing things happen when people with diverse backgrounds come together to solve problems. We believe collaboration is more than a buzzword — it is a guiding principle in which every point of view is valued and heard and is the driving force in delivering our best work. At all levels of the organization, we foster an entrepreneurial spirit and culture of autonomy to advance our strategic vision and continually seek our next success story. Lochner – learn more about us Your Impact Under the direction of the Operations Manager, you will lead the continued expansion and performance of the Orange and San Diego offices. You will be responsible for building and leading the team, ensuring that communication and guidelines are aligned with the broader objectives, and incorporating corporate policies into the office operations and culture. You will also work to implement changes locally, including strategies, programs, and other initiatives. Responsible for business development and pursuing new opportunities, within the context of an ambitious growth plan, you will position and differentiate the team to win more projects and increase the company’s market share, working with transportation clients and acting as a SME in the delivery and oversight of these projects.

Requirements

Minimum of 15 years of diversified experience in civil engineering, with specific expertise in transportation infrastructure
Has led and delivered significant projects of scale through effective team and budget management.
Experienced in relevant facets of planning, design and construction services for roads, highways and bridges.
Strategic and growth minded leadership
Demonstrated track record of positioning and scaling a business and team for growth.
Ensures effective governance, at the project and business level.
Demonstrated track record of building strong relationships.
Ability to develop effective and trustworthy long-term relationships with clients, colleagues, and other stakeholders in the transportation industry.
Strong written and verbal communications skills
Adept at leveraging communications skills both externally (business development, writing proposals, community engagements, stakeholder and partnership development, leading client presentations/meetings) and internally, to drive the development and engagement of strong teams.
Bachelor’s degree required, with technical education in civil engineering or planning preferred but not required.

Nice To Haves

Ideally brings an established network locally, with relevant partners: DOT District offices, etc.
Professional registration desired, with registration as Professional Engineer preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop the civil transportation vision and supporting business plans to drive the region's growth, leveraging a strong understanding of the local marketplace, competitive landscape, and opportunities.
Work closely with Marketing Manager on development and implementation of local marketing and growth strategies.
Enforce application of marketing best practices and ensure the office is actively working toward meeting business plan goals and objectives.
Stay apprised of key / strategic opportunities for the office and ensure pursuit team compliance with client management, pre-positioning, go/no-go, and pursuit strategy best practices and company guidelines.
Represent the firm at client meetings, industry events, and other business functions.
Develop relationships with local leaders from key teaming partner firms and take active leadership roles in professional organizations at local level.
Support office in developing strategic teaming partnerships and subsequent agreements.
Schedule periodic meetings with key client personnel in coordination with PMs, staff and other members of leadership as appropriate.
Support the development of office-level action plans to support the regional business plan and encourage strong debate and analysis for growth in an area or discipline.
Ensure compliance with company expectations for staff utilization and enforce corrective action plans when/where needed.
Resolve high level operational concerns or problems as soon as practicable and take actionable steps to remediate impacts and enhance performance.
Assess and anticipate the organization’s talent needs to best understand current and future leadership gaps and bench strength, and then design and implement a comprehensive leadership development strategy to meet future needs.
Ensure the profitability of the regional office and its projects.
Measure and monitor budget and operational performance and communicate key metrics and information regularly to the leadership team.
Operational Responsibility Where possible and in agreement with regional leadership, maintain a defined level of chargeability. Without a chargeability expectation will be required to assume a greater level of responsibility as approved by leadership.
Work closely with other Office Managers (OMs) and support teaming within their regions.
Maintain client communication in coordination with other offices and assure satisfactory client experience, project production, and Quality Assurance / Quality Control procedures.
Oversee succession plans and where appropriate, support development of defined successor(s) across the team.
Perform honest and candid performance evaluations of direct reports.
Recommend salary increases for subordinate staff for approval by leadership.
Ensure office complies with applicable laws, regulations, and corporate policies / procedures.
Ensure the flow of communication within the region, through regular meetings, written communications, and informal communication, to ensure the effective sharing or critical information, efficient decision-making, team engagement and collaboration.
Drive the growth of the business regionally to support attainment of KOA-Lochner’s nationwide growth strategies and plans.
Leverage an entrepreneurial approach to refresh the local strategy and position the business for success.
Contribute to long-term growth in the region by building the technical and civil transportation capabilities required to secure current business and penetrate new markets.
Stabilize the business and reinvigorate the culture.
Engage and inspire the team, with a focus on sustainable growth through recruitment, retention, and professional development.