Design Manager (Water / Wastewater)

GHD; Buffalo (NY); On-site; USD 107,000 - 196,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401K

PTO

Holiday pay

Wellness benefit

Job summary

GHD is seeking a Water & Wastewater Process Design Manager to lead cross‑discipline engineering teams, scope projects, and ensure compliance with client needs and regulations. The role includes QA/QC oversight, procurement finalization, change management, site visits, and proposal development, enabling impactful infrastructure projects with a collaborative, high‑performing team.

The position emphasizes hands‑on project execution, technical scope delivery, and collaboration with Project Managers

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree in Engineering or another technical discipline.
• Professional Engineering License or ability to obtain.
• At least 7 years of technical, administrative and project experience, managing the design delivery for larger, multi‑discipline projects (municipal/industrial water & wastewater preferred).
• Knowledge of scheduling software and engineering and capital cost estimating techniques is preferred.
• Process modeling such as bio‑win (optional).

Responsibilities

• Needs Assessment: identify issues, stakeholders, and potential causes.
• Culture of Innovation: drive multi-stakeholder innovation across units.
• Engineering Solutions Design: design and validate engineering solutions to meet design briefs and standards.
• Engineering Standards Specification: draft standards and evaluate effectiveness within the discipline.
• Knowledge Management: develop policies, practices, and knowledge sharing sessions.
• Health, Safety, and Environment: monitor HSE KPIs and improve performance.
• Technical Developments Recommendation: propose advanced technical developments to improve systems.
• Professional Supervision: supervise professionals and support development.
• Feasibility Studies: conduct complex feasibility studies and cost‑benefit analyses.
• Project Management: manage a portfolio of projects and report to senior staff.
• Client & Customer Management (External): manage key client relationships.

Skills

Project management

Client management

Team leadership

Education

Bachelor’s/Master’s in Engineering

Professional Engineering License

Job description

Water & Wastewater Process Design Manager

We’re looking for a driven and experienced Water & Wastewater Process Design Manager to join our Engineering Design Organization! In this role, you’ll coordinate technical teams across multiple design disciplines, ensuring projects meet client needs and comply with all applicable regulations. You’ll be responsible for executing the technical scope of projects, developing work plans in collaboration with Project Managers and Directors, and verifying progress against schedule and budget. You’ll empower team leads with the resources they need, facilitate design decisions, and oversee QA/QC and client review processes. From finalizing procurement documents to managing change records and participating in site visits and proposal development, this is a hands‑on opportunity to shape impactful infrastructure projects with a collaborative, high‑performing team.

Key Responsibilities

• Needs Assessment: Uncover emerging issues or needs, identifying potential causes, barriers, and key stakeholders, as well as related issues.
• Culture of Innovation: Drive a culture of innovation by creating multistakeholder solutions that boost creativity, innovation, and collaboration across business units.
• Engineering Solutions Design: Design engineering solutions and the associated validation process to enable the realization of a design brief that conforms to organizational and/or regulatory standards.
• Engineering Standards Specification: Analyze information, draft engineering standards and specifications, and evaluate the effectiveness of those standards within own engineering discipline.
• Knowledge Management: Develop policies and processes, create best practices, set up case studies, and deliver internal knowledge‑sharing sessions.
• Health, Safety, and Environment: Monitor and review performance against health, safety, and environment (HSE) key performance indicators (KPIs) and take action to improve performance.
• Technical Developments Recommendation: Discuss and recommend more complex or innovative technical developments to improve the quality of the website/portal/application software and supporting infrastructure.
• Professional Supervision: Lead and oversee the provision of professional supervision to ensure effective professional supervision that supports practitioners’ professional development.
• Feasibility Studies: Conduct complex feasibility studies from a technological and organizational perspective and document findings to complete cost‑benefit analysis on implementing changes to business processes, products, or business unit structure.
• Project Management: Manage a portfolio of projects while reporting to senior colleagues.
• Client & Customer Management (External): Manage important client relationships with guidance from senior colleagues.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degree in Engineering or another technical discipline.
• Professional Engineering License or ability to obtain.
• At least 7 years of technical, administrative and project experience, managing the design delivery for larger, multi‑discipline projects (specifically for municipal/industrial water and wastewater treatment plants, facilities, or buildings preferred).
• Knowledge of scheduling software and engineering and capital cost estimating techniques is preferred.
• Process modeling such as bio‑win (optional).

Benefits

• 401K – Employees are eligible to participate on the first day of the month following 3 months of service.
• Paid time off – PTO starts at 16 days per year and increases with years of service.
• Holiday Pay – Holiday pay is provided for eligible employees. GHD observes 9 holidays per year.
• Wellness Benefit – Regular full‑term employees are eligible for a wellness reimbursement program, covering a range of health and fitness items up to $250.00 annually.

Salary range: $107,000–$196,000 based on experience.

GHD is an equal opportunity employer. We provide equal employment opportunities to all qualified employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, genetic information, national origin, sex (including same sex), sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, age, disability or handicap, citizenship status, service member status, or any other category protected by federal, state, or local law.