Director, Corporate Engineering

Socket.dev; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 152,000 - 218,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock purchase plan

401(k) matching

Paid vacation and holidays

Medical, dental, vision

Job summary

WM, headquartered in Houston, TX, seeks a Director of Corporate Engineering to strategically lead engineering across landfill operations, renewables, and compliance. You will set engineering standards, drive capital project planning, and ensure safety and financial objectives are met.

The role partners with Operations, Environmental Compliance, Sustainability, Fleet and senior leadership to deliver complex projects, improve asset reliability, and support long-term growth.

Qualifications

• Requires a Bachelor's in engineering or related field; 10+ years of engineering leadership in solid waste/landfills.
• Master's degree or MBA is preferred.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license is a plus; strong cross-functional collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead monthly landfill capital projects reviews for WM investment committee.
• Oversee annual Engineer Training Program including recruiting and management.
• Provide technical support for Enterprise Risk and Wastewater Solutions teams.
• Manage P&L for Corporate Engineering with ~$3.5M+ budget.
• Direct a 10+ person team across budgeting, forecasting, and program reviews.
• Oversee CAD team, airspace policies, and construction tech platforms.

Skills

Engineering leadership

Budgeting

Project management

Stakeholder management

Strategic planning

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Mechanical/Civil/Environmental/Chemical Engineering or related field

Master's degree in Engineering or MBA or related field

Tools

AutoDesk Construction Cloud

Reality Capture

DroneDeploy

Job description

I. Job Summary

The Director, Corporate Engineering provides strategic and operational leadership for the company's engineering function across landfill operations, renewable energy assets, and environmental compliance initiatives. This role is responsible for developing engineering standards, leading capital project planning, driving operational excellence, and ensuring engineering activities support the company's safety, sustainability, regulatory, and financial objectives.

The Director partners closely with Operations, Environmental Compliance, Sustainability, Renewable Energy, Fleet, Finance, Procurement, Legal and senior leadership teams to deliver complex capital projects, improve asset reliability, optimize operating performance, and support long‑term business growth.

II. Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Management of the monthly processes associated with Landfill Capital projects submitted for review at WM investment committee meetings.
• Management of WM’s annual Engineer Training Program including involvement in recruiting, hiring and program management each year.
• Responsible for technical support (individual or with appropriate Engineering team personnel) as needed for WM’s Enterprise Risk programs as well as WM’s Wastewater Solutions team.
• Responsible for the P&L of the corporate Engineering Team department including SG&A personnel/expenses as well as Disposal Operations personnel/expenses with a total annual budget of approximately $3.5M+.
• Management of a 10+ person team including the following responsibilities:
  • Budgeting the annual LF Capital and Final Capping as well as monthly forecasting of LF Capital and Final Capping.
  • Processes associated with WM’s annual LF Workbook program as well as annual Engineering team reviews of LF Workbooks received from WM Area personnel.
  • Environmental, compliance and property condition due diligence reviews of WM acquisitions.
  • WM’s corporate CAD team including airspace policies and procedures, annual airspace report preparation procedures/processes, and annual overfill certification requirements and documentation.
  • Development and management of WM’s Reality Capture, DroneDeploy and AutoDesk Construction Cloud (ACC) platforms and processes
  • Implementation of GHG emission strategies at an enterprise level including support for WM Scenario Planning Tool, GHG Capital budgeting and tracking, as well as risk and opportunity management associated with reduction of emissions from WM Landfill facilities.
• Responsible for the planning, development, implementation and execution of strategies associated with data analytics, process improvement, long term capital planning and the modernization of the current financial planning process.
• Responsible for go forward strategies associated with the development of AUF improvement analytics as well as facility fill sequence plans to continue to implement “Plan the Work and Work the Plan” processes as part of the implement of WM’s Reality Capture platform.

III. Qualifications

The requirements listed below are representative of the qualifications necessary to perform the job. Must live and work in the US.

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or related discipline.
• 10+ years of progressive engineering leadership experience focused on solid waste and landfills.
• Experience managing large‑scale capital projects and engineering teams.
• Strong knowledge of engineering design, construction, asset management, and project execution.
• Demonstrated success partnering with operations and executive leadership teams.
• Strong financial, analytical, and project management skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management capabilities.

Preferred

• Professional Engineer (PE) license.
• Master's degree in Engineering, Business Administration, or related field.
• Experience within environmental services, waste management, recycling, renewable energy, industrial infrastructure, or heavy operations.
• Familiarity with landfill operations, transfer stations, MRFs, RNG, or environmental compliance requirements.

IV. Physical Requirements

• Required to use motor coordination with finger dexterity (such as keyboarding, machine operation, etc.) most of the work day;
• Required to exert physical effort in handling objects less than 30 pounds rarely;
• Required to be exposed to physical occupational risks (such as cuts, burns, exposure to toxic chemicals, etc.) occasionally;
• Required to be exposed to physical environment which involves dirt, odors, noise, weather extremes or similar elements occasionally;
• Normal setting for this job is in an office.

Pay

The expected base pay range for this position across the U.S. is $152000 - $218000. This range represents a good faith estimate for this position. The specific salary offered to a successful candidate may be influenced by a variety of factors including the candidate’s relevant experience, education, training, certifications, qualifications, and work location.

V. Benefits

At WM, each eligible employee receives a competitive total compensation package that includes medical, dental, vision, life insurance, and short‑term disability. In addition, we offer a stock purchase plan, company matching on a 401(k), and more. Employees also receive paid vacation, holidays, and personal days. Please note that benefits may vary by site.

ABOUT WM

WM (WM.com) is North America's leading provider of comprehensive environmental solutions. Previously known as Waste Management and based in Houston, Texas, WM is driven by commitments to put people first and achieve success with integrity. The company, through its subsidiaries, provides collection, recycling and disposal services to millions of residential, commercial, industrial, medical and municipal customers throughout the U.S. and Canada. With innovative infrastructure and capabilities in recycling, organics and renewable energy, WM provides environmental solutions to and collaborates with its customers in helping them pursue their sustainability goals. WM has the largest disposal network and collection fleet in North America, is the largest recycler of post‑consumer materials and is a leader in beneficial use of landfill gas, with a growing network of renewable natural gas plants and the most landfill gas‑to‑electricity plants in North America. WM’s fleet includes more than 12,000 natural gas trucks – the largest heavy‑duty natural gas truck fleet in the industry in North America. Healthcare Solutions provides collection and disposal services of regulated medical waste, as well as secure information destruction services, in the U.S., Canada and Western Europe. To learn more about WM and the company’s sustainability progress and solutions, visit Sustainability.WM.com.

Equal Employment Opportunity

For United States: WM is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, status as a protected veteran or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.

For Canada: WM is committed to the principle of equal employment for all applicants and employees, without discrimination on the basis of all grounds protected by applicable human rights legislation. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. Please notify us if you require accommodation.

Real ID

In order to travel by air or access federal property, federal law requires individuals have a REAL ID or an acceptable alternative. This position may require the successful candidate to travel by air for business reasons or service federal property. Accordingly, successful candidates must have, or be willing to obtain, a REAL ID or TSA‑approved alternative.