Highways Business Class Lead NY NJ

HDR, Inc.; New York (NY); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Life insurance

Parental leave

Paid holidays

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

HDR, Inc. seeks a senior Professional Engineer to lead highway design services for NY/NJ projects and the broader Northeast region. You will oversee project delivery, mentor staff, and drive client-focused solutions across design and construction phases.

You will partner with leadership to build technical resources, maintain quality standards, and advance HDR's capabilities in transportation engineering, digital delivery, and market growth within a dynamic, employee-owned culture.

Qualifications

• 10 years of experience in highway engineering
• Bachelor's degree in engineering or closely related field
• Professional Engineer registration in NY and/or NJ or ability to attain within 3 months
• Experience managing diverse teams
• Experience with design-bid-build, design-build, PMC or owner's rep environments
• Strong communication and leadership in client relations and proposals

Responsibilities

• Provide technical and client leadership on highway design projects and mentor staff
• Plan, direct and monitor technical aspects of complex highway design projects
• Support project delivery with QA/QC involvement on key projects
• Lead business development and pursue market opportunities in NY/NJ region
• Oversee project services, budgets, and client satisfaction
• Develop training, staffing and production tools to improve efficiency

Skills

Highway engineering

Leadership

Communication skills

Mentoring

Project management

Budgeting & fee estimates

Proposal development

Contract development

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering or closely related field

Master's degree in engineering, planning, or related field

Job description

life insurance, parental leave, paid holidays, tuition reimbursement

United States, New York, New York

Sep 21, 2026

At HDR, our employee-owners are fully engaged in creating a welcoming environment where each of us is valued and respected, a place where everyone is empowered to bring their authentic selves and novel ideas to work every day. As we foster a culture of inclusion throughout our company and within our communities, we constantly ask ourselves: What is our impact on the world?
Watch Our Story: ' https://www.hdrinc.com/our-story'
Each and every role throughout our organization makes a difference in our ability to change the world for the better. Read further to learn how you could help make great things possible not only in your community, but around the world.
We believe transportation is more than movement, it's the foundation of connected, thriving communities. As part of HDR's Transportation Business Group, you'll help shape the systems that move people and goods safely, efficiently, and sustainably. From designing resilient highways and iconic bridges to advancing transit, passenger and freight rail, aviation, federal transportation ports and marine infrastructure, your work will directly support economic vitality, public safety, sustainable and resilient communities and quality of life. We bring together planners, engineers, architects, construction management staff, environmental, strategic communications, economists, management consultants and specialists across disciplines to solve complex mobility challenges with innovation, technical excellence, and a deep understanding of community needs. Whether you're modernizing aging infrastructure or pioneering next-generation transportation solutions, your contributions will help define the future of mobility. This isn't just a job, it's a chance to lead progress, drive meaningful impact, and leave a legacy of smarter, more connected transportation networks. We are all employee-owners at HDR, which is the foundation of our collaborative culture that connects employees around the world.

HDR has an immediate opening for a senior level Professional Engineer to provide in-house leadership and guidance related to highway design services as well as the development and successful delivery of projects for clients related to highway work in the New York/New Jersey area and throughout the Northeast region.

This role is responsible for the overall vision and strategy for the delivery of highway design services and will function as a supervisor to staff; manage large projects; assist in production of projects; and support business development activities. This role will partner with the Transportation Business Group Professional Services Lead to develop technical resources and maintain a culture of quality to improve our competitiveness and drive our growth.

The role of NY/NJ Highway Business Class Lead will be required to perform Operations, Project Delivery, and business development duties.

Operations/ Project Management Responsibilities Include:

• Provide technical and client leadership relative to highway design projects and related disciplines, and to serve as mentor/advisor to staff on planning, design and construction projects.
• Plan, direct and monitor technical aspects of highway design projects which contain a high degree of technical complexity.
• Support project delivery by being involved in a Senior QA/QC role on key projects to ensure engagement and successful project delivery.
• Work in partnership with Local and National Highway Business Class Leaders, Business Development Leads, and project delivery teams to develop and deliver winning solutions that meet or exceed client needs.
• Function as Project Manager and take responsibility for production on projects.
• Oversee delivery of project services and deliverables to exceed client expectations.
• Work with the Operations Leaders to attract, develop, and retain staff.
• Knowledge management to capture and promote best practice and innovation.
• Work with other Business Class Leads and other practice leaders to develop transformative ideas that will enable clients to take advantage of emerging transportation trends, digital delivery, and allow HDR to maintain thought leadership position in the industry.
• Maintain standards for quality and consistency of service the HDR brand.
• Advocate for professional development of staff and development of production tools, best practices, technical policies and procedures, papers and presentations, recognition of technical achievement, and automation tools.
• Act as a role model of our values and code of conduct, as well as professional/ethical/ business standards expected by specific clients and required by licensing/credentialing entities
• Perform other duties, as needed

Business Development Responsibilities Include:

• Leading the development and enhancement of client-valued, market driven technology approaches to enable, sustain and grow market share and shareholder value.
• Maintain client relationships with a specific focus on relaying HDR's Highway design credentials.
• Participate in business development activities as a pursuit champion or as part of the proposal review team.
• Identify market opportunities in close coordination with Area Business Development Leaders and develop winning pursuit strategies.
• Develop client relationships in close coordination with Area Business Development Leaders, Client Managers and local staff
• Represent HDR at state and national level professional organizations

Preferred Qualifications

• 15 years of experience in highway engineering with a majority of that experience within the New York/New Jersey Area.
• Master's Degree in an engineering, planning, or related field.
• Registered Professional Engineer in New York and New Jersey. Or the ability to attain within 3 months of hire date.
• Experience working with clients in NY/NJ including NYSDOT, NYSTA, NYCDOT, NJDOT, NJTA, PANYNJ and/or other state and local agencies.
• Experience in overall staff development including recruiting, career path development, mentoring and professional growth.
• Active involvement with industry associations and maintains a visible profile in the market sector.
• Ability to work efficiently and effectively under tight deadlines, as well as balance multiple assignments concurrently.
• Experience preparing scopes of work and developing fee estimates, managing budgets, and preparing reports on project financials.
• Experience delivering work on design-bid-build, design-build, owner's representative, and PMC.
• Ability to build, effectively implement, and manage training programs; resource planning; marketing plans and proposal preparation and market sector budgets.
• Excellent written and effective communication and listening skills.
• Proven ability of contract development and implementation of capital improvements.
• Prior experience overseeing larger projects with fees greater than $5M and involvement in projects with construction value of at least $50M.
• Preference given to local candidates

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a Professional, Architecture, Engineering or closely related field
• 10 years of experience
• Committed to quality, improvement and HDR values
• Maintains a professional or engineering registration and has related technical experience
• Experienced in development and management of diverse teams
• Works cooperatively with other area business class leaders, operations managers, technical directors and marketing managers on business class efforts
• An attitude and commitment to being an active participant of our employee-owned culture is a must

What We Believe

HDR is our company. Together, we build on each other's life experiences and perspectives to make great things possible everyday. This shapes our collaborative culture, encourages organizational trust and connects us closer to the clients and communities we serve.

Our Commitment

As employee owners, we all have a role in creating an inclusive environment where each of us is welcomed, valued, respected and empowered to bring our authentic selves to work everyday.

Our eight Employee Network Groups (Asian Pacific, Black, Hispanic/Latino(a), LGBTQ+, People with Disabilities, Veterans, Women, Young Professionals) help create a sense of belonging and foster a supportive environment where everyone is empowered to engage and contribute. Each group has an executive sponsor and is open to all employees.

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Primary Location : United States-New York-New York

Other Locations : United States-New Jersey-Newark