Lead Project Accountant

HDR; Bellevue (WA); On-site; USD 96,000 - 137,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee ownership

Comprehensive benefits

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

HDR Washington's BES group is seeking a Lead Project Accountant to guide a team of project accountants across a diverse portfolio of projects in the Bellevue area. You will partner with business leadership to maintain program controls and financial health throughout the projects.

The role emphasizes strong supervision, training, and process improvement, with responsibility for budgets, cost variance reporting, subcontract management, and financial analyses to inform decision-makers.

Qualifications

• Associate degree or combination of education and relevant experience
• Minimum 5 years of experience; advanced degree may offset years of experience
• Proficiency with MS Office including Word and Outlook
• Excellent verbal and written communication including grammar, punctuation, proofreading, spelling and telephone skills
• Flexibility and ability to prioritize and handle multiple tasks and collaborate with various managers
• Self-motivated, well-organized and detail-oriented
• Ability to handle confidential information
• Commitment to excellence and active participation in employee-owned culture

Responsibilities

• Lead and supervise a Project Accountant (PA) team for a Business Group
• QC contract documents for the business group project accounting team prior to signatures
• Run monthly financial meetings for business group delivery projects
• Maintain even workload distribution among project accounting team and assign project support work as needed
• Train new PA staff and communicate new processes to the business group project accounting team
• Serve as the centralized point of contact for accounting or contract related questions or tasks on assigned projects
• Provide detailed analysis and reporting on project status within the established accounting system or other developed tracking tools
• Be responsible for analyzing, preparing, validating and maintaining budget estimates, detailed baseline budgets, work package agreements, and cost variance reports
• Team with technical staff, project leads and managers to make recommendations to influence key decision-makers related to project accounting
• Utilize earned value management techniques or other financial reporting techniques to communicate to the Project Team relationships and variances between planned work, executed work, and actual costs
• Lead on managing subconsultant agreements, subconsultant invoices and release of payments to subconsultants per their contract terms and conditions
• Assist in AR collection for business group projects
• Assist the Area Accounting Manager in supporting local operations Area leadership teams
• Be responsible for supporting accounting functions for an area business group
• Supervise and mentor accounting staff for project and contract financial management and internal controls
• Coordinate with ARAD to monitor GL accounts, budgets, invoicing, payables and receivables
• Audit compliance with contractual requirements and review financial statements
• Coordinate annual departmental budgets and advise management on financial performance
• Supervise the collection of time and expense reports and validation of project numbers and receipts

Skills

Team leadership

Communication

Organization

Multi-tasking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Accounting

Associate degree in related field

Tools

MS Office

Bentley ProjectWise

E-builder

Document Express

Job description

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?

At HDR, our employee‑ownership model shapes everything we do, including how we support and care for our people. Our diverse service lines, including Water, Architecture, Building Engineering Services, Field Services, Power, Waste, Industrial, and Transportation reflect our commitment to shaping resilient, sustainable, and forward‑thinking communities around the world. Across these disciplines, our teams design and deliver solutions that safeguard public health, enhance quality of life, power innovation, and drive responsible growth. Whether advancing clean water, creating healing and learning environments, engineering next‑generation facilities, or building the infrastructure that moves people and energy, our work is rooted in technical excellence and a shared sense of purpose. Our employee‑owners collaborate across specialties, combining creativity, precision, and deep expertise to solve the most complex challenges facing our clients and communities.

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.

HDR Washington's BES group is looking for a Lead Project Accountant to lead a team of project accountants in supporting a diverse group of projects. The chosen candidate will partner closely with business leadership in maintaining program controls and financial health across the projects.

In the role of Lead Project Accountant, we'll count on you to:

• Lead and supervise a Project Accountant (PA) team for a Business Group.
• QC contract documents for the business group project accounting team prior to signatures.
• Run monthly financial meetings for business group delivery projects.
• Maintain even workload distribution among project accounting team and assign project support work as needed.
• Train new PA staff and communicate new processes to the business group project accounting team.
• Serve as the centralized point of contact for accounting or contract related questions or tasks on assigned projects.
• Provide detailed analysis and reporting on project status within the established accounting system or other developed tracking tools.
• Be responsible for analyzing, preparing, validating and maintaining budget estimates, detailed baseline budgets, work package agreements, and daily/weekly/monthly cost variance reports.
• Team with technical staff, project leads and managers to make recommendations to influence key decision-makers related to project accounting.
• Utilize earned value management techniques or other financial reporting techniques to communicate to the Project Team relationships and variances between planned work, executed work, and actual costs.
• Lead on managing subconsultant agreements, subconsultant invoices and release of payments to subconsultants per their contract terms and conditions.
• Assist in AR collection for business group projects.
• Assist the Area Accounting Manager in supporting local operations Area leadership teams
• Be responsible for supporting accounting functions for an area business group
• Primary responsibilities include sharing in supervising, training & mentoring responsibilities of Area Resources business group accounting staff, for all facets of project and contract financial management, as well as, assisting Area Accounting Manager to ensure general accounting functions maintained for the Area.
• Perform specialized accounting functions and establish internal controls for procedures and practices in accordance with company policies, accounting procedures and contractual obligations within the resources business group.
• Work directly with Area Operations Manager, Business Group Managers and Assistant Regional Accounting Director (ARAD) to manage and coordinate department and project accounting systems to monitor department general ledger accounts, project budgets, invoicing, payables, receivables and other related financial information
• Audit compliance with contractual requirements, which may include invoicing and reporting format, net fee projections and financial quality control
• Review and analyze financial statements
• Assist area business group manager in coordinating and reviewing annual departmental budgets
• Advise management on financial performance of area business group and projects
• Supervise the activity of area business group accountants for the collection of employee time and expense reports and verification of project numbers, resource codes, and receipts
• Supervise the activity of area business group accountants and project controllers specific to project accounting and contractual obligations
• Make staffing recommendations to management
• Select and/or deal directly with vendors related to department operations as needed
• Perform other accounting and contracting administration support to accounting staff, Project Managers, Engineers, and Business Group Managers, as needed.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Accounting or related business degree
• Experience successfully managing and training a team
• Strong interpersonal skills and “can-do” attitude.
• Strong organizational skills; able to manage priorities and workflow on multiple simultaneous projects.
• Highly proficient in the use of Microsoft Word, Excel, Adobe Acrobat, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
• Experience with document management software (e.g. Bentley ProjectWise, E-builder, Document Express) strongly desired.
• A/E industry experience required
• Ability to deal effectively with a diversity of individuals at all organizational levels.
• Commitment to excellence and high standards.

Required Qualifications

• Associate degree in a closely related field or combination of education and relevant experience
• A minimum of 5 years of experience; an advanced degree may offset years of experience
• Proficiency with MS Office including Word and Outlook
• Excellent verbal and written communication including grammar, punctuation, proofreading, spelling and telephone skills
• Flexibility and ability to prioritize and handle multiple tasks and collaborate with various managers in a fast-paced environment
• Self-motivated, well-organized and detail-oriented
• Ability to handle confidential information
• 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 every day. 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 every day.

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.

We provide a comprehensive benefits package that promotes employee ownership, employee health, performance, and success, which includes medical, dental, vision, short and long‑term disability, life insurance, an employee assistance program, paid time away, parental leave, paid holidays, a retirement savings plan with employer match, employee referral bonus and tuition reimbursement. The expected compensation range for this position depends upon skills, experience, education and geographical location. (Stated benefits are for full‑time regular positions. Temporary and part‑time roles eligible for limited benefits.) {Bellevue, WA}: $96,180 - $137,400

Primary Location:United States-Washington-Bellevue Industry:Administrative Schedule:Full-time Employee Status:Regular BusinessClass:Marketing and Admin Job Posting:Sep 15, 2026

At HDR, we are committed to the principles of employment equity. We are an Aff. (https://www.hdrinc.com/equal-employment-opportunity-employer). We consider all qualified applicants, regardless of criminal histories, arrest and conviction records.