Lead Surface Water Engineer

WSP; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 111,000 - 188,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Retirement savings

Paid sick leave

Paid vacation

Paid parental leave

Bereavement, voting, and naturalized-?

Job summary

WSP is seeking a Senior Surface Water Engineer to join our Denver office. This role targets an engineer with strong local drainage and stormwater design experience who can also support project management across transportation, municipal, and flood risk projects.

You will mentor junior staff and oversee hydrologic and hydraulic analyses using TR-55, HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, and related tools, contributing to master planning and drainage designs for urban and rural Colorado settings.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, or a closely related field from an accredited university.
• 7-10 years of professional experience; 2+ years in a Project Engineer role.
• Colorado PE license or ability to obtain within 6 months.
• Familiarity with Mile High Flood District.
• Experience supporting project management tasks (scope, schedule, budget).
• Working knowledge of FEMA flood studies and floodplain analysis.

Responsibilities

• Oversee multi-disciplinary teams, manage budgets and schedules, and ensure compliance documentation.
• Lead submittals/review cycles and internal coordination for on-time delivery.
• Manage FEMA RiskMAP projects across Colorado counties.
• Mentor junior engineers through technical coaching and reviews.
• Provide training on hydrologic/hydraulic modeling tools and design standards.
• Represent the team in client meetings and agency coordination.

Skills

Hydrologic modeling

Hydraulic modeling

CAD (Bentley/Autodesk)

ArcGIS

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Civil or Environmental Engineering

Tools

TR-55

HEC-HMS

HEC-RAS

SRH-2D

Job description

This Opportunity

WSP is seeking a Senior Surface Water Engineer to join our Denver (South Colorado Boulevard) office. This role is intended for an engineer with strong local drainage and stormwater design experience who can also support project management across a diverse portfolio of transportation, municipal, and flood risk management projects.

The position will support WSP’s Denver-based surface water engineering team through project management activities including scope development, schedule and budget tracking, client engagement, and QA/QC, while remaining technically engaged in hydrologic and hydraulic analysis and design.

This role also provides mentorship and technical guidance to junior staff working on stormwater engineering and complex municipal drainage projects. The Senior Surface Water Engineer will support junior engineers in developing designs for stormwater master planning, stormwater management facilities, culverts, hydrology, open channel and bridge hydraulics, floodplain modeling and mapping, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, and river, stream, and habitat restoration projects.

Your Impact

• Oversee and monitor multi-disciplinary teams to execute mid-level projects including, budgets, tracking hours and expenses, task completion, permit applications, compliance documentation, and regulatory and technical analysis memos.
• Help manage submittals, review cycles, and internal coordination to maintain predictable delivery.
• Manage projects in the FEMA RiskMAP program in counties across Colorado.
• Mentor and develop junior engineers through technical coaching, project reviews, and hands-on guidance in drainage design, hydrologic analysis, hydraulic modeling, and stormwater engineering.
• Support staff growth by sharing best practices, reviewing technical work products, and providing training on hydrologic and hydraulic modeling tools, design standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Foster a collaborative learning environment that promotes technical excellence, professional development, and knowledge sharing across the surface water practice.
• Lead and support MHFD and other Denver-area drainage and stormwater design, including roadway drainage, culvert and bridge hydraulics, outfalls, and urban stormwater systems.
• Perform and review hydrologic and hydraulic analyses using industry-standard tools and local/regional methods.
• Provide technical oversight and QA/QC for modeling and design deliverables.
• Maintain and grow working relationships with Denver-area municipalities, agencies, and regional stakeholders.
• Participate in client meetings, agency coordination calls, and technical discussions.
• Support proposal development and business development efforts through technical input and local knowledge.
• Provide day-to-day technical guidance and informal mentorship to junior engineers.

Who You Are

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, or a closely related field from an accredited university.
• 7-10 years of applicable professional experience, including a minimum of 2 years in a Project Engineer (or equivalent) role supporting private and/or public infrastructure projects.
• Colorado Professional Engineer (PE) license or ability to obtain licensure within 6 months.
• Experience and familiarity with the Mile High Flood District
• Experience supporting project management tasks such as scope development, coordination, schedules, and budgets.
• Working knowledge of FEMA flood studies, floodplain analysis and hazards analysis.
• Proficient understanding of and experience with surface water analysis, hydrologic methodologies/models (TR-55, HEC-HMS, etc.), hydraulic models (HEC-RAS, HEC-RAS-2D, SRH-2D, etc.)
• Use computer-aided design (CADD) software to develop design plans. Use of Bentley, Autodesk, and ArcGIS software is expected.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with Colorado drainage and stormwater design practices.
• Familiarity working with municipalities, transportation agencies, or local stakeholders in the Denver metro area.

WSP Benefits:

• coverage related to medical, dental, vision, disability, and life
• retirement savings
• paid sick leave
• paid vacation (or other personal time)
• paid parental leave
• paid time off for purposes of bereavement, voting, and/or attendance at naturalization proceedings

WSP provides a comprehensive suite of benefits focused on a providing health and financial stability throughout the employee’s career. These benefits include coverage related to medical, dental, vision, disability, and life; retirement savings; paid sick leave; paid vacation (or other personal time); paid parental leave; and paid time off for purposes of bereavement, voting, and/or attendance at naturalization proceedings.

Compensation:

Expected Salary (Colorado only): $110,700 - $188,200

WSP USA is providing the compensation range that the company in good faith believes it might pay and/or offer for this position within the state of Colorado, based on the successful applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities in addition to internal equity and specific geographic location. WSP USA reserves the right to ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and offer additional benefits and other compensation, depending on circumstances not related to an applicant’s sex or other status protected by local, state, and/or federal law.

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