Planning Project Manager

HDR; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 122,000 - 174,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

Retirement plan with employer match

Paid time away

Parental leave

Paid holidays

Job summary

HDR is seeking a Project Manager in California to lead water supply planning projects, manage budgets and schedules, and mentor junior staff. The role involves coordinating with clients, engineers, and internal teams to deliver planning and design efforts on time and within scope.

You will interact with clients, prepare reports, and lead pursuit of new planning work, including proposals and interviews. Strong writing and communication skills are essential.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Civil/Environmental Engineering.
• 7 years related experience.
• A minimum of 2 years project management experience.
• PE licensure in CA or ability to obtain within 6 months.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the project manager for water supply planning projects, maintaining budgets and schedules.
• Establish strong, productive relationships with clients and staff.
• Define scopes of work, resources, budgets, schedules and deliverables; develop backlog of planning project work.
• Lead planning/pre-design efforts and coordinate with project managers and stakeholders.
• Develop proposals, presentations, and contracts; communicate technical concepts clearly.

Skills

Project management

Water/wastewater planning

Communication skills

Leadership

Client relations

Budgeting

Scheduling

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in Civil/Environmental Engineering

Master’s degree in Civil/Environmental Engineering

Tools

CAD

GIS

InfoWater

WaterGEMS

InfoSWMM

InfoWorks CS

SewerGEMS

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?

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 water is more than a resource, it's a shared responsibility. As part of our Water Business Group, you’ll help shape how communities manage water for generations to come. From delivering safe drinking water and treating wastewater responsibly to developing sustainable water supplies and protecting lives and property through flood control, your work will directly support public health, environmental sustainability, and infrastructure resilience. We bring together experts across disciplines to solve complex challenges with bold thinking and technical excellence. Whether you're modernizing aging systems or pioneering innovative approaches, your contributions will make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. This isn’t just a job, it's a chance to lead change, drive progress, and leave a lasting legacy.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the project manager for water supply planning projects, maintaining task/project budgets and schedules, and mentoring junior-level staff.
• Establish strong, productive, collaborative relationships.
• Work closely with client development leads, other project managers, other internal staff and client staff to define scopes of work, resources requirements, budgets, schedules and deliverables. Develop and maintain a backlog of planning project work
• Prepare and periodically review/update project execution plans. Communicate progress effectively with team members and senior management.
• Provide effective leadership of the project team. Supervise project engineers/scientists and subcontractors in the successful delivery of technical projects.
• Manage financial aspects of project contracts to protect HDR’s interests and simultaneously maintain good relationships with the client. Ensure that all project work is completed on time and within budget, with a focus on meeting contract scope and terms and conditions. Monitor significant deviations/inconsistencies and project progress and take corrective action when required.
• Manage planning and preliminary design efforts for projects. Lead planning/pre-design efforts and coordinate with other project managers, client staff, and stakeholders, including written reports, meetings, and presentations
• Communicate efforts with client counterparts and ensure an ongoing positive relationship.
• Represent HDR in project meetings. Participate in or lead proposal preparation, presentations, contract negotiations, amendments, change notices, and contract claims. Understand and possess ability to communicate technical concepts to other staff and the client.
• Develop relationships with HDR clients to identify and develop new planning project opportunities Identify, develop, and lead pursuit of new planning work. Lead proposal and interview efforts to win new work
• Participate in regional and national conferences to promote HDR clients and projects
• Demonstrate strong written and verbal communication and negotiating skills.
• Consistently adhere to and enforce internal HDR processes and policies such as business and contracting rules.
• Work in a manner to ensure personal safety and that of fellow employees by following HDR and client health and safety guidelines and policies.
• Perform additional assignments as requested by senior management.
• Perform other duties as needed

Keywords: Planning Project Manager, water/wastewater, hydraulic modeling

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Civil/Environmental Engineering.
• Experience with water/wastewater planning projects preferred.
• This position may require out-of-office travel with occasional evening and overnight assignments;
• Proven ability to write technical information using appropriate grammar, punctuation and spelling for concise reader-friendliness and clarity.
• Maintaining professional competency may require attending education classes and seminars, reading professional publications, and attending professional society meetings.
• Bachelor’s degree in Civil/Environmental Engineering.
• 5 years of experience in project management, planning, engineering, and/or construction on capital improvement projects with a track record of successful delivery of projects on time and within budget.
• Excellent writing and communication skills are essential.
• Experience with CAD and GIS.
• PE licensure in the State of California or ability to obtain PE licensure within 6 months of hire. PE licensure in other states that the firm is actively practicing may also be considered.
• Candidates should be proficient using project control systems, problem solving, management and client relations.
• Strong written and interpersonal communication skills, including team leadership, presentations, proposals, and managing client interactions.
• Strong organizational skills, ability to prioritize assignments and build strong client relationships.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Working knowledge of hydraulic modeling (InfoWater, WaterGEMS, InfoSWMM, InfoWorks CS, SewerGEMS) for planning and design highly desired.
• Proven ability to managing multiple priorities and deadlines;
• This position may require out-of-office travel with occasional evening and overnight assignments;
• Must effectively communicate with all project team members;
• Proven ability to write technical information using appropriate grammar, punctuation and spelling for concise reader-friendliness and clarity.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in related field or an equivalent combination of education and related professional experience
• 7 years related experience
• A minimum of 2 years project management experience
• Must have the ability to interact with various design teams, have excellent organizational, project management and communication (both written and verbal) skills
• 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.

Benefits

• 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
• tuition reimbursement
• Stated benefits are for full-time regular positions.
• Temporary and part-time roles eligible for limited benefits.

{Pay Transparency : $122,000- $174,000 Primary Location:United States-California-San Diego Other Locations:United States-California-Irvine, United States-California-Los Angeles, United States-California-Long Beach Industry:Water Schedule:Full-time Employee Status:Regular BusinessClass:Utility Management Services Job Posting:Oct 1, 2026}

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