Power Project Engineer (Hydropower Mechanical)

HDR, Inc.; Sacramento (CA); On-site; USD 93,000 - 133,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision plan

Disability insurance

Life insurance

Employee assistance

Paid time off

Parental leave

Paid holidays

401(k) with employer match

Employee referral bonus

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

HDR, Inc. seeks a Power Project Engineer in Sacramento to lead mechanical design for hydropower facilities from planning through construction.

You will mentor engineers, coordinate across civil, structural, electrical, and hydraulics, and deliver equipment specs, drawings, and bid packages on national projects. A PE license and 7+ years in hydropower or water conveyance are preferred; HDR offers employee ownership and a robust benefits package.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering with PE license.
• 7+ years in hydropower/utility projects, consulting a plus.
• Experience with turbines, gates, valves, pumps, and BOP systems.
• Experience managing scope, schedule, budget, quality, risk, staffing and clients.
• Mentoring engineers and collaborating with cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead mechanical design for hydropower facilities from planning through construction.
• Deliver equipment studies, calculations, specifications, and design packages.
• Design and evaluate turbines, generators, gates, valves, pumps, cranes, hoists, and BOP systems.
• Lead field investigations, equipment inspections, design workshops, and constructability reviews.
• Coordinate mechanical interfaces across civil, structural, electrical, controls, hydraulic, and water resources disciplines.
• Prepare and review equipment specs, drawings, calculations, reports, bid packages, and construction deliverables.
• Manage scope, schedule, budget, quality, risk, staffing, and client coordination for multidisciplinary projects.
• Mentor early-career engineers through technical guidance and field experience.
• Collaborate with HDR's national Hydropower and Power network to deliver projects nationwide.
• Support utilities and water resources projects involving dams, gates, pumps, water conveyance, and related hydraulic equipment.
• Perform other duties as needed.

Skills

Project management

Mentoring

Team leadership

Field investigations

Design reviews

Client coordination

Education

Bachelor's degree in Engineering

Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering

Professional Engineer license (PE)

Tools

PLS CAD

AutoCAD

Plant 3D

AutoPipe

Revit

Microsoft Office

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 electricity powers modern life. As part of our Power sector, you'll help shape how electricity is generated, transmitted and delivered as global energy demands grow. From massive data centers to modernizing transmission systems, our industry-recognized engineers and scientists have been at the forefront of grid transformation for more than a century. You'll work side-by-side with these experts and contribute to reliable, resilient and sustainable power systems, helping communities thrive and industries expand. This isn't just a job, it's a chance to drive infrastructure forward, power innovation and leave your mark on our energy future.

In the role of Power Project Engineer, we'll count on you to:

• Serve as a key project participant leading mechanical design for hydropower facilities from planning through construction.
• Deliver equipment studies, condition assessments, calculations, specifications, and mechanical design packages.
• Design and evaluate turbines, generators, gates, valves, pumps, cranes, hoists, and balance-of-plant systems.
• Lead field investigations, equipment inspections, design workshops, and constructability reviews.
• Coordinate mechanical interfaces across civil, structural, electrical, controls, hydraulic, and water resources disciplines.
• Prepare and review equipment specifications, drawings, calculations, reports, bid packages, and construction deliverables.
• Manage scope, schedule, budget, quality, risk, staffing, and client coordination for multidisciplinary projects.
• Mentor early-career engineers through technical guidance, design reviews, and field experience.
• Collaborate with HDR's national Hydropower and Power network to access expertise and deliver projects nationwide.
• Support utilities and water resources projects involving dams, gates, pumps, water conveyance, and related hydraulic equipment.
• Perform other duties as needed

Preferred Qualifications

• Masters degree in mechanical engineering or a related field.
• Approximately 7 or more years of progressive experience with hydropower, utility, dam, or water conveyance equipment. Prior consulting experience is a plus.
• Consulting experience with turbines, gates, valves, pumps, balance-of-plant systems, fieldwork, and/or construction support.
• Experience managing project scope, schedule, budget, quality, risk, staffing, and clients.
• Experience mentoring engineers and collaborating with regional and national technical teams.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering
• Requires professional engineering license recognized by the licensing board for the location of the position offered. Example: Professional Engineer (PE or P.Eng) license.
• Previous experience in project execution within the Power Market Sector.
• Computer skills in Microsoft Office as well as standard Power Market Sector design software. (examples include PLS CAD, AutoCAD, Plant 3D, AutoPipe, and Revit)
• An attitude and commitment to being an active participant of our employee-owned culture

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. Stated benefits are for full-time regular positions. The expected compensation range for this position is $93,380.00 - $133,400.00 annually depending upon skills, experience, education and geographical location.

Primary Location: United States-California-Sacramento

Other Locations: United States-California-Folsom

Industry: Power

Schedule: Full-time

Employee Status: Regular

BusinessClass: Hydropower Engineering

Job Posting: Sep 14, 2026