Principal Engineer

BL Companies; Harrisburg (Dauphin County); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)

6 paid holidays + holiday week

Competitive benefits package

Job summary

BL Companies is seeking a Principal Civil Engineer to provide technical leadership for land development projects in retail, commercial, industrial, and mixed-use markets. The role emphasizes client relationships, mentorship, and driving engineering excellence.

The candidate should have 15+ years of civil engineering experience and a PE license, with demonstrated ability to lead multidisciplinary teams and manage client engagements across municipal and regulatory contexts.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering from an accredited institution.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license required.
• 15+ years of progressive experience in land development engineering.
• Experience leading complex land development projects and multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience mentoring engineers and managing technical staff.
• Strong understanding of local, state, and federal permitting and regulatory requirements.
• Extensive experience working with municipal agencies, regulatory bodies, and private-sector clients.
• Strong business development and client relationship management skills.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills.
• Strong organizational, project management, and leadership abilities.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and oversight for complex land development projects from planning through construction.
• Serve as trusted advisor and primary client contact, building long-term client relationships.
• Lead multidisciplinary project teams while mentoring Project Managers and engineers.
• Ensure projects are delivered on scope, schedule, and budget with high quality.
• Lead technical reviews and establish engineering best practices across teams.
• Represent clients at public meetings, planning and regulatory hearings.
• Collaborate with internal disciplines to deliver integrated project solutions.
• Support business development through client engagement, proposals, and interviews.
• Identify opportunities for practice growth and new client relationships.
• Mentor and develop engineering staff fostering technical excellence.

Skills

Leadership

Client relationships

Project management

Mentoring

Regulatory compliance

Business development

Education

Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering

Professional Engineer (PE) license

Job description

Principal Civil Engineer – Land Development

BL Companies is growing, and we are looking for a Principal Civil Engineer to provide technical leadership, strengthen client partnerships, and guide the successful delivery of complex land development projects. This role offers the opportunity to influence the strategic direction of our Land Development practice while serving as a trusted advisor to clients, mentoring future leaders, and driving engineering excellence across the organization.

A successful candidate will have 15+ years of progressive civil engineering experience with a Professional Engineer (PE) license in the state where they will be working. This individual will be recognized for their technical expertise, leadership, and ability to develop long-term client relationships while leading multidisciplinary teams on complex projects.

This role primarily focuses on land development projects within the retail, commercial, industrial, mixed-use, and residential markets and requires extensive experience working with municipal agencies, regulatory authorities, and multiple engineering disciplines.

Key Responsibilities:

• Provide technical leadership and oversight for complex land development projects from planning through construction.
• Serve as a trusted advisor and primary client contact, building and maintaining long-term client relationships.
• Lead multidisciplinary project teams while providing guidance and mentorship to Project Managers, engineers, and technical staff.
• Ensure projects are delivered with exceptional quality while meeting scope, schedule, and budget objectives.
• Lead technical reviews and establish engineering best practices across project teams.
• Represent clients at public meetings, planning commissions, zoning boards, and regulatory agency hearings.
• Collaborate with engineering, surveying, environmental, architecture, and other internal disciplines to deliver integrated project solutions.
• Support business development efforts through client engagement, proposal development, interviews, and strategic pursuits.
• Identify opportunities for practice growth, market expansion, and new client relationships.
• Mentor and develop engineering staff while fostering a culture of technical excellence, collaboration, and continuous learning.
• Contribute to the strategic growth and technical direction of BL Companies' Land Development practice.

Required Experience & Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering from an accredited institution.
• Professional Engineer (PE) license required.
• 15+ years of progressive experience in land development engineering.
• Demonstrated experience leading complex land development projects and multidisciplinary teams.
• Proven leadership experience mentoring engineers and managing technical staff.
• Strong understanding of local, state, and federal permitting and regulatory requirements.
• Extensive experience working with municipal agencies, regulatory bodies, and private-sector clients.
• Strong business development and client relationship management skills.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation communication skills.
• Strong organizational, project management, and leadership abilities.

BL Companies is 100% employee owned, giving us a competitive edge and a unique distinction from most other companies. We offer a competitive benefit package which includes 6 paid holidays plus the week from Christmas to New Year's paid, generous PTO, Medical, Dental and Vision insurance, disability insurance, life insurance, 401k matching, and our Employee Stock Ownership Plan. We are an ENR Top 500 firm that provides engineering, architecture, land surveying, and environmental consulting services to the public and private sectors. BL has 18 offices and is expanding. Our employee owners are capable of being successful working in hybrid environments, and we are now offering opportunities to continue in this setting.

Our employee owners are capable of being successful working in hybrid environments, and we are now offering opportunities to continue in this setting.