Principal Water Engineer

Kiewit; Denver (CO); On-site; USD 160,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive medical, dental and vision plans

Generous paid time off

Retirement plans with matching

Job summary

Kiewit is looking for a principal Water Engineer in Denver, Colorado, to lead municipal water treatment design and process optimization for advanced projects. You will mentor engineers, ensure construction feasibility, and manage multidisciplinary teams. Ideal candidates have a degree in engineering and 15+ years of experience, preferably with PE registration. The position offers a competitive salary between $160,000 and $230,000 and comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, and retirement plans.

Qualifications

• Minimum 15 years of experience in process development and design within water market.
• Professional Engineer (PE) registration preferred.
• Experience on design-build projects preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership and approve design deliverables.
• Mentor senior and mid-level engineers.
• Ensure designs align with execution and support procurement.

Skills

Process engineering

Leadership

Municipal water treatment design

Technical authority

Mentorship

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Chemical, Mechanical, Civil/Environmental Engineering

Tools

AFT Fathom

BioWin

Aspen

Job description

Position Overview

We are looking for a strong leader with deep expertise in process engineering and treatment optimization for advanced water/wastewater projects. As a Principal Water Engineer at Kiewit, you’ll be the technical force behind some of the most complex and meaningful water treatment projects in North America, converting advanced treatment technologies into safe, constructible, cost‑effective solutions.

Responsibilities

• Provide technical and engineering leadership for municipal water treatment design, including selecting and sizing treatment technologies, developing and validating process flow diagrams and mass balances.
• Serve as the technical authority for treatment process decisions and approve critical design deliverables and technical calculations.
• Mentor senior and mid‑level engineers.
• Establish and enforce Kiewit’s water design standards and best practices.
• Ensure designs are constructible, cost effective and aligned with field execution, participating in model reviews, constructability workshops, value engineering and supporting procurement of major equipment packages.
• Lead proposals and pursuits, shaping technical strategy for major water projects, developing process narratives, basis of design documents, proposal content, and supporting client interviews and presentations.
• Oversee project delivery through managing multidisciplinary design teams, ensuring quality control across all engineering deliverables.
• Support permitting, startup, commissioning and operator training.
• Communicate and present industry trends, competitive situations and technology/regulatory issues.
• Actively participate in professional organizations and serve as a practice leader for Kiewit in the water market.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Chemical, Mechanical, Civil/Environmental Engineering or related discipline.
• Minimum 15 years of experience in process development, conceptual and detailed design within the municipal and/or industrial water market.
• Professional Engineer (PE) registration preferred.
• Understanding of federal, state and local regulations related to water characterization, treatment and discharge.
• Experience as process design engineering lead on design‑build projects preferred.
• Willingness and availability to accommodate intermittent travel (20‑30% of time), up to 50% if working remotely.
• Preferred experience with AFT Fathom, AFT Arrow or equivalent hydraulic simulation software and/or process modeling tools such as Biowin, GPS‑X, Hysys, Aspen, WatPro, AqMB, SIMBA.

Benefits

Base compensation $160,000‑$230,000, plus comprehensive benefits including top‑tier medical, dental and vision plans covering employees and dependents, voluntary wellness and employee assistance programs, life insurance, disability, retirement plans with matching and generous paid time off.

Equal Opportunity Employer, including disability and protected veteran status. We continue our efforts to attract, develop and retain employees from all backgrounds. We are committed to veteran and military hiring and will consider relevant military experience as equivalent to qualification requirements.