Senior Civil Engineer - Water / Wastewater Industry

Brown and Caldwell; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 95,000 - 155,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) match

Paid time off

Parental leave

Tuition reimbursement

Bonuses

Job summary

Brown and Caldwell in Chicago, IL is seeking a Senior Civil Engineer for the Water and Wastewater industry. The role leads complex civil work, provides technical oversight to the civil team, coordinates with partners, and manages scope, schedule, and budget.

You will mentor junior staff, ensure compliance with quality management requirements, and work with project leadership to develop civil-level effort and schedules for water/wastewater infrastructure.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering or related field required.
• PE license preferred or in progress.
• Minimum 5 years of civil engineering experience.
• Experience leading teams and mentoring junior staff.

Responsibilities

• Lead civil engineering design efforts for water and wastewater projects.
• Coordinate with internal and external partners and manage project risks.
• Supervise site investigations and subsurface utility engineering.
• Ensure regulatory adherence and permit compliance.
• Lead construction phase services including RFIs, submittals, and change orders.
• Develop cost estimates and assist with scheduling.
• Provide guidance and training to junior staff.

Skills

Team leadership

Civil engineering

Independent decision-making

Regulatory compliance

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in civil engineering

Job description

Senior Civil Engineer - Water / Wastewater Industry

Job Category: Engineering & Architecture

Requisition Number: SENIO007034

• Posted : September 14, 2026
• Full-Time

Locations

Showing 1 location

Chicago, IL 60661, USA

Description

Job Summary

The Senior Civil Engineering role includes responsibility to lead increasingly complex civil parts of projects. This includes providing technical guidance and oversight to the civil team, coordinating with internal and external partners and identifying potential project delivery risks. The role manages scope, schedule, and budget, mentors junior staff, and ensures BC's quality management requirements are followed. This role requires an individual to work independently under limited supervision, and occasionally offer guidance on strategic or highly complex issues.

Responsibilities

• Support project delivery by planning, design, and creation of civil engineering plans, specifications, and reports.
• Support maintenance of BC's project management delivery requirements, which include the following:
  • Project management plan
  • Quality management plan
  • BIM execution plan
  • Risk Register
  • Design decision log
  • Change management log
• Verify compliance and resolve apparent conflicts with relevant codes, laws, and permits to ensure regulatory adherence in all tasks performed.
• Supervise site investigation to identify existing conditions, requirements for demolition, construction phasing processes, and utility coordination.
• Supervise Subsurface Utility Engineering efforts.
• Conduct quality control of desktop reviews prepared for the project.
• Supervise geotechnical and survey subconsultants efforts an incorporation of the information into the design.
• Review of geotechnical and survey consultant's deliverables for compliance with the scope and identification of any out of scope efforts needed to meet industry standard of care for the design.
• Conduct quality control of design documentation to verify appropriate incorporation of historic record drawing data.
• Quality control review of existing conditions base mapping.
• Supervise and provide quality control of the consolidated civil design into a coherent and cohesive set of contract documents and deliverables.
• Lead construction phase services, including the following:
  • Request for Information (RFI) responses
  • Submittal reviews
  • Change order directives
• Supervise the generation of cost estimations.
• Support the maintenance and communication of project schedules for design and construction.
• Provide guidance and training to less experienced colleagues within the team.
• Work with project leadership to provide level of effort and schedule estimates for civil-specific elements of water/wastewater utility infrastructure projects.
• Flexibility to adapt and execute various additional assignments based on evolving needs.
• May provide mentorship, guidance, support, and knowledge-sharing to help less experienced team members develop their skills and grow within their roles.

Skills and Competencies

• Ability to direct and organize civil teams to complete multiple tasks.
• Ability to effectively manage team communications.
• Advanced competency in civil engineering skills and theories.
• Proven ability to work independently, make informed decisions, and solve moderately complex problems.
• Proficient knowledge of regulatory expectations and experience with site investigations and project planning.

Experience

• Typically, a minimum of 5 years of work experience in civil engineering or related field.
• Has achieved or is working towards achieving professional license (P.E. license).
• Past experience in dealing with projects and providing guidance to less experienced colleagues is crucial.
• Typically certified in Brown and Caldwell's (BC's) Subject Matter Specialist (SMS) Framework, and progressing through the SMS competencies.

Education

• A bachelor’s degree in civil engineering or related field, or equivalent experience is required

Salary Range:Theanticipatedstarting payrange for this position is based on the employee's primary work location and maybemore or lessdependingupon skills, experience,and education. These ranges may be modified in the future.

Location A: $95,000 - $129,000
Location B: $104,000 - $142,000
Location C: $114,000 - $155,000

You can view which BC location applies to you here. If you have any questions, please speak with your Recruiter.

Benefits and Other Compensation: We provide a comprehensive benefits package that promotes employee health, performance, and success which includes medical, dental, vision, short and long-term disability, life insurance, an employee assistance program, paid time off and parental leave, paid holidays, 401(k) retirement savings plan with employer match, performance-based bonus eligibility, employee referral bonuses, tuition reimbursement, pet insurance and long-term care insurance. Click here to see our full list of benefits.

About Brown and Caldwell

Headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, Brown and Caldwell is a full-service environmental engineering and construction services firm with 50 offices and over 2,100 professionals across North America and the Pacific. For more than 75 years, we have created leading-edge environmental solutions formunicipalities, private industry, and government agencies. We strive to be the company of choice—to our clients, who benefit from our passion for delivering exceptional quality, and to our employees, present and future, who share our commitment to client service, collaboration, and innovation. Join us, and you will find a home where you can do your best work, reach new levels of expertise, and enjoy exceptional development opportunities. For more information, visit www.brownandcaldwell.com

This position is subject to a pre-employment background check and a pre-employment drug test.

Brown and Caldwell is proud to be an EEO/AAP Employer. Brown and Caldwell encourages protected veterans, individuals with disabilities, and applicants from all backgrounds to apply. Brown and Caldwell ensures nondiscrimination in all programs and activities in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.