Senior Civil Engineering Leader | Land Development

Actalent; Costa Mesa (CA); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual Bonus up to 10%

Hybrid work arrangement

Job summary

Actalent is seeking a senior land development leader to serve as the engineering backbone of the Costa Mesa office. The role combines deep land development expertise with strong engineering judgment and leadership to guide projects, staff, and clients.

This position operates as the organization’s second-in-command from a technical leadership perspective, balancing project outcomes with strategic oversight.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering required.
• 10+ years of civil engineering or land development experience.
• Significant experience supporting private land development projects.
• Strong understanding of grading, drainage, site development, utility coordination, entitlement, and agency review processes.
• Demonstrated experience leading projects, mentoring staff, and making engineering decisions with minimal oversight.
• Excellent client communication and interpersonal skills.
• Proven ability to balance technical excellence with project delivery deadlines.
• Strong sense of accountability, ownership, and professional responsibility.
• Experience operating in fast-paced consulting environments.
• Experience reviewing and approving technical work produced by other engineers.

Responsibilities

• Mentor and develop junior engineers and project engineers.
• Serve as a senior technical leader within the land development group.
• Help elevate technical standards and engineering decision-making.
• Function as the engineering backbone of the office.
• Provide project leadership across commercial, retail, mixed-use, industrial, and site development projects.
• Perform project oversight, technical review, and engineering decision-making.
• Coordinate with clients, agencies, consultants, and internal project teams.
• Support grading, drainage, utility, entitlement, and site development efforts.
• Guide project teams through permitting and agency coordination processes.
• Support proposal development and project planning activities.
• Make independent project and operational decisions while escalating major risk or liability concerns.
• Help create engineering consistency, accountability, and technical excellence across the team.
• Support long-term talent development and succession planning efforts within the organization.

Skills

land development

autocad

civil 3d

project management

grading

utility plan

surveying

Education

Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering

Tools

AutoCAD Civil 3D

Job description

Description

Seeking a senior land development leader who can serve as the engineering backbone of the office. This individual will operate as a trusted technical resource, mentor junior engineers, make independent project decisions, and provide leadership leverage for the firm's president. This is not a traditional project management position. The ideal candidate combines strong land development expertise with engineering judgment, leadership maturity, ownership mentality, and the ability to confidently guide projects, staff, and clients.

Seeking a senior land development leader who can serve as the engineering backbone of the office. This individual will operate as a trusted technical resource, mentor junior engineers, make independent project decisions, and provide leadership leverage for the firm's president. This is not a traditional project management position. The ideal candidate combines strong land development expertise with engineering judgment, leadership maturity, ownership mentality, and the ability to confidently guide projects, staff, and clients.

This individual will serve as the organization's second-in-command from a technical leadership perspective and help reduce dependence on senior leadership for day-to-day engineering oversight.

Key Responsibilities

• Mentor and develop junior engineers and project engineers
• Serve as a senior technical leader within the land development group
• Help elevate technical standards and engineering decision-making
• Function as the engineering backbone of the office
• Provide project leadership across commercial, retail, mixed-use, industrial, and site development projects
• Perform project oversight, technical review, and engineering decision-making
• Coordinate with clients, agencies, consultants, and internal project teams
• Support grading, drainage, utility, entitlement, and site development efforts
• Guide project teams through permitting and agency coordination processes
• Support proposal development and project planning activities
• Make independent project and operational decisions while appropriately escalating major risk or liability concerns
• Help create engineering consistency, accountability, and technical excellence across the team
• Support long-term talent development and succession planning efforts within the organization

Skills

land development, autocad, civil 3d, project management, grading, utility plan, surveying

Top Skills Details

land development,autocad,civil 3d,project management,grading,utility plan,surveying

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering
• 10+ years of civil engineering or land development experience
• Significant experience supporting private land development projects
• Strong understanding of grading, drainage, site development, utility coordination, entitlement, and agency review processes
• Demonstrated experience leading projects, mentoring staff, and making engineering decisions with minimal oversight
• Excellent client communication and interpersonal skills
• Proven ability to balance technical excellence with project delivery deadlines
• Strong sense of accountability, ownership, and professional responsibility
• Experience operating in fast-paced consulting environments
• Experience reviewing and approving technical work produced by other engineers.

Preferred Qualifications

• Professional Engineer (PE) license strongly preferred
• California PE welcomed but not required
• Strong senior land development leaders without a PE may still be considered
• Experience working for similar land development consulting organizations
• Experience mentoring junior engineers and developing technical staff
• Experience with AutoCAD Civil 3D
• Experience supporting multiple project types within private land development environments

Experience Level

Expert Level

Job Type & Location

This is a Permanent position based out of Costa Mesa, CA.

Pay And Benefits

The pay range for this position is $140000.00 - $160000.00/yr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

• Annual Bonus: Up to 10%
• Flexibility available for exceptional candidates who demonstrate the leadership, technical judgment, and long-term value CDR is seeking.

Workplace Type

This is a hybrid position in Costa Mesa,CA.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Sep 24, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email [e-mail] for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.