Senior Operations Specialist (Water)

HDR; South Carolina; On-site; USD 72,000 - 129,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employee ownership

Job summary

HDR is seeking a Senior Operations Specialist to support water treatment projects across municipal and industrial facilities. The role involves startup planning, commissioning, training, and ongoing operations to improve reliability and operability.

Travel up to 30-40% may be required, with opportunities to work on varied treatment technologies across sites. Join HDR's employee-owned culture and contribute to projects nationwide while collaborating with an experienced East Region and national

Qualifications

• High School diploma or equivalent.
• Microsoft Office experience.
• General background-related experience.
• Active participation in employee-owned culture is a must.

Responsibilities

• Support HDR project leaders at local, state, and regional levels on water treatment projects.
• Review drawings for operability review and HazOps analysis.
• Manage operations and maintenance projects with municipal and industrial clients, including client interfacing and regulatory reporting.
• Develop startup and commissioning plans and host workshops with client’s contractors and operators.
• Perform startup and commissioning of new facilities with engineers and contractors.
• Perform formal and informal training for client plants.
• Participate in testing to ensure readiness for startup and capacity requirements.
• Perform condition assessment and asset management tasks using state-of-the-art tools.
• Perform operational or maintenance troubleshooting on municipal and industrial water facilities.

Skills

Troubleshooting mechanical & electric

Instrumentation experience

Interpret engineering plans

Microsoft Office experience

Education

High School diploma or equivalent

Tools

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 water is more than a resource, it's a shared responsibility. As part of our Water Business Group, you’ll help shape how communities manage water for generations to come. From delivering safe drinking water and treating wastewater responsibly to developing sustainable water supplies and protecting lives and property through flood control, your work will directly support public health, environmental sustainability, and infrastructure resilience. We bring together experts across disciplines to solve complex challenges with bold thinking and technical excellence. Whether you're modernizing aging systems or pioneering innovative approaches, your contributions will make a meaningful difference in people’s lives. This isn’t just a job, it's a chance to lead change, drive progress, and leave a lasting legacy.

HDR is looking for an energetic, hard working problem solver to become a full time Senior Operations Specialist to work on both municipal and industrial water treatment facilities. If you are someone who is looking to work on a variety of treatment technologies for multiple treatment plants, then this position will be for you. This individual will work on water treatment projects that can range from small municipalities to some of the most iconic in the United States. Our engineering staff rely heavily upon our Operations Specialist staff to create solutions with better reliability and improved operability for our clients.

You will not only be a part of our East Region team, but will be a key member of HDR’s nationwide Operations Team. This team is made up of other experienced maintenance and operations experts, and coordinate to share best practices, experience, and opportunities to utilize every team member’s unique expertise. We currently have extensive project backlog in throughout the United States, so you will be able to immediately contribute to our success.

The work location will be at the HDR office closest to your current location. Please check the HDR website nearest to you.

About Us

For over 100 years, HDR has specialized in engineering, architecture, environmental and construction services. We provide solutions to thousands of partners, from small local utilities to the largest global companies. HDR has nearly 13,000 employee owners worldwide and ENR ranked in the top 10 of Water design firms, Water Treatment and Desalination design firms, and Wastewater design firms. Our Water Business Group has over 2,000 employee owners, with over 500 in our Eastern Region.

At HDR, we know work isn’t only about who you work for; it’s also about what you do and how you do it. Led by the strength of our values and a culture shaped by employee ownership, we network with each other, build on each other’s contributions, and collaborate together to make great things possible. When you join HDR, we give you license to do the same. We help you take charge of your career, giving you multiple growth opportunities along the way.

Primary Responsibilities

• Support HDR project leaders at the local, state, and regional level on water treatment projects requiring input from Operations Specialists.
• Review drawings for operability review and HazOps analysis with an eye for what it takes to successfully operate a variety of treatment processes successfully.
• Manage operations and maintenance projects with both municipal and industrial clients. It will involve client interfacing, regulatory reporting, as well as personnel, subcontractor, and maintenance management.
• Develop startup and commissioning plans and host workshops to share those ideas with client’s contractors and operators to ensure the plan will work for each specific plant.
• Perform startup and commissioning of new water treatment facilities. This work involves you playing a key role in working alongside contractors and engineers to ensure the new equipment functions correctly before handing it over to the operations and maintenance staff.
• Perform formal and informal training to help our clients’ treatment plants operate as well as they can operate.
• Participate in the testing of facilities to ensure they are ready for startup and after startup they meet the capacity requirements of the design.
• Perform condition assessment and asset management tasks on water and wastewater facilities, using state of the art evaluation tools to efficiently capture the information and opinions that you generate.
• Perform operational or maintenance troubleshooting and evaluations on municipal and industrial water facilities.

Work will involve a base of projects in the southern portion of the central United States, but will also include projects in several sites across the country. It provides the opportunity to work on a variety of new and innovative projects, and provides a career path that has more growth than typical utility organizations.

This job may require 30 to 40% travel, more is possible. Weekend travel is normally not required.

Strongly Preferred Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years field experience in troubleshooting mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation equipment at water treatment facilities and/or resolving water treatment process problems. Additional construction experience is a plus.
• High level water treatment operator license or professional engineering license.
• Ability to interpret engineering plans and specifications.
• Microsoft Office product and computerized maintenance and management systems experience required.
• An attitude and commitment to being an active participant of our employee-owned culture is a must
• Valid driver’s license.

Required Qualifications

• High School diploma or equivalent
• Microsoft Office product experience
• General background-related experience
• An attitude and commitment to being an active participant of our employee-owned culture is a must

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. The expected compensation range for this position is $71,960 - 128,500 depending upon skills, experience, education and geographical location. (Stated benefits are for full-time regular positions. Temporary and part-time roles eligible for limited benefits.)

Primary Location:United States-Virginia-Vienna Other Locations:United States-West Virginia, United States-Ohio-Cincinnati, United States-North Carolina-Charlotte, United States-Georgia, United States-New York-East Syracuse, United States-Florida-Doral, United States-Alabama-Mobile, United States-Florida-Fort Lauderdale, United States-Pennsylvania-Bethlehem, United States-North Carolina-Wilmington, United States-Tennessee-Nashville, United States-Florida-Panama City, United States-New Jersey-Newark, United States-Maine, United States-Ohio, United States-Florida, United States-District of Columbia-Washington DC, United States-Maryland-Lusby, United States-New York-White Plains, United States-Florida-Tallahassee, United States-Mississippi-Jackson area, United States-South Carolina-Charleston, United States-Virginia-Roanoke, United States-Maryland, United States-New York-Albany, United States-South Carolina-Columbia, United States-Delaware, United States-New York, United States-Florida-Orlando, United States-Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh, United States-Virginia, United States-New York-Syracuse, United States-Massachusetts, United States-Pennsylvania-Philadelphia, United States-Virginia-Glen Allen, United States-Arkansas, United States-Virginia-Virginia Beach, United States-Florida-Miami, United States-Massachusetts-Boston, United States-Kentucky, United States-New Jersey-Pennington, United States-New Jersey, United States-Connecticut-Rocky Hill, United States-New York-New York, United States-Georgia-Savannah, United States-Arkansas-Little Rock, United States-Pennsylvania-Mechanicsburg, United States-North Carolina-Winston-Salem, United States-Alabama, United States-Virginia-Alexandria, United States-Tennessee, United States-Kentucky-Louisville, United States-North Carolina-Greensboro, United States-Georgia-Atlanta, United States-South Carolina-Greenville, United States-Maine-Portland, United States-Pennsylvania-Plymouth Meeting, United States-South Carolina, United States-Tennessee-Memphis, United States-Virginia-Richmond, United States-New Jersey-Woodcliff Lake, United States-North Carolina, United States-Florida-Jacksonville, United States-Connecticut, United States-Pennsylvania, United States-North Carolina-Raleigh, United States-Ohio-Cleveland, United States-Florida-Tampa, United States-Florida-West Palm Beach, United States-West Virginia-Charleston, United States-Mississippi, United States-Ohio-Columbus, United States-Rhode Island, United States-Kentucky-Lexington

Industry:Water Schedule:Full-time Employee Status:Regular BusinessClass:WW Treatment and Effluent Mgmt Job Posting:Dec 31, 2025

At HDR, we are committed to the principles of employment equity. We are an Affirmentive Action and Equal Opportunity Employer (https://www.hdrinc.com/equal-employment-opportunity-employer). We consider all qualified applicants, regardless of criminal histories, arrest and conviction records.