Senior Water & Wastewater Engineer

SLR International Corporation; Portland (OR); On-site; USD 115,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) with company match

Paid time off

Life insurance

Short/long-term disability

Employee assistance program

Job summary

SLR International Corporation in the United States seeks a mid- to senior-level Water & Wastewater Engineer to lead challenging projects across North America. You will mentor junior staff and progress toward a leadership role while collaborating with clients, regulators, and multidisciplinary teams.

This role covers design through startup and optimization, and involves working with industrial wastewater systems across mining and manufacturing sectors.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Environmental, Chemical, or Civil Engineering.
• Professional Engineer (PE) licensure.
• 6+ years of industrial wastewater treatment engineering experience.
• Experience coordinating with regulators, clients, and contractors.
• Strong written and verbal communication and analytical skills.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate wastewater treatment challenges and develop practical solutions.
• Perform process evaluations, feasibility studies, and pilot tests.
• Develop engineering designs including PFDs, hydraulics, and specs.
• Troubleshoot existing systems and identify operational improvements.
• Lead field investigations, startup, commissioning, and optimization.
• Collaborate with operators and project stakeholders to translate needs into solutions.
• Support regulatory permitting, discharge analyses, and compliance assessments.
• Review data to identify trends and recommend improvements.
• Coordinate with CAD designers and teams to prepare drawings.
• Lead technical tasks and mentor junior staff.
• Develop and maintain client relationships as a trusted advisor.

Skills

Regulatory compliance

Mentoring / Leadership

Client communication

Public speaking

Budget management

Multitasking

Problem solving

Team collaboration

Education

Bachelor of Science in Environmental, Chemical, or Civil Engineering

Tools

Microsoft Office

AutoCAD

Job description

We are SLR Consulting (US), a 500+ coast-to-coast team of advisory, environmental/engineering, and regulatory professionals. We deliver environmental and sustainability services to our clients through the integration of over 30 advisory, technical environmental, and engineering disciplines to help clients address some of their most complex challenges around sustainability. We are Making Sustainability Happen.

As a mid- to senior-level Water & Wastewater Engineer, you will play an important role on a team whose work is essential to achieving this goal. This position will embrace technical expertise with mentoring of junior level staff and an eventual leadership role for our team. At SLR, our water and wastewater engineers work on some of the most challenging water treatment projects across North America. Our team specializes in industrial wastewater treatment, mine water management and treatment, pumping and conveyance systems, decentralized water and wastewater infrastructure, and regulatory compliance projects. This role offers the opportunity to work across the full project lifecycle, from evaluating treatment technologies and conducting pilot studies to detailed design, construction support, startup, and system optimization. You'll collaborate directly with clients, operators, regulators, contractors, and multidisciplinary engineering teams to solve complex water quality and treatment challenges. Work directly with a multidisciplinary team of wastewater professionals whose expertise includes industrial treatment systems, process engineering, mine water management, and environmental permitting. You'll collaborate closely with senior engineers with decades of experience and gain hands-on exposure to treatment design, troubleshooting, permitting, and facility operations across a wide range of industries. As our industrial wastewater practice continues to grow, this position offers a long-term pathway into technical and project leadership. Successful candidates will have opportunities to lead projects, mentor junior staff, strengthen client relationships, contribute to business development efforts, and help shape the future direction of the practice while continuing to develop as a technical expert.

Responsibilities:

• Evaluate industrial, mining, municipal, and commercial wastewater treatment challenges and develop practical, cost-effective treatment solutions.
• Perform process evaluations, feasibility studies, bench-scale testing, and pilot studies to assess treatment technologies and optimize system performance.
• Develop engineering designs for treatment systems, including process flow diagrams, hydraulic calculations, equipment selection, piping layouts, and technical specifications.
• Assess and troubleshoot existing treatment systems, identify operational improvements, and support facilities in resolving treatment and compliance issues.
• Participate in field investigations, site assessments, construction observation, startup, commissioning, and performance optimization of treatment facilities.
• Work directly with treatment plant operators and facility personnel to understand operational challenges and translate those needs into engineering solutions.
• Support water quality evaluations, discharge permitting projects, mixing zone analyses, and regulatory compliance assessments.
• Interpret and apply federal, state, provincial, and local regulatory requirements to client projects.
• Review operating data and treatment performance information to evaluate compliance, identify trends, and recommend process improvements.
• Coordinate with CAD designers and multidisciplinary engineering teams to develop plans, drawings, and construction documents.
• Lead technical tasks and provide guidance and mentoring to junior engineering staff.
• Develop and maintain long-term client relationships by serving as a trusted technical advisor on water and wastewater issues.

What Makes This Role Different

Work on industrial and mine water projects that require creative engineering solutions. Gain exposure to projects from concept development through startup and optimization. Work directly with treatment system operators, regulators, contractors, and client decision-makers. Participate in site visits throughout the United States and Canada. Help solve emerging water quality challenges involving metals, nutrients, treatment residuals, PFAS, and industrial process wastewater streams. Be part of a growing wastewater practice with opportunities for increasing technical and leadership responsibility.

Working @ SLR

With us, there is no doubt you’ll grow your subject‑matter expertise and industry knowledge. We care about investing in our employees for the long‑run, and if you ask our team, they’ll tell you that’s just one of the many benefits of working here. We want to be a place where you can experience career growth and satisfaction for many years.

Here’s what else you’ll enjoy as part of our team:

• Competitive total compensation package including medical, dental, orthodontia, vision, FSA/HSA, generous PTO accrual, 10 paid holidays, 401(k) retirement account with company matching program, company paid life insurance, short & long term disability insurance, and employee assistance program.
• The salary range for this position is $115,000-140,000.
• Final agreed upon compensation will be commensurate with individual education, professional designation, experience, internal parity, and location.
• Full-time, permanent role with opportunities for professional growth and advancement.

Qualifications/Education/Memberships:

Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental, Chemical, or Civil Engineering 6+ years of experience in industrial wastewater treatment engineering and Professional Engineer (PE) licensure Experience working with regulatory agencies, clients, and contractors Effective written/verbal communication and organization/analytical skills Proficient with Microsoft Office suite of software Proficiency in AutoCAD Possess a valid driver's license Willing to travel within the US and Canada by airplane and car, including overnight travel Logical and methodical problem solving Attention to detail Excellent technical writing skills Strong communication skills and comfort with public speaking Ability to multitask and manage time effectively while working concurrently on different projects Ability to learn new skills Understand how to conduct internet and library research Ability to work well independently and as part of a team Understanding of budgets and deadlines Self-motivated, requiring limited oversight on common tasks Pro‑active in seeking work tasks

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I)

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) are at the core of who we are and want to be. SLR is proud to be an Equal Employment Opportunity / affirmative action Employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, civil union status, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, or veteran status.

At SLR, we embrace diverse cultures, perspectives, skills, and experiences within and outside our organization. We respect and celebrate differences and want to ensure that we continuously strive to build a place where everyone feels included and is encouraged to be their authentic self.

We are committed to these values, and our SLR Culture & Diversity Team works to actively promote diversity, equity, and inclusion across our people and talent processes, operations, and client work around the world. If you have a disability and need reasonable accommodations at any point in the application or interview process, please contact us at [e-mail].

We're Making Sustainability Happen. We don’t have all the answers to the complex sustainability challenges faced by humanity today. But we’re working on it. We are a consultancy with 4,500+ employees, working on projects in over 125 countries around the world. When you join SLR, you’ll work alongside some of the world’s leading advisors and technicians on projects of global importance in the environmental space. We know sustainability starts from within. And no matter how good we are today, we can always do better. We continually work on our internal ethics to set the standard for organisations and reflect the advice we give to clients.