Senior Watershed Planner

City of Redmond; Redmond (WA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Retirement plans

Paid holidays

Employee assistance program

Job summary

The City of Redmond is seeking a Senior Planner with strong project management and watershed planning expertise to drive multi-disciplinary initiatives aligned with Redmond 2050 and the Environmental Sustainability Action Plan, especially in Water Management.

You will coordinate interdisciplinary teams, engage the community, analyze data, and craft actionable recommendations that advance climate resilience, clean water, and vibrant natural systems.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of stormwater and watershed systems required.
• Understanding of regulatory requirements such as NPDES Phase II or equivalent.
• Experience in developing or implementing watershed or basin level plans.
• Proven ability to manage projects and programs end-to-end.
• Experience coordinating with diverse stakeholders and teams.
• Budget awareness and integration into planning documents.

Responsibilities

• Define, scope, and manage watershed and stormwater planning projects including prioritization and rehabilitation strategies.
• Draft tailored watershed plans integrating retrofits, habitat restoration, monitoring, and outreach.
• Coordinate teams to implement regional stormwater facilities and low-impact development strategies.
• Oversee SMAP and SMED program delivery, ensuring permit compliance.
• Lead long-range planning, utility planning, and community engagement.
• Collaborate on SSWSP development and implementation with regional partners.
• Identify and manage stormwater CIP projects including retrofits.
• Engage community through public meetings and outreach to support ESAP goals.
• Provide consultation, grant sourcing, contract oversight, and reporting.
• Communicate complex issues through reports, visuals, and presentations to city leadership and the public.
• Serve as a technical lead for strategic planning in watershed health and regulatory compliance.

Skills

Stormwater knowledge

Watershed planning

Project management

Stakeholder collaboration

Regulatory compliance

Education

Bachelor's degree in urban planning or related

Master's degree preferred

Job description

The City of Redmond is a thriving, culturally diverse community and home to over 80,000 residents. Redmond is the hub of an array of commerce and industry, ranging from technology, aerospace, and gaming to biomedical and innovation start-ups. In this role, you will represent the City and our values of service, integrity, accountability, belonging, and stewardship.

We are seeking a Senior Planner with outstanding project management expertise and experience in watershed planning, NPDES stormwater-required program implementation, and facilitation of long-range planning. In this role, you will lead multi-disciplinary initiatives that directly support the stormwater and watershed elements of Redmond 2050 Comprehensive Plan and Redmond’s Environmental Sustainability Action Plan, especially its “Water Management” focus—protecting, restoring, and enhancing our city’s natural water systems while meeting net-zero and climate resilience goals. Your leadership in project planning, technical implementation, and facilitation will be vital for advancing Redmond’s commitment to climate resilience, clean water, and vibrant natural systems.

In this position, you will coordinate interdisciplinary teams, guide planning studies, engage the community and interest groups, prepare and interpret data, and develop clear, actionable recommendations. Success in this role requires the ability to analyze and communicate complex project issues, apply professional judgment, and collaborate effectively with internal and external partners. As a Senior Planner you will:

• Define, scope, and manage watershed and stormwater basin planning projects—including watershed prioritization, BMP selection, and rehabilitation strategies from Redmond’s Watershed Plan.
• Draft tailored watershed plans that integrate stormwater retrofits, habitat restoration, monitoring, outreach, and programmatic activities to improve stream health.
• Coordinate interdisciplinary teams to implement regional stormwater facilities and champion low-impact development (LID) strategies aligned with both the ESAP and municipal regulations.
• Oversee NPDES Stormwater Management Action Plan (SMAP) and Stormwater Management for Existing Development (SMED) program delivery, ensuring compliance with state permit requirements.
• Lead long-range watershed planning, utility system planning, and community engagement.
• Collaborate with stakeholders on Redmond’s Storm and Surface Water Systems Plan (SSWSP) development and implementation to prioritize flood prevention, habitat restoration, and stormwater infrastructure investment priorities.
• Collaborate on identifying, prioritizing, and managing stormwater capital improvement projects (CIP) including stormwater retrofits.
• Engage community and interest groups through public meetings, outreach campaigns , and educational efforts that bolster ESAP goals and foster stewardship of watersheds and stormwater systems.
• Coordinate with regional partners on restoration, mitigation, and stormwater planning initiatives.
• Provide consultation and grant sourcing, scope development, contract administration, budget coordination, implementation and deliverable oversight, and reporting.
• Communicate complex technical issues clearly, crafting reports, visual materials, and presentations that inform city leadership, elected officials, partner agencies, and the public.
• Serve as a technical lead providing strategic planning leadership.
• Apply independent professional judgment to integrate watershed health, stormwater management, and regulatory compliance into recommendations that advance Redmond’s vision for a resilient, sustainable water environment.

Required Qualifications

• Demonstrated knowledge of stormwater and watershed systems.
• A strong understanding of regulatory requirements such as the Western Washington NPDES Phase II permit or similar environmental regulatory programs.
• Experience in developing or implementing watershed or basin level plans.
• Demonstrated ability to successfully manage projects and programs throughout their full lifecycle.
• Experience in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including interdisciplinary teams, consultants, regulatory agencies, and community members.
• Understanding budgetary principles and practices, including coordinating with financial analysis teams and integrating fiscal considerations into planning documents.

Preferred Experience:

• Skilled in communicating complex and sometimes contentious technical topics clearly and effectively in written, oral, and graphic formats to staff, elected officials, and the public.
• Ability to plan, organize, and manage workload to meet established deadlines and quality expectations across multiple concurrent projects.
• Ability to define and conduct research related to assigned projects; gather, evaluate, and synthesize data to inform recommendations and decision-making.
• Competence in performing and interpreting both qualitative and quantitative analyses in support of strategic planning, regulatory compliance, and project development.
• Ability to conduct analysis and prepare clear, actionable recommendations consistent with City operational policies and applicable federal, state, and local regulations.
• Skilled in presenting recommendations and resolving issues in public settings with diverse groups of participants, including councils, commissions, and community stakeholders.
• Ability to work independently, conduct research, analyze information, and develop well-supported recommendations for program or process improvements.

Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree in urban planning, urban design and development, architecture, landscape architecture, geography, environmental science, natural resources management, transportation, public policy, engineering or related discipline.
• Master's degree preferred.
• Four (4) to six (6) years of professional experience in the above fields.
• Any equivalent combination of education, experience and training that provides the required knowledge, skills, and abilities

Licenses and Certificates

• Valid Washington State Driver's License and a driving record that meets city standards

Other

This class description describes the general nature of the work performed, representative duties as well as the typical qualifications needed for acceptable performance. It is not intended to be a complete list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of the job.

Please review the Planning – Senior job description for more information about the knowledge, skills, abilities, working conditions, and physical requirements.

Our employees earn competitive wages and enjoy an exceptional benefits package that includes:

• MEDICAL INSURANCE - Choice of two plans for employees and their eligible dependents: Premera or Kaiser Permanente.All employee healthcare premiums paid for by the City of Redmond.
• PRESCRIPTION DRUG INSURANCE - Included with each medical plan
• DENTAL INSURANCE - For employees and their eligible dependents
• VISION INSURANCE - For employees and their eligible dependents
• OTHER INSURANCE - Life, accidental death & dismemberment insurance, short and long-term disability, optional employee-paid voluntary life insurance
• FLEXIBLE SPENDING ACCOUNTS - For tax savings on healthcare and dependent care expenses
• PAID VACATION & HOLIDAYS – with (13) paid holidays per year
• EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (EAP)
• RETIREMENT PLANS - Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) plus additional options that include: Municipal Employees Benefit Trust (Social Security replacement plan) and MetLife 457 Plan
• Annual COLA adjustments
• Annual merit increases of up to 5%

To learn about benefits at the City of Redmond, please visit C2MB (ajg.com)