Wastewater Treatment and Effluent Management (WTEM) Business Class Director

HDR; Michigan; On-site; USD 179,000 - 336,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Retirement plan with employer match

Paid time off and holidays

Job summary

HDR is seeking a senior leader for the Water Business Group to guide technical capabilities, strategy and teams across projects. You will drive innovative water solutions, lead strategic initiatives, and partner with clients and communities to deliver enduring value and HDR's ownership culture.

The role requires 10+ years in related fields, professional registration, and a proven track record in leading diverse, cross-disciplinary teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a Professional, Architecture, Engineering or closely related field.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in the related field.
• Must maintain professional registration and related technical experience.
• Experienced in development and management of diverse teams.

Responsibilities

• Provide company-wide leadership of technical capabilities within the business class.
• Lead and participate in technical risk management and advisory services.
• Oversee development of tools, standards, and techniques to improve quality.
• Coordinate strategic hires and staff allocation to projects.
• Foster university relationships and industry collaboration for workforce development.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic planning

Team management

Stakeholder collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Professional, Architecture, Engineering or closely related field

Professional registration (Architecture/Engineering)

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.

Summary Of Job Responsibilities

• Provide company-wide leadership of technical capabilities within the business class.
• Build close working relationships and coordinate with related business classes, market sectors, business groups and operations.
• Lead and participate in technical risk management through process and resource reviews, providing technical advisory services on selected projects, and claims prevention and avoidance activities.
• Drive quality assurance and control processes and coordinate with the WBG Quality Manager in those areas.
• Oversee development and application of technical tools, standards, and techniques to enhance service quality and efficiency. Ensure that technical staff are aware of and monitoring emerging technologies.
• Oversee assignment of qualified, experienced staff to projects including effective use of worksharing.
• Work with market sector directors to develop strategic plan for the business class and provide strategic and tactical business trend input to business group leadership at the national, regional, area and local levels.
• Leads applied research strategy and engagement (e.g., Water Research Foundation and similar organizations) to advance WTEM technical capabilities, inform future service offerings, and translate research outcomes into practice standards, tools, and guidance across HDR.
• Leads and maintains strategic relationships with key university graduate programs to support workforce development, applied research collaboration, recruiting pipelines, and long‑term capability building for the WTEM business class.
• Along with Regional WTEM BC Leaders facilitate business class teamwork, communication and work sharing between offices, business classes, management, marketing, and staff.
• Monitor business class direction, adherence to policies and practices, quality assurance, technical tools, project staffing and resource to workload allocation.
• Build technical expertise and production capacity through recruitment and training. Coordinate all strategic hires within the business group.
• Facilitate business class technical experts in support of client development and project pursuits.
• Ensure that business class technical experts represent HDR by involvement in industry organizations and functions including presentations and publications.
• Oversee Practice Groups within Business Class.
• Facilitate “lessons learned” for project delivery, processes, trends, successes, strengths, and weaknesses.
• Monitor company-wide performance within business class to achieve defined goals and support operational managers in monitoring project performance and implementation of corrective actions.
• Facilitate the PARR process through assignment of Lead Reviewers, acting as a Lead Reviewers, and review of requests for PARR exemptions.

Location and Travel

The geographic location of this position is non-specific; however, a location with significant HDR presence is preferred. The estimated, average travel requirement is primarily at 50% with monthly variations between 0% and 75%.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a Business Class or Professional Services leadership role.
• Experience working cooperatively with other HDR business class directors, operations managers, technical directors, and marketing managers on business class efforts

Keyword(s): wastewater treatment, nutrient removal, effluent management, planning, water reclamation

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor\'s degree in a Professional, Architecture, Engineering or closely related field
• A minimum of 10 years of experience in related field
• For Business Class leadership roles for which the core service being overseen is technical design, the role must maintain a professional or Architecture/Engineering registration and has related technical experience
• Experienced in development and management of diverse teams
• Works cooperatively with other business class directors, operations managers, technical directors and marketing managers on business class efforts
• Committed to quality, improvement and HDR values
• 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 $178,952 -$336,375 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.).

Industry: Water

Schedule: Full-time

Employee Status: Regular

BusinessClass: WW Treatment and Effluent Mgmt

What HDR believes about equal opportunity and employment equity is reflected in our commitment to equal opportunity and affirmative action. We are an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer. We consider all qualified applicants, regardless of criminal histories, arrest and conviction records.