Principal Drainage Project Engineer

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Job Description:

Parsons is seeking a highly experienced Principal Drainage Project Engineer to help establish and grow a dedicated drainage practice supporting the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and transportation infrastructure clients throughout Tennessee and North America.

This is a high-impact opportunity for a technical leader who can combine advanced drainage and hydraulic engineering expertise with client development, project delivery, and team leadership. The successful candidate will play a central role in building Parsons’ Tennessee drainage capabilities and will be positioned for advancement into a regional drainage practice lead role as the business continues to grow.

In this role, you will serve as a technical leader for drainage design and hydraulic and hydrologic modeling on roadway and highway projects supporting TDOT and other transportation clients. You will contribute to the development of next-generation drainage design software, digital workflows, and technical standards within Parsons’ engineering community.

You will be responsible for engineering drainage designs, hydraulic and hydrologic systems modeling, plan production, construction details, erosion and sedimentation control drawings, quantity calculations, and technical documentation. You will also review and validate engineering analyses, calculations, plans, specifications, and reports to ensure technical accuracy, quality, and compliance with project requirements.

As Parsons builds its Tennessee drainage practice, you will help define service offerings, establish client relationships, identify project opportunities, support pursuits, mentor staff, and develop the technical and operational foundation for a growing regional practice.

This role will require the selected candidate to be located in Tennessee and available to report to a Tennessee Parsons office as needed.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Serve as a drainage design lead and subject matter expert for roadway and highway infrastructure projects in Tennessee and the larger East Central region.

• Lead the development and delivery of primary drainage systems, including culverts, cross drains, stormwater conveyance systems, channels, ditches, detention and retention facilities, outfalls, and related hydraulic structures.

• Support drainage design and project delivery for TDOT projects and other state, local, and regional transportation clients.

• Build and expand Parsons’ drainage practice in Tennessee by developing client relationships, supporting business development activities, and identifying new project opportunities.

• Establish and implement technical approaches, design standards, quality procedures, and delivery workflows for the Tennessee drainage practice.

• Serve as a primary technical interface with clients, project managers, roadway designers, environmental teams, construction personnel, and other project stakeholders.

• Perform and oversee hydrologic and hydraulic analyses, including watershed delineation, stormwater runoff calculations, culvert analysis, open-channel flow analysis, storm sewer design, floodplain analysis, and drainage system evaluation.

• Lead the preparation and review of drainage plans, hydraulic reports, drainage calculations, erosion and sedimentation control plans, technical memoranda, specifications, and supporting documentation.

• Review construction details, drainage plans, erosion control drawings, and related engineering documents for accuracy, constructability, and compliance with applicable criteria.

• Perform quantity calculations and develop or check engineering analytical data and related information.

• Define project problems and technical requirements; establish work scopes, budgets, schedules, design approaches, and resource needs.

• Coordinate drainage design activities with roadway, traffic, structures, environmental, geotechnical, utilities, survey, and construction disciplines.

• Provide technical guidance to CAD designers, drafters, designers, engineers, and other technical staff working on assigned projects.

• Mentor and develop drainage staff and help build a strong technical team in Tennessee.

• Participate in quality reviews, design reviews, constructability reviews, value engineering, and risk assessment activities.

• Support proposal preparation, scope development, fee estimates, interviews, client presentations, and other pursuit activities.

• Contribute to Parsons’ technical community through knowledge sharing, development of drainage tools and workflows, and continuous improvement initiatives.

• Travel within Tennessee and, as needed, to other project or client locations.

What Required Skills You’ll Bring

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering or a related engineering field.

• 15 or more years of progressive experience in roadway and highway drainage design, hydraulic engineering, and hydrologic analysis.

• Professional Engineer registration is required.

• Demonstrated experience with state department of transportation projects; TDOT experience is strongly preferred, along with knowledge of their design standards, drainage manuals, permitting requirements, and applicable federal and local regulations is preferred.

• Experience leading drainage design for roadway, highway, interchange, or other transportation infrastructure projects.

• Demonstrated ability to serve as a technical lead, project discipline lead, or subject matter expert.

• Experience developing scopes of work, budgets, schedules, technical approaches, and quality-control procedures.

• Experience supporting business development, proposal preparation, client relationship development, and project pursuits.

• Experience mentoring engineers and technical staff and helping develop a growing practice or technical team.

• Proficiency in CAD and other PC software packages typically associated with engineering design.

• Experience with several of the following hydraulic, hydrologic, drainage, and geographic information system software applications:

  • HEC-RAS

  • HEC-HMS

  • HY-8

  • Bentley OpenRoads Designer

  • Bentley InRoads

  • Bentley StormCAD

  • Bentley FlowMaster

  • Bentley InRoads Storm & Sanitary

  • Aquaveo Watershed Modeling System

  • NRCS WinTR-55

  • FHWA Hydraulic Toolbox

  • EPA Storm Water Management Model and related variants

  • Esri ArcGIS

• Strong understanding of drainage design principles, hydraulic modeling, erosion and sedimentation control, stormwater management, and transportation infrastructure design.

Desired Qualifications:

• High-level proficiency with a combination of Bentley OpenRoads Designer, Power InRoads SS4, and StormCAD.

Security Clearance Requirement:

None

This position is part of our Critical Infrastructure team.

For more than 80 years, our experts have designed and delivered the critical infrastructure that connects and protects communities around the world. We work in collaborative teams, both within the company and with our partners and customers, to plan, design, build, and modernize infrastructure. We take special pride in projects and solutions that improve communities as well as people’s quality of life by promoting economic growth, enhancing mobility, and increasing sustainability and resiliency. Powered by our people, we provide the imagination necessary to support our customers’ visions—and to help them see what's next!

Salary Range: $125,100.00 - $225,200.00

We value our employees and want our employees to take care of their overall wellbeing, which is why we offer best-in-class benefits such as medical, dental, vision, paid time off, Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), 401(k), life insurance, flexible work schedules, and holidays to fit your busy lifestyle!

This position will be posted for a minimum of 3 days and will continue to be posted for an average of 30 days until a qualified applicant is selected or the position has been cancelled.

Parsons is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other protected status.

We truly invest and care about our employee’s wellbeing and provide endless growth opportunities as the sky is the limit, so aim for the stars! Imagine next and join the Parsons quest—APPLY TODAY!

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