Central Texas Drainage Lead (Water Resources)

About the Role

Westwood Professional Services, Inc. is seeking a Central Texas Drainage Lead to drive and grow our water resources practice in the San Antonio and Austin area. In this role, you will know the local market, be trusted by clients and reviewing authorities, and ready to take on a broader leadership role. You will step into a group that already has staff, active projects, and regional support. The focus is not on building something from the ground up, but on strengthening what is already in place—deepening relationships, expanding opportunities, and setting direction for continued growth. Office location is flexible to attract the right leader.

This role offers the opportunity to lead Water Resources for a large and growing Central Texas market, with direct influence over strategy, staffing, and pursuits. You will leverage existing relationships immediately while guiding and growing an established team, working directly with regional and executive leadership with a clear path for leadership development and long-term ownership.

Responsibilities

• Maintain and grow relationships with municipalities, agencies, private clients, and reviewing authorities while setting priorities aligned with regional goals.
• Convert existing relationships into new work and support pursuit strategy, proposals, interviews, client meetings, industry involvement, and contract negotiations.
• Provide senior technical oversight for drainage and floodplain projects, including studies, modeling, construction documents, and resolution of complex design and construction issues.
• Lead, mentor, grow, and support engineers across experience levels while planning staffing, managing budgets and schedules, and monitoring backlog, utilization, and overall project health.
• Lead service-specific proposal efforts, providing technical expertise and driving innovation in project approaches.
• Stay ahead of industry trends to enhance service offerings and project delivery methods.
• Implement and uphold high standards for work products, ensuring quality and consistency across design standards and project reports.
• Represent clients and the firm in meetings with governmental agencies.
• Negotiate contract terms and conditions.
• Manage the design and delivery of projects in a profitable manner.
• Supervise the work of engineers and/or technical support personnel assigned to projects.
• Review, interpret, and act upon business metrics, including utilization, backlog, work in process, and accounts receivable.
• Develop and track milestones to ensure on-time and on-budget delivery.
• Implement and maintain QA/QC procedures.
• Participate in contract bidding, provide limited observation during construction, review submittals and RFIs.
• Resolve design conflicts and field construction issues.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering.
• Licensed Professional Engineer (PE) in the state of Texas and Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM).
• 10+ years of civil engineering experience with a primary focus on drainage and water resources.
• Proven experience delivering public-sector drainage projects; private-sector drainage experience is a plus.
• Strong familiarity with the San Antonio and/or Austin market, including established relationships with local clients and reviewing authorities.
• Experience leading teams, managing multiple concurrent projects, and supporting business development efforts.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office products.
• Ability to travel as needed to project sites and other Westwood offices nationwide.

Skills

• Exceptional communication skills, capable of engaging effectively at all organizational levels.
• Ready to guide the team with strategic insight and a commitment to excellence.
• Develop and implement marketing strategies, building client relationships.

Who This Role Fits Best

This role is ideal for someone who has built a strong local reputation and wants a broader leadership platform. It suits individuals who enjoy mentoring others and shaping a team, and who want influence over what work is pursued and how it is delivered. A strong interest in long-term growth and ownership within the firm is essential.

About Westwood Professional Services, Inc.

At Westwood, our purpose is to create a better world for people through our work. We transform the energy grid, design resilient infrastructure, and develop communities that will flourish today and for future generations. With over 50 years of experience and a legacy of innovation, we stand at the forefront of our industry, dedicated to understanding the unique needs of the markets we serve.

Our approach revolves around people. We are committed to building a culture that attracts, retains, and develops high performers. Our team values relationships, innovation, dedication, initiative, and growth. We believe fostering a collaborative “One Team” mentality yields superior outcomes in everything we do. We customize our technical capabilities and geographic reach to meet our clients where they are and help them realize their vision. We are partners in our clients’ success, driving to provide solutions that make a lasting difference.

Safety, sustainability, and operational excellence are intrinsic to our identity, guiding every decision we make. We are deeply invested in the communities we serve through our projects and giving-back initiatives, enriching the lives of those we serve and creating a lasting impact on communities around the world. To us, success transcends the completion of projects; it is reflected in the lives we have positively impacted by our work.

In 2025, Westwood was recognized as #77 on the ENR Top 500 Design Firms. Additionally, Westwood was ranked #5 for ENR's Top Design Firm for Solar, #6 for Battery Storage, and #3 for Wind. The firm consistently ranks on the industry's top 25 lists and receives recognition for its involvement in award-winning projects nationwide.