Director of Site-Civil Engineering

About the role

Build the Future of Our Virginia Beach Presence Rinker Design Associates is looking for an entrepreneurial engineering leader to establish and grow our Site-Civil Engineering practice in the Virginia Beach market. This is a unique opportunity for someone who thrives on building relationships, developing business, and creating something from the ground up. Unlike a traditional production-focused engineering role, the initial emphasis of this position will be centered on business development, market expansion, and establishing RDA as a trusted partner throughout the Hampton Roads region. As new projects are secured, this individual will play a key role in building and leading a high-performing team to deliver exceptional work while continuing to grow the practice. If you're excited by the opportunity to shape a market, develop long-term client partnerships, and build a team from the ground up, we'd love to talk.

Responsibilities

• Lead the growth of RDA's Site-Civil practice throughout the Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads region.
• Identify, pursue, and secure new business opportunities with private and public sector clients.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with developers, municipalities, architects, contractors, and industry partners.
• Represent RDA at industry organizations, networking events, conferences, and client meetings.
• Develop strategic growth initiatives that expand RDA's presence and market share.
• Partner with company leadership to establish annual growth goals and business development strategies.
• Prepare proposals, participate in interviews, and lead project pursuits.
• Serve as the local leader and face of the Site-Civil practice in Virginia Beach.
• Collaborate with existing RDA engineering teams to leverage technical expertise while the local practice grows.
• Develop staffing plans based on project backlog and anticipated growth.
• Recruit, hire, mentor, and build a local engineering team as workload increases.
• Foster a collaborative, client-focused, and people-first culture.
• Provide technical guidance and quality oversight on site development projects.
• Support project planning, scope development, budgeting, and client management.
• Coordinate with multidisciplinary teams across RDA offices.
• Maintain a high standard of technical excellence and client satisfaction.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering.
• Virginia Professional Engineer (PE) license or ability to obtain through reciprocity.
• 10+ years of progressively responsible experience in site-civil engineering.
• Demonstrated success developing client relationships and winning new work.
• Established professional network within the Virginia Beach/Hampton Roads market preferred.
• Experience managing land development and site-civil engineering projects.
• Strong leadership, communication, and relationship-building skills.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a passion for growing a business and developing people.

What Success Looks Like

• During the first phase of this role, success will be measured by: building meaningful client relationships throughout the Virginia Beach market; creating a strong pipeline of new business opportunities; winning projects that establish a sustainable local presence; becoming RDA's trusted representative within the regional engineering community.
• As the practice grows, responsibilities will naturally evolve to include: hiring and leading a dedicated local engineering team; managing project delivery and operational performance; expanding client partnerships and market share; developing the Virginia Beach office into a thriving Site-Civil practice.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• 401K Retirement Plan; Roth Contributions
• Health Savings Account (HSA)
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Life, AD&D, short-term and long-term disability
• Generous PTO and 8 federal holidays + 1 floating holiday
• Parental leave
• Supportive team culture