Geotechnical Senior Engineer

About the Role

Terracon is seeking a Senior Geotechnical Engineer with demonstrated experience supporting dams, levees, flood control, and related water resources infrastructure in Northern and Central California. This role is intended for a seller-doer and technical leader who can help grow and deliver geotechnical services for embankment dams, levee systems, floodwalls, pump stations, spillways, canals, reservoirs, and other critical civil infrastructure.

The ideal candidate will understand the technical, regulatory, and construction challenges associated with flood protection and water resources projects in California, including work for public agencies, reclamation and flood control districts, water districts, transportation agencies, and infrastructure owners. Experience coordinating with or preparing work products for agencies such as the California Division of Safety of Dams (DSOD), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), Central Valley Flood Protection Board (CVFPB), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, or local flood control agencies is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead safety efforts for project teams and ensure field and office work follows Terracon safety rules, procedures, and expectations.
• Serve as senior technical lead or project manager for geotechnical investigations and design support.
• Develop and implement subsurface exploration programs and construction-phase observation programs.
• Conceptualize investigation and design approaches for major phases of large projects or retain overall responsibility for the geotechnical work on moderate-scope projects.
• Plan, schedule, conduct, and coordinate engineering work involving conventional and complex geotechnical practices, including projects with difficult ground conditions, seepage concerns, seismic hazards, phasing constraints, or constructability challenges.
• Prepare, review, and sign/seal geotechnical reports, memoranda, calculations, specifications, and construction recommendations.
• Provide senior technical review for analyses, calculations, reports, plans, specifications, and construction submittals related to dams, levees, and flood infrastructure.
• Support business development by maintaining client relationships, identifying opportunities, preparing scopes and fees, supporting interviews, and coordinating with Terracon offices across Northern and Central California.
• Mentor and train staff engineers, geologists, and project managers in geotechnical investigation, analysis, design, quality, risk identification, and client communication.
• Communicate complex engineering issues clearly to technical and non-technical clients, regulators, project teams, contractors, and internal stakeholders.

Examples of Work

• Develop site characterization reports that summarize geologic and geotechnical conditions, identify difficult ground conditions, and document risks that could affect design, permitting, construction cost, or schedule.
• Prepare geotechnical design recommendations for levee improvements, embankment raises, seepage berms, cutoff walls, relief wells, filters, drains, stability improvements, and seepage mitigation measures.
• Provide geotechnical recommendations for dam and reservoir facilities, including embankment slopes, outlet works, spillway improvements, access roads, retaining structures, foundations, and earthwork.
• Evaluate borrow areas and earthwork materials, including suitability of onsite soils, compaction criteria, moisture conditioning, filter compatibility, and construction quality requirements.
• Develop design recommendations and supporting documentation for shallow and deep foundations, retaining walls, floodwalls, pipe penetrations, pump stations, bridge approaches, and appurtenant structures associated with flood protection systems.
• Support alternatives evaluation, constructability reviews, risk registers, cost estimating, and phasing strategies for dam, levee, and flood risk reduction projects.
• Provide construction-phase engineering support, including review of submittals, response to RFIs, evaluation of changed conditions, field observation, instrumentation review, and recommendations for corrective actions.

Required Analyses

• Seepage and underseepage evaluation, including exit gradients, uplift, piping risk, seepage berms, cutoff walls, filters, drains, and relief wells.
• Static, seismic, and rapid drawdown slope stability analyses for embankment dams, levees, canals, and flood protection features.
• Settlement analyses, including short-term, long-term, consolidation, differential settlement, and performance of embankments and structures.
• Liquefaction triggering and consequence evaluation, including strength loss, lateral spreading, seismic settlement, and deformation screening.
• Foundation bearing, sliding, overturning, eccentricity, global stability, and retaining/floodwall analyses.
• Earthwork, borrow, and material suitability evaluations, including compaction, moisture conditioning, shrink/swell, corrosion, erodibility, dispersivity, and filter compatibility considerations.
• Evaluation of geotechnical risks that could adversely affect project design, permitting, construction cost, schedule, long-term performance, or operations.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering; Master’s degree preferred.
• Minimum 8 to 11 years of experience.
• California Professional Engineer (PE) registration required; California GE registration strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience with dam, levee, flood control, water resources, or similar public infrastructure projects.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to explain complex geotechnical issues to clients, regulators, contractors, and multidisciplinary project teams.
• Valid driver’s license with acceptable violation history.

This position can be based out of our Sacramento, Lodi, Concord, or San Jose offices.