Senior Geotechnical Engineer

About the role

We are seeking a Senior Geotechnical Engineer who can be viewed as a technical expert with recognized authority in an area of specialization that resolves problems of greater scope and complexity. You will mentor staff in technical and leadership development skills, serve as a Technical Lead on projects, take responsibility for proposal (scope and fee) development, participate in marketing efforts, and lead and perform data analysis and engineering evaluations.

Responsibilities

• Be viewed as a technical expert with recognized authority in an area of specialization that resolves problems of greater scope and complexity.
• Mentor Staff in technical and leadership development skills.
• Serve as a Technical Lead on projects.
• Take responsibility for proposal (scope and fee) development.
• Participate in marketing efforts of both internal and external clients.
• Develop and lead geotechnical field exploration and laboratory testing programs.
• Lead and perform data analysis and engineering evaluating to support and inform engineering design, and project management as well as client management.
• Prepare technical documents, geotechnical reports, and technical memoranda containing geotechnical conclusions and recommendations.
• Have advanced working knowledge of geotechnical earthquake engineering concepts such as seismic hazard, seismic site response, and liquefaction.
• Have advanced working knowledge of Bay Area and California geology and soil conditions, including marine deposits (e.g., Young Bay Mud).
• Review geotechnical technical documentation.
• Plan and develop projects or design activities that have significant impact on major company programs as needed.
• Plan, organize, and supervise work of a small to medium number of staff of professionals and technicians.
• May serve as Project Manager on larger projects, though project management is not sole focus of position.
• Bay Area business development.
• Perform other duties as needed.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering
• Master's degree in Geotechnical Engineering
• 20 years of experience in California
• Experience with ArcGIS and/or Autodesk AutoCAD and Civil3D
• Experience with the following software: gINT, GeoStudio (SLOPE/W, SEEP/W), Ensoft pile software (LPILE, APILE, SHAFT, GROUP), Settle3, CLiq, CPeT-IT.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree
• 10 years of experience
• Requires professional engineering license recognized by the licensing board for the location of the position offered.
• Experience with Microsoft Office applications, GIS, and CADD, as appropriate
• Experience with GeoStudio/Ensoft slope stability, settlement, seepage, and deep foundation response software, as appropriate
• Experience with Bentley suite of geotechnical data management and visualization software (gINT/OpenGround/LeapFrog)
• Knowledge of advanced numerical modeling techniques such as Finite Difference, Finite Element, Discrete Element, etc. and commercial software for advanced numerical modeling (Bentley, PLAXIS, Itasca FLAC)

Skills

Advanced working knowledge of geotechnical earthquake engineering concepts such as seismic hazard, seismic site response, and liquefaction.

Advanced working knowledge of Bay Area and California geology and soil conditions, including marine deposits (e.g., Young Bay Mud).

Advanced working knowledge of advanced numerical modeling techniques such as Finite Difference, Finite Element, Discrete Element, etc. and commercial software for advanced numerical modeling (Bentley, PLAXIS, Itasca FLAC).

Benefits

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.

Pay

$128,205.00 - $208,125.00 annually depending upon skills, experience, education and geographical location.

Schedule

Full-time

Employee Status

Regular

Business Class

Dams Levees Civil Works

Job Posting

May 1, 2026

Stated Benefits

Stated benefits are for full-time regular positions.

Our Commitment

We are an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer (https://www.hdrinc.com/equal-employment-opportunity-employer). We consider all qualified applicants, regardless of criminal histories, arrest and conviction records.