Senior Process Design Engineer (Technical Lead)

About the role

Founded in 1919, KJ has always looked to the future. With a talented team of professionals and a culture of continuous improvement, we deliver exceptional engineering and environmental consulting services today, with a focus on innovation and sustainability.

What You’ll Do

• Lead process design strategy: Serve as Project Technical Lead on complex industrial engineering projects, including wastewater, facilities engineering, and metals finishing work.
• Develop and test technical solutions: Establish process design approaches, develop process flow diagrams, guide water and mass balances, and direct bench and pilot testing for complex treatment systems.
• Evaluate alternatives: Prepare options analyses and detailed process design recommendations that balance performance, cost, constructability, and sustainability.
• Capture project delivery: Align technical disciplines, project teams, and client priorities from planning and design through construction, commissioning, and startup.
• Support project development and client relationships: Support scope, schedule, fee development, negotiation, staffing, and service expansion opportunities with existing clients.
• Collaborate across KJ: Partner with multidisciplinary teams and travel to client sites, project locations, and KJ offices as needed.

What Makes This Role Different

• Technical influence: Shape solutions for complex industrial water and wastewater challenges where strong process design decisions improve efficiency, reliability, and long-term client outcomes.
• Full lifecycle impact: Influence projects from early planning and alternatives analysis through design, construction, commissioning, and startup, creating continuity between strategy and execution.
• Practice growth: Support client relationships, strengthen KJ’s industrial water and wastewater capabilities, and contribute to sustainable, high-impact project delivery.

Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Chemical, Environmental, Mechanical, Civil, or a related engineering field.
• Experience: 10 years of engineering experience in investigation, planning, design, construction, and commissioning, including relevant consulting experience.
• Project management: Experience supporting or leading scope, schedule, and budget oversight for engineering projects.
• Market sector experience: Experience applying process design solutions across sectors such as mining and metals, pulp and paper, food and beverage, data centers, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, or similar industrial environments.
• Licensure: Professional Engineer (PE) license in Washington required.
• Travel: Ability to travel to client and project sites as needed for client visits, meetings, project coordination, and collaboration with other KJ offices.

Additional preferred qualifications

• Familiarity with computer-aided drafting and design tools such as AutoCAD, BlueBeam, Revit, or similar platforms.

Pay

Salary range for this position is anticipated to be $140,000 to $200,000, and may vary based upon education, experience, qualifications, licensure/certifications, and geographic location.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance;
• A health savings account;
• A 401(k);
• Bonus programs;
• Tuition reimbursement;
• Employee ownership opportunity;
• Professional registration support;
• Business travel assistance;
• Competitive paid time off and holidays;
• An employee assistance program;
• And additional programs that support your wellbeing and professional growth.