Vertical Practice Director

Responsibilities

Lead the structural engineering practice as a business unit, with accountability for performance, staffing, and operational execution across six offices.
Align engineering resources with project and business needs, ensuring appropriate staffing levels and capabilities across the practice.
Allocate work across projects and offices to balance workload, support delivery, and position the practice for growth.
Hire senior engineers ahead of projected demand and support long-term workforce planning for the practice.
Provide day-to-day leadership of the engineering team, including staff development, coaching, and performance management.
Build and maintain strong working relationships with regional operations and preconstruction leadership to ensure engineering work is practical, constructible, and aligned with field needs.
Partner with the Director of Engineering to support department-wide initiatives and overall engineering strategy.
Establish and drive the strategic direction of the vertical practice, including setting priorities and goals for the next five years.
Support practice-level decision-making related to staffing, organizational structure, and long-term growth.
Ensure engineering resources are effectively deployed to meet schedule, quality, and business objectives.
Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, responsiveness, and continuous improvement across the practice.
Support coordination across offices and teams to maintain consistency in execution and alignment with department priorities.
Provide leadership and informed judgment on practice-related operational issues, using technical credibility to influence engineers and business partners.
Work in close partnership with the Vertical Technical Director to ensure strong alignment between technical capability and operational execution.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, or related field
• 15+ years of engineering and design experience
• Professional Engineer (PE) license required
• Structural Engineer (SE) license preferred
• Demonstrated experience leading engineering teams, staffing functions, and operational execution
• Proven ability to lead an engineering practice or similarly complex business unit environment
• Strong technical credibility and ability to engage meaningfully with engineering work
• Strong understanding of project execution, construction processes, and engineering integration with operations and preconstruction
• Experience allocating resources across multiple offices, projects, or business needs
• Strong leadership, communication, and organizational skills
• Ability to build trust and alignment across engineering, operations, and preconstruction teams
• Ability to manage competing priorities while planning for long-term growth and organizational needs