Wastewater Treatment and Effluent Management (WTEM) Business Class Director

About the role

At HDR, our employee-owners are fully engaged in creating a welcoming environment where each of us is valued and respected, a place where everyone is empowered to bring their authentic selves and novel ideas to work every day. As part of our Water Business Group, you’ll help shape how communities manage water for generations to come—from delivering safe drinking water and treating wastewater responsibly to developing sustainable water supplies and protecting lives and property through flood control. Your work will directly support public health, environmental sustainability, and infrastructure resilience.

We bring together experts across disciplines to solve complex challenges with bold thinking and technical excellence. As the Wastewater and Effluent Management (WWEM) Business Class Director, you will lead the direction, coordination, and quality of HDR’s Wastewater Treatment program, ensuring technical competencies meet client needs, market drivers, and risk management standards across the organization.

Responsibilities

• Provide company-wide leadership of technical capabilities within the WWEM business class.
• Build close working relationships and coordinate with related business classes, market sectors, business groups, and operations.
• Lead and participate in technical risk management through process and resource reviews, technical advisory services, and claims prevention.
• Drive quality assurance and control processes, coordinating with the Water Business Group Quality Manager.
• Oversee development and application of technical tools, standards, and techniques to enhance service quality and efficiency.
• Ensure technical staff monitor emerging technologies and assign qualified, experienced staff to projects, including effective worksharing.
• Collaborate with market sector directors to develop strategic plans and provide business trend input to leadership.
• Lead applied research strategy (e.g., Water Research Foundation) to advance WTEM technical capabilities and translate research into practice.
• Maintain strategic relationships with key university graduate programs to support workforce development, research collaboration, and recruiting.
• Facilitate business class teamwork, communication, and work sharing across offices, management, marketing, and staff.
• Monitor business class direction, adherence to policies, quality assurance, technical tools, and resource allocation.
• Build technical expertise and production capacity through recruitment and training, coordinating strategic hires.
• Support client development and project pursuits by facilitating technical experts’ involvement in industry organizations, presentations, and publications.
• Oversee Practice Groups within the business class and facilitate “lessons learned” for project delivery and processes.
• Monitor company-wide performance to achieve defined goals and support operational managers in corrective actions.
• Facilitate the PARR process through assignment of Lead Reviewers, acting as a Lead Reviewer, and reviewing exemption requests.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a professional, architecture, engineering, or closely related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in a related field.
• For Business Class leadership roles overseeing technical design, must maintain a professional or Architecture/Engineering registration with related technical experience.
• Experience in development and management of diverse teams.
• Proven ability to work cooperatively with other business class directors, operations managers, technical directors, and marketing managers.
• Commitment to quality, improvement, and HDR’s values.
• Active participation in HDR’s employee-owned culture.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in a Business Class or Professional Services leadership role.
• Expertise in wastewater treatment, nutrient removal, effluent management, planning, or water reclamation.

Skills

• Technical leadership and risk management.
• Strategic planning and business development.
• Mentoring and team development.
• Client management and proposal development.
• Industry engagement through professional organizations.

Location and Travel

The position is location-flexible, with preference for areas with significant HDR presence. Travel is estimated at 50% on average, varying monthly between 0% and 75%.

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits package promoting employee ownership, health, and success, including medical, dental, vision, short- and long-term disability, and life insurance.
• Employee assistance program, paid time away, parental leave, and paid holidays.
• Retirement savings plan with employer match.
• Employee referral bonus and tuition reimbursement.
• Eight Employee Network Groups (e.g., Asian Pacific, Black, LGBTQ+, Veterans, Women) fostering inclusion and belonging.

Pay

The expected compensation range for this position is $178,952–$336,375, depending on skills, experience, education, and geographical location.

Primary locations include: United States (various cities across 30+ states, including Omaha, Charlotte, Seattle, Denver, and Washington, D.C.).