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 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/avoidance activities.
• Drive quality assurance and control processes; coordinate 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 staff to projects, including effective use of worksharing.
• Develop strategic plans for the business class and provide input on business trends to leadership at national, regional, and local levels.
• Lead applied research strategy (e.g., Water Research Foundation) to advance WTEM technical capabilities and translate research into practice standards.
• Maintain strategic relationships with key university graduate programs to support workforce development, research collaboration, and recruiting.
• Facilitate business class teamwork, communication, and work sharing between 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; coordinate strategic hires.
• Support client development and project pursuits by leveraging technical experts.
• Ensure technical experts represent HDR through involvement in industry organizations, presentations, and publications.
• Oversee Practice Groups within the business class.
• Facilitate “lessons learned” for project delivery, processes, trends, successes, strengths, and weaknesses.
• Monitor company-wide performance within the business class 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 Professional, Architecture, Engineering, or a closely related field.
• Minimum of 10 years of experience in a related field.
• Professional or Architecture/Engineering registration (for technical design leadership roles).
• Experience in development and management of diverse teams.
• Ability to work cooperatively with business class directors, operations managers, technical directors, and marketing managers.
• Commitment to quality, improvement, and HDR’s employee-owned culture.

Preferred Qualifications

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

Location and Travel

The position is location-flexible, with preference for areas with significant HDR presence. Travel averages 50%, with monthly variations between 0% and 75%.

Pay

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

Benefits

• Comprehensive benefits package promoting employee ownership, health, and success, including medical, dental, vision, short/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.

Stated benefits apply to full-time regular positions; temporary and part-time roles are eligible for limited benefits.

Locations

United States (multiple locations, including but not limited to):

• Nebraska: Omaha
• North Carolina: Charlotte, Greensboro
• Minnesota: Saint Louis Park
• Wyoming: Cheyenne, Casper, Gillette
• California: Long Beach, Irvine, Folsom, Walnut Creek, Ventura
• Florida: Fort Lauderdale, Tampa
• Pennsylvania: Bethlehem, Mechanicsburg, Plymouth Meeting
• Oregon: Salem, Portland, Bend
• Maryland: Baltimore, Fulton
• Texas: Fort Worth, Houston, El Paso, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Austin
• Montana: Missoula, Bozeman, Billings, Helena
• District of Columbia: Washington DC
• Michigan
• Wisconsin: Madison
• Washington: Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane, Olympia, Bellevue, Pasco
• Nevada: Reno, Las Vegas
• Colorado: Fort Collins, Durango, Denver
• Iowa: Des Moines
• New York: Albany
• Hawaii: Honolulu
• Arizona: Tucson, Phoenix
• Kentucky: Louisville, Lexington
• Georgia: Savannah, Atlanta
• South Carolina: Greenville, Fort Mill
• Tennessee: Memphis, Nashville
• Louisiana: Baton Rouge, New Orleans
• Virginia: Arlington, Virginia Beach, Richmond
• Ohio: Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati
• Oklahoma
• New Jersey: Newark
• Massachusetts: Boston
• South Dakota: Sioux Falls
• Alabama: Mobile