Senior Restoration Engineer (Water Resources)

WRA is an employee-owned environmental consultancy. We are a tenacious team of planners, engineers, and scientists, and we aim to leave the lands we love better than we found them.

Our clients and partners hire us because we’re skilled at navigating through challenging projects involving wildlands, parks, community spaces, restoration, and infrastructure. We bring over four decades of expertise, long-standing relationships, and connections to our local communities to make sure that projects are pursued in responsible ways where both people and the environment thrive.

As an organization, we believe that independence and interdependence are not mutually exclusive. We invest in systems, processes, and employee programs to support our staff’s collective engagement and success while simultaneously encouraging our employees to operate with an ownership mindset, taking responsibility for outcomes and being true to our commitments.

WRA has been growing an interdisciplinary team of river restoration professionals including engineers, landscape architects, fluvial geomorphologists, ecologists, and fisheries biologists. Our projects range from large floodplain restoration to dam removal to urban stream rehabilitation across California. We are passionate about restoring riverine and coastal systems that support healthy and resilient natural and human communities. We are invested from start to finish in our projects with our expertise including site selection, topographic and bathymetric surveys, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, ecological assessments, biological surveys, drafting, design, project management, bidding and construction support, performance monitoring, and adaptive land management.

Our Riverscapes and Shorelines Team is actively seeking an experienced Senior Restoration Engineer who can bring their passion and expertise to our dynamic group. Our ideal candidate has a passion for, and experience in, supporting and delivering projects across a broad spectrum of complexities with primary focuses on water resources, including riverine systems.

The position location is flexible within the state of California. Fully remote within California or Oregon will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Active projects span the San Francisco Bay Area, Central Valley, Sierra foothills, and North and South coasts. In this role, you will have the choice to work in person or remotely. Field site visits may be needed during design development and construction.

Core areas of responsibilities will include:

• Leading and conducting river restoration-related design projects
• Collaborating with other senior staff to propose on and win work with existing and new clients.
• Training and mentoring staff with diverse skill sets and backgrounds
• Project Management
• Specialization in the following:
• Hydrologic analysis using a combination of software (HEC-HMS, TR-55, SWMM, WMS, or similar)
• Hydraulic analysis using a combination of software (HEC-RAS, MIKE, FHWA SMS, HY-8, Hydraulic ToolBox, etc)
• Developing construction documents including plans, specifications, and cost estimates for water resources projects
• Proficient in AutoCAD Civil 3D

To be successful in this role, you will need:

• A minimum of 8 years of professional experience
• A Bachelor’s degree in civil or environmental engineering, or related field from an accredited university
• A professional Civil Engineering license from the state of California or the ability to obtain within six months
• Familiarity with natural ecosystems and a thorough understanding of river restoration
• To be physically capable of walking on rough, sloped terrain and licensed to drive for field visits and construction observations
• An eagerness to work collaboratively with coworkers who are mostly working remotely

Additional, preferred qualifications include:

• Experience with FEMA Floodplain Development (CLOMR/LOMR) permitting; Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM) certification a plus
• Graduate degree in engineering or physical sciences
• Advanced training in stream restoration
• Sediment transport modeling
• Watershed master planning
• Business Development

WRA is an equal opportunity employer, and we are committed to creating a diverse environment. Our leadership team represents the diversity we strive to build within our company. We recruit, employ, train, compensate and promote regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, veteran status, and other protected status as required by applicable law.