Central/West Tunnel Practice Lead

Central/West Tunnel Practice Lead

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 we foster a culture of inclusion throughout our company and within our communities, we constantly ask ourselves: What is our impact on the world? Each and every role throughout our organization makes a difference in our ability to change the world for the better. Read further to learn how you could help make great things possible not only in your community, but around the world.

This is a key leadership role that functions in partnership with some of the best and brightest water professionals in the industry. This person will lead some of the largest and most significant infrastructure projects in the Central and West Regions. This role will focus on hydraulic tunnel engineering.

The Central/West Tunnel Practice Lead is a professional that is well versed in all aspects of services for trenchless projects. We have a strong backlog of conveyance work and opportunities for continued growth.

The duties of the Central/West Tunnel Practice Lead are to support design teams and oversee all aspects of trenchless discipline and multi-benefit projects with a high degree of technical complexity. The position will help build and maintain client relations and participate in project development and contract document preparation. The person will support staff across a variety of disciplines. The position will participate in and provide oversight of a variety of project types including planning, design, inspection and construction management of tunnels and general site civil of major water, wastewater, stormwater and reclaimed water infrastructure. The position will also work in coordination with HDR's national Business Class Director, Tunnel Practice Lead, technical leads and advisors.

You will participate in the technical advancement and corporate management of HDR's tunnel/trenchless program. HDR utilizes a robust workshare program, and it is common and expected that work is shared across the HDR network between our operational areas.

This person will also be responsible for supporting HDR's risk awareness and management of the WBG tunneling portfolio, influencing the firm's geotechnical and tunneling/underground engineering practice, and participating in the development and implementation of HDR's strategic direction for our tunneling practice. The selected candidate will also support overall quality control, manage project delivery risk and participate in HDR's go/no go process during the project pursuit phase.

The primary responsibilities are as follows:

• Direct involvement and oversight on select projects to manage tunnel related services
• Advising on and review of alternatives analyses and feasibility studies related to tunnels
• Risk Management and risk awareness of the WBG tunneling portfolio
• Subconsultant vetting and working with teams for subconsultant risk management including required Quality Assurance activities and scope provisions
• Assessment and enhancement of HDR's capabilities regarding tunnel construction and trenchless technologies including expertise with Sequential Excavation Method (SEM) and the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM)
• Collaboration with HDR's WBG Tunnel Practice Lead our Geotechnical Cross Sector
• Verify qualifications and training of field staff assigned to construction phase services related to tunnels

Secondary responsibilities include:

• Cost Engineering support
• Skills and bench-depth management for tunnel instrumentation, mechanical, civil, and mechanical consulting and design support for projects
• Assessing terrestrial and marine construction capabilities
• Numerical modeling to support tunnel projects including modeling of ground/structure interaction and underpinning of buildings and utilities
• Technologies for coordination/production of design (calculations), design products, and contract documents
• Site characterization and geotechnical evaluations
• Construction Engineering support
• Inspections and Condition Assessments
• Resiliency, operations, and emergency response issues

This is an exciting opportunity to join our team as a strategic and technical expert. This person will support our tunnel practice focusing on execution, supervision and planning of various tunneling projects and will support teams in managing client relationships. Regular travel can be expected to support project execution, ongoing business development endeavors and to meet with internal and external stakeholders.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Masters degree
• Ability to communicate and coordinate work within an integrated multidisciplinary team
• Applicable experience in: U.S. focused tunneling design and construction
• Leading the design and construction of tunnels and underground facilities for major projects
• Rock mechanics, soil mechanics, and geotechnical engineering
• Wide varieties of ground conditions
• Applications of various approaches and technologies such as SEM, NATM, SCL, EPBM, and cut-and-cover techniques.
• Track record of industry facing publication and presentation of technical papers and active participation in professional organizations
• Ph.D. in engineering or related field
• Previous experience managing staff, clients and contracts, and hiring staff for an engineering consulting firm, is desired
• Excellent marketing and business development skills in addition to contacts/relationships in respective business class discipline
• Experience in numerical analysis such as FLAC, UDEC, PHASES2, PLAXIS 2D & 3D, MIDAS GTS, MODFLOW, etc. is a plus.
• Ground-structure-interaction modelling (FEM or similar)
• Experience in large scale underground projects, urban tunneling, tunnel rehabilitation
• Prior working experience in construction or working for a contractor
• Robust interpersonal skills and professional demeanor appropriate for interacting with clients, other design professionals and colleagues

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering
• 10 years related experience
• A minimum 5 years project management experience
• Requires professional engineering license recognized by the licensing board for the location of the position offered. Example: Professional Engineer (PE or P.Eng) license.
• MS Office and MS Project experience (Access experience would be plus)
• Demonstrated leadership, business development and strategic planning skills
• An attitude and commitment to being an active participant of our employee-owned culture is a must

HDR is our company. Together, we build on each other's life experiences and perspectives to make great things possible every day. This shapes our collaborative culture, encourages organizational trust and connects us closer to the clients and communities we serve. As employee owners, we all have a role in creating an inclusive environment where each of us is welcomed, valued, respected, and empowered to bring our authentic selves to work every day. Our eight Employee Network Groups (Asian Pacific, Black, Hispanic/Latino(a), LGBTQ+, People with Disabilities, Veterans, Women, Young Professionals) help create a sense of belonging and foster a supportive environment where everyone is empowered to engage and contribute. Each group has an executive sponsor and is open to all employees.

Primary Location: United States-Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Other Locations: United States-Wisconsin

Industry: Water

Schedule: Full-time

Employee Status: Regular

BusinessClass: Pump Stations and Pipelines

Job Posting: Sep 15, 2025

At HDR, we are committed to the principles of employment equity. We are an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer. We consider all qualified applicants, regardless of criminal histories, arrest and conviction records.