Data Center Site Civil Planning Lead

Data Center Site Civil Planning 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.

HDR is seeking a Data Center Site Civil Planning Lead to join our growing Site Civil Business Class within our Building Engineering Services (BES) Team. The Data Center Site Civil Planning Lead will serve as the subject matter expert in land entitlements, development ordinances and processes, campus planning and layouts, and preliminary mass grading design specifically for data center projects.

Responsibilities will include the following:

• Lead our Site Civil Business Class in the site planning of data center projects.
• Oversee all Data Center site planning projects, ensuring consistency and quality across our Site Civil Business Class.
• Analyze and interpret local entitlements, zoning and development ordinances, and land development permitting processes to guide decisions throughout the campus planning process.
• Lead campus planning, including site layout and utility infrastructure planning, ensuring compliance with both client standards and requirements, and the local jurisdiction's development requirements.
• Oversee initial mass grading design following campus planning, guiding the project design team.
• Serve as the subject matter expert with the client, providing guidance and expertise.
• Interact and build strong relationships and trust with clients.
• Serve as a thought leader within our organization and the data center industry, participating in industry conferences and authoring articles or technical publications.
• Mentor and develop staff to understand the data center campus planning process, ensuring knowledge of client-specific standards, requirements, and processes to assure sustainability and resilience in our Data Center Planning Practice.
• Apply site civil planning knowledge and experience to other market sectors as required.
• Travel regionally and nationally as necessary to support projects and client engagements.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Project experience with land entitlement and development processes in multiple jurisdictions.
• Knowledge of Civil Engineering modeling software such as Hydraflow Storm Sewers, Hydraflow Hydrographs, HydroCAD, Bentley StormCAD, etc.
• Master's degree in Civil Engineering or other related engineering discipline.
• 3+ years of experience leading site civil design on data center projects.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree
• A minimum of 10 years design experience managing various civil/site design projects
• Requires professional engineering license recognized by the licensing board for the location of the position offered. Example: Professional Engineer (PE or P.Eng) license.
• Project Engineering and Project Management experience
• An attitude and commitment to being an active participant of our employee-owned culture is a must

What We Believe 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.

Our Commitment 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-Texas-Austin

Other Locations: United States-Texas-Round Rock

Industry: Building Engineering

Schedule: Full-time

Employee Status: Regular

Business Class: Building Site Civil

Job Posting: Oct 10, 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.