Senior Surface Water Engineer

Location: Denver, CO, United States

This Opportunity

WSP is seeking a Senior Surface Water Engineer to join our Denver (South Colorado Boulevard) office. This position is intended for an engineer with approximately 5–7 years of experience who has developed strong technical capabilities in hydrology, hydraulics, floodplain analysis, and FEMA flood studies and is looking to take the next step into project management and team leadership.

The role offers the opportunity to lead portions of FEMA Risk MAP projects throughout Colorado while developing project management skills such as scope development, budget tracking, schedule management, client coordination, and team leadership. The successful candidate will remain actively involved in technical work while gradually assuming greater responsibility for project delivery and staff development.

This position will support a variety of FEMA, municipal, transportation, and watershed projects, with a primary focus on flood risk management, floodplain mapping, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, and flood hazard studies. The role also includes mentoring junior staff and helping develop technical excellence across the Denver surface water practice.

Your Impact

• Support the management and delivery of FEMA Risk MAP studies, floodplain mapping projects, and flood hazard analyses throughout Colorado.
• Coordinate project scopes, schedules, budgets, and deliverables under the guidance of senior project managers.
• Lead technical tasks involving hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, floodplain analysis, and FEMA regulatory studies.
• Participate in client meetings and stakeholder discussions.
• Review technical work products and assist with QA/QC of reports, models, mapping, and engineering analyses.
• Serve as a technical resource for junior engineers and provide mentorship on modeling, mapping, and floodplain analysis.
• Support staff development through project reviews, technical coaching, and knowledge sharing.
• Assist with proposal preparation, scope development, and business development activities.
• Perform and review hydrologic and hydraulic analyses using industry-standard methodologies and software.
• Contribute to drainage, stormwater, open channel, bridge, and culvert hydraulic analyses as part of broader water resources projects.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to deliver high-quality projects that meet client and regulatory requirements.

Who You Are

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, or a closely related field from an accredited university.
• 5–7 years of relevant professional experience in water resources engineering, floodplain management, or related disciplines.
• Colorado Professional Engineer (PE) license or ability to obtain licensure within 6 months.
• Experience supporting project delivery activities, including coordination, scope development, scheduling, and budget tracking.
• Experience with FEMA flood studies, floodplain analysis, flood hazard mapping, or Risk MAP projects.
• Proficiency with hydrologic and hydraulic modeling software, including HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, HEC-RAS 2D, SRH-2D, or similar tools.
• Experience working with GIS and engineering design software, including ArcGIS, Bentley, and Autodesk applications.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to coordinate effectively with clients and project teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• Direct experience supporting FEMA Risk MAP studies, LOMR/CLOMR analyses, DFIRM development, or floodplain mapping projects.
• Experience serving as a task lead, deputy project manager, or project engineer with increasing project management responsibilities.
• Familiarity with Colorado floodplain regulations, CWCB standards, and Denver-area drainage practices.
• Experience working with local governments, state agencies, or federal clients.
• Interest in supervising, mentoring, and developing junior engineering staff.

WSP Benefits:

WSP provides a comprehensive suite of benefits focused on a providing health and financial stability throughout the employee’s career. These benefits include coverage related to medical, dental, vision, disability, and life; retirement savings; paid sick leave; paid vacation (or other personal time); paid parental leave; and paid time off for purposes of bereavement, voting, and/or attendance at naturalization proceedings.

Compensation:

Expected Salary (Colorado only): $97,000 - $160,000

WSP USA is providing the compensation range that the company in good faith believes it might pay and/or offer for this position within the state of Colorado, based on the successful applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities in addition to internal equity and specific geographic location. WSP USA reserves the right to ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and offer additional benefits and other compensation, depending on circumstances not related to an applicant’s sex or other status protected by local, state, and/or federal law. 

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