Water Treatment Lead

Freese and Nichols is seeking a Water Treatment Lead to join our growing treatment practice in Central and South Texas. This position may be based in our Austin, San Marcos, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, or Harlingen office.

This opportunity can be shaped around the strengths and interests of the right candidate. You may be an experienced project manager who enjoys remaining deeply involved in the technical work, a technical specialist who wants to lead complex treatment projects from an engineering perspective, or an emerging leader ready to take on broader project and client responsibilities over time.

At Freese and Nichols, we believe strong project leadership can take different forms. Some leaders guide projects through overall project management and client coordination, while others provide deep technical leadership, direct complex engineering decisions, and help multidisciplinary teams deliver high-quality solutions. Depending on your background and interests, this role can emphasize project management, technical leadership, or a combination of both.

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead or serve in a key technical role on the planning, evaluation, design, and construction of municipal water treatment and advanced water treatment facilities.
• Provide technical leadership for complex treatment projects, including development and evaluation of treatment alternatives, process selection, design criteria, and key engineering decisions.
• Lead multidisciplinary project teams or partner closely with project managers to successfully deliver treatment projects.
• Serve as a project manager, technical lead, design manager, or other project leadership role depending on project needs and the candidate's experience and interests.
• Lead the preparation and review of technical reports, studies, design calculations, plans, specifications, cost estimates, and construction documents.
• Coordinate with civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and controls, and other disciplines to deliver integrated treatment facility designs.
• Serve as a trusted technical advisor to clients and maintain strong communication throughout planning, design, and construction.
• Mentor engineers and designers and contribute to the technical development of staff across multiple offices.
• Collaborate with Freese and Nichols subject matter experts on conventional and advanced treatment technologies, including membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, desalination, advanced oxidation, disinfection, residuals management, potable and non-potable reuse, and other emerging technologies.
• Participate in construction administration, startup, commissioning, and resolution of design and construction challenges.
• For candidates interested in project management, coordinate scope, schedule, budget, staffing, and overall project delivery.
• For candidates interested in client development, support proposals, interviews, and relationship-building activities with existing and prospective clients.
• Contribute to technical standards, project delivery best practices, and the continued growth of the Freese and Nichols treatment practice.

• Bachelor's degree in Civil, Environmental, Mechanical, Chemical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.

• Texas Professional Engineer (PE) license or ability to obtain Texas licensure within six months.

• 6+ years of relevant water treatment, advanced water treatment, or related municipal treatment experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience serving as a project manager, deputy project manager, design manager, discipline lead, or technical lead on complex treatment facility projects.

• Experience with advanced water treatment technologies such as membrane filtration, reverse osmosis, desalination, advanced oxidation, potable reuse, or other advanced treatment processes.

• Experience coordinating treatment plant civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, and controls design.

• Experience with construction administration, startup, and commissioning of treatment facilities.

• Experience mentoring and developing engineers and technical staff.

• Experience managing complex treatment projects or significant technical workstreams.

• Master's degree in Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or a related discipline.

• Experience with the planning, process evaluation, design, and/or construction of municipal water treatment facilities.