Vice President of Land Engineering & Development Operations

Macdonald & Company are partnered with a fast-growing, privately held real estate development firm with a vertically integrated platform spanning acquisitions, land development, siteworks, construction, and delivery. With an internal siteworks and infrastructure division, the company maintains tight control over schedule, quality, and execution across all residential communities.

The business operates in a lean, entrepreneurial, fast-paced environment, backed by strong leadership and significant growth momentum. The firm is now preparing for institutional capital partnership and is strengthening its technical development function accordingly.

The Role

The Vice President of Land Engineering & Development Operations is a leadership-track role responsible for owning the technical, engineering-driven side of the land development process. This individual serves as the company’s internal engineering authority, ensuring that every project is meticulously planned, sequenced, permitted, and closed out with PE-level rigor.

This is not a traditional “developer” role. Instead, it is designed for a civil engineer with residential land development experience who is ready to step into broader organizational leadership. The VP will partner directly with ownership to build and enforce disciplined processes around engineering review, constructability, municipal coordination, survey integration, entitlement readiness, and project closeout.

This person will sit inside the development organization but will work closely with the internal siteworks team, functioning as their technical counterpart and ensuring that engineering plans align with field realities.

Key Responsibilities

Engineering-Driven Development Leadership

• Lead and standardize the engineering, entitlement, and pre-development review process for all residential projects.
• Identify constructability issues early and prevent avoidable delays, redesigns, or sequencing conflicts.
• Ensure engineering work anticipates downstream needs, such as access width, stream/wetland permitting, erosion control, and equipment logistics.

Technical Oversight & Process Ownership

• Establish and enforce firm-wide processes for engineering coordination, municipal submissions, RFIs, and technical documentation.
• Own the project closeout workflow, including as-builts, plats, surveys, punch lists, address creation, utility acceptance, and bond release.
• Ensure exceptional accuracy and timeliness in all closeout and municipal-facing deliverables.

Collaboration With Siteworks & Development Teams

• Serve as the engineering mind within the development function, working closely with the internal siteworks division as their “client.”
• Translate engineering intent into field execution and ensure drawings reflect real-world construction sequencing.
• Coordinate technical handoffs between acquisitions, design, survey, permitting, and siteworks teams.

Municipal, Survey, and Entitlement Management

• Lead platting, lot creation, address assignment, easement documentation, and other municipal processes.
• Manage survey coordination (preferably experienced with in-house survey workflows).
• Serve as a technical liaison with municipalities, ensuring compliance from entitlement through final dedication.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Growth Responsibilities

• Partner with executive leadership on major transactions and future development planning.
• Mentor development project managers on technical discipline and engineering best practices.
• Help prepare the organization for institutional capital partnership by elevating process rigor and technical standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering required.
• PE license.
• 8–15 years of professional experience, ideally split between civil engineering and residential land development.
• Deep understanding of:
• grading, utilities, stormwater, and roadway design
• constructability review & site sequencing
• platting, as-builts, and project closeout workflows
• municipal processes, permitting, and entitlement coordination
• Experience working with or managing in-house survey teams.
• Demonstrated ability to run a precise, disciplined technical process in a fast-moving environment.
• Residential development experience is mandatory.
• Must be located in or willing to be in the Triad region at least three days per week.
• Strong communication, problem-solving, and leadership potential; motivated by growth and increasing responsibility.