Senior Civil Engineer

Overview

Moment Engineering, a Southern California civil and geotechnical engineering firm focused on land development, is seeking a Senior Civil Design Engineer to lead design production and technical quality across grading, drainage, WQMP/BMP, and hydrology deliverables for single-family residential, multifamily, and commercial site development projects.

This is a design lead role, not a design executor role. You'll own technical quality, mentor project staff, manage key client relationships, and help grow the firm's project pipeline — all while working a genuinely flexible hybrid schedule.

Why This Role

• Hybrid schedule. Split your week between our La Mesa office and remote work. We trust senior engineers to manage their time and deliver — this is a rare benefit in land-development engineering and a core part of how we operate.
• Lead, don't just execute. Direct ownership of design quality, staff development, and client relationships — not just calc-checking.
• Tech-forward team. We're actively integrating AI-assisted workflows (including Claude) into design, QC, and reporting. If you're curious about new tools and open to adopting them, you'll fit right in.
• Room to grow the firm, not just your project list. Strong performers here identify new project opportunities and help shape how the team works.

What You'll Do

Technical Leadership

• Lead design and quality control for grading, drainage, WQMP/BMP, and hydrology reports across San Diego, Orange, and LA County jurisdictions
• Serve as technical design lead on SFR, multifamily, and commercial land development projects, from preliminary concept through construction documents and plan check resolution
• Apply and interpret jurisdiction-specific standards (WQMP Priority Project triggers, SDRSD references, stormwater BMP configurations, CBC/Caltrans drainage standards)
• Produce and oversee schematics, technical drawings, and design documentation in AutoCAD Civil 3D

Client Relationships (a core part of this role)

• Serve as a primary client-facing contact — build and maintain trusted relationships with developers, architects, owners, and jurisdictional reviewers
• Coordinate directly with clients, plan checkers, and multi-discipline consultants to resolve technical comments efficiently
• Translate technical findings and design recommendations into clear, confident guidance for non-technical clients
• Identify and help develop new project opportunities within existing accounts and professional networks
• Support fee proposal development and scope definition for new and existing projects

Team & Process Leadership

• Review and mentor project engineers, EITs, and designers to strengthen design-quality standards and reduce client issue escalations
• Develop training and onboarding processes that grow staff capability over time — not just one-off reviews
• Build and refine standardized workflows, templates, and QC processes to improve consistency and turnaround across the design team

What You Bring

• Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering (or related field); California PE license required
• 5 years of civil engineering experience, with a strong concentration in private land development
• Demonstrated design leadership on grading, drainage, and stormwater compliance deliverables
• Working knowledge of AutoCAD Civil 3D; familiarity with jurisdictional plan check portals a plus
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with experience owning direct client and agency coordination
• Experience mentoring junior engineers, EITs, or CAD designers, and building or developing training processes
• Openness to new technology, including AI-assisted engineering tools — prior use of Claude or similar tools a plus, not a requirement
• Track record of identifying or developing new project opportunities

Join Us

If you want to lead technical design, grow a team, and own client relationships — with a hybrid schedule that respects your time — we'd like to hear from you.