Director of Water Resources

Department: Civil/Municipal

Location: Jackson, MS

Description

Waggoner Engineering, Inc. is seeking a Director of Water Resources to play a key leadership role in our established and expanding Water Resources practice, recognized for delivering high-quality, innovative solutions. This position offers an exciting opportunity for a motivated leader to shape and expand a discipline that serves multiple markets and consistently delivers innovative, resilient, and community-focused solutions across the region.

Compensation & Benefits:

• Base Salary: Competitive, commensurate with experience
• Signing Bonus: You will receive a one-time signing bonus of $10,000, payable within 30 days of your start date.
• Clawback Provision: If you voluntarily resign or are terminated for cause within 12 months of your start date, you agree to repay the signing bonus in full.

We are seeking a forward-thinking professional who is energized by growth, thrives in a collaborative environment, and is motivated to make a meaningful impact for our clients, our communities, and our internal team.

Typical Responsibilities/Essential Functions

Following are the essential functions of the position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these essential functions.

• Provide strategic leadership for Waggoner’s Water Resources discipline, including watershed planning, stormwater engineering, H&H modeling, and flood mitigation services.
• Lead business development efforts by identifying opportunities, pursuing key clients, preparing proposals, and serving as a trusted advisor to municipalities, counties, state agencies, and private clients.
• Oversee delivery of high-quality, technically sound projects, ensuring strong QA/QC, innovative solutions, and on-time, on-budget performance.
• Offer senior-level technical guidance on hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, watershed studies, stormwater systems, drainage analysis, and FEMA/NFIP-related work.
• Mentor, motivate, and grow a team of engineers and project managers, fostering a collaborative, high-performing culture across multiple locations.
• Manage discipline performance, including staffing, utilization, backlog, profitability, and resource planning.
• Coordinate closely with other service areas including Water, Wastewater, Transportation, Environmental, and GIS to support integrated project delivery and strategic pursuits. Represent the Water Resources discipline in leadership discussions, contributing to firmwide strategy, innovation, and growth initiatives.

Supervisor Responsibility
This position has supervisory responsibility for a technical team that includes engineers, designers/technicians, and/or watershed planners.

Work Environment
This job generally operates in a professional office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines.

Position Type/Expected Hours of Work
This is a full-time position. May require long hours and some weekend work.

Travel
Travel is primarily local during the business day, although some projects and initiatives may require more out-of-the-area and overnight travel.


What you'll need

Required Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, or a related field is required.

Required Licensures and Certifications

• Licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE); (if not licensed in Mississippi, the ability to do so within six months).
• Licensure or ability to obtain licensure as a PE in other states where Waggoner practices, within a reasonable timeframe.
• Certifications applicable to civil engineering, hydrology and hydraulics desired (e.g. CPESC, CFM).

Required Experience

• Ten years of professional engineering experience in water resources, stormwater management, and/or watershed planning.
• Knowledge of and experience in watershed-based planning, H&H modeling, and stormwater design.
• Proven success managing and completing complex projects for local, state, and federal clients.
• Experience leading and managing engineering teams, including staff development and coordination.
• Successful track record in business development, including identifying opportunities, leading pursuits, and developing winning proposals.

Other Knowledge and Skills

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to present complex concepts to clients, stakeholders, and non-technical audiences.
• Knowledge of programmatic and regulatory state and federal agency interests and requirements related to water resources (e.g., USACE, NRCS, EPA, USGS, FEMA) and ability to connect to relevant client initiatives and priorities.
• Working knowledge of H&H modeling tools, GIS platforms, and design software, with the ability to identify the appropriate approaches and tools for specific project applications.
• Strong problem-solving abilities with a focus on creative, resilient, and data-driven solutions.

Other Duties


Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities and activities may change at any time with or without notice.


Why Join Our Team

We know work isn't only about what you do, it's also about who you work for and with! Waggoner Engineering provides a fun, family-friendly, and multicultural work environment that supports a work life balance, including:

• WEI Incentive Program
• Healthy Workplace Program
• Employee Referral Bonus
• Competitive Health Benefits
• Career Development and Training
• Flexible/Hybrid Schedule
• Community Service Opportunities
• Worldwide Travel Assistance
  

Waggoner Engineering, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.