Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Water Program Engineer

🎯 Role Definition

A Water Program Engineer leads and executes municipal, regional, or utility-level water resource programs. This role designs, implements, and manages projects and regulatory compliance efforts related to stormwater, wastewater, recycled water, watershed management, and flood control. The ideal candidate combines civil/hydraulic engineering expertise, program management skills, and practical field experience to translate policy and permits into implementable capital projects, maintenance plans, and monitoring programs. Core responsibilities include permit compliance (NPDES/State), hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, GIS analysis, construction oversight, stakeholder communication, budget and schedule management, and continuous program improvement.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Junior Civil Engineer (water/stormwater focus)
Environmental Technician or Water Resources Analyst
Field/Inspection Technician in stormwater or wastewater utilities

Advancement To:

Senior Water Program Engineer / Project Manager
Water Resources Program Manager
Capital Projects Manager or Division Manager (Water/Wastewater)
Director of Water Resources or Chief Engineer

Lateral Moves:

Stormwater Program Manager
Regulatory Compliance Specialist (NPDES/Permitting)
Watershed or Floodplain Management Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop, manage, and execute comprehensive stormwater and watershed programs to meet municipal or regional objectives, including long-term planning, capital improvement project (CIP) prioritization, and adaptive management strategies aligned with NPDES/MS4 permits and state stormwater regulations.
Lead preparation and submittal of regulatory documents, reports, and monitoring plans (e.g., NPDES annual reports, TMDL implementation plans, SWMP updates) and ensure timely compliance with federal, state, and local permit requirements.
Design and review engineering plans for stormwater, wastewater, and drainage infrastructure (culverts, channels, retention/detention facilities, green infrastructure, recycled water systems) applying sound hydraulic and hydrologic principles and industry standards.
Perform hydrologic and hydraulic modeling (HEC-RAS, HEC-HMS, SWMM, Mike, or equivalent) to evaluate flood risk, conveyance capacity, detention sizing, and impacts of land use changes; interpret model results and produce technical memos and design criteria.
Manage multi-disciplinary projects from scope development to closeout, including schedule and budget oversight, procurement of consultants, contract management, and quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC).
Conduct field investigations and inspections to diagnose drainage problems, verify constructed conditions, gather data for modeling, and support enforcement of maintenance and permit compliance activities.
Develop and execute monitoring programs including water quality sampling, flow monitoring, and biological assessments; analyze monitoring data, interpret trends, and prepare technical reports to support regulatory compliance and program evaluation.
Produce technical specifications, construction documents, bid packages, and cost estimates; coordinate plan check reviews, contractor pre-bid meetings, and respond to RFIs during construction.
Oversee construction management and inspection activities for water infrastructure projects, ensuring contractor compliance with design specifications, environmental permits, safety requirements, and as-built documentation.
Coordinate with cross-functional teams including operations, maintenance, environmental compliance, planning, and public works to integrate program outcomes with asset management and municipal business processes.
Cultivate and maintain relationships with regulatory agencies (EPA, state water boards, regional water quality control boards), partner agencies, funding bodies, and community stakeholders to facilitate permit negotiations, grant awards, and interagency coordination.
Prepare and manage grant applications, funding proposals, and program budgets; track expenditures, prepare financial reports, and ensure compliance with grant conditions and funding agency requirements.
Lead public outreach and stakeholder engagement efforts including community meetings, presentations to city councils or boards, and development of educational materials to support program acceptance and behavior-change initiatives.
Provide technical guidance and mentorship to junior engineers, technicians, and interns; develop training materials and conduct workshops on design standards, permitting processes, monitoring protocols, and data interpretation.
Integrate GIS and spatial analysis into program planning by developing geodatabases, mapping drainage networks, hosting asset inventories, and creating visualizations for prioritization and decision-making.
Implement best management practices (BMPs) and green infrastructure solutions—bioswales, permeable pavements, bioretention, infiltration basins—to meet water quality goals while optimizing life-cycle costs and maintenance requirements.
Develop and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs), design standards, and program manuals to ensure consistent application of engineering practices and regulatory compliance across projects.
Evaluate and recommend new technologies, monitoring equipment, and modeling tools to improve program efficiency, data quality, and reporting accuracy; pilot and scale-up successful innovations.
Manage risk by identifying potential regulatory, environmental, schedule, and budget issues early; develop mitigation strategies, contingency plans, and maintain a change-order and claims log as needed.
Coordinate emergency response and flood control activities during storm events or system failures; provide technical support for incident assessment, temporary repairs, and FEMA/disaster documentation as required.
Prepare clear, SEO-optimized technical reports, executive summaries, and board-level briefings that translate complex engineering analyses into actionable recommendations and policy options.
Ensure projects and program elements adhere to health, safety, and environmental regulations; lead safety reviews and ensure contractor compliance with local utility and traffic control standards.
Track program performance using KPIs (e.g., pollutant load reductions, number of structural BMPs implemented, permit violation counts) and use adaptive management to refine priorities and resource allocation.

Secondary Functions

Support development of departmental strategic plans that integrate water program objectives with climate resilience, sustainability, and equity goals.
Assist procurement and contracting teams with scopes of work, technical evaluation criteria, and consultant selection panels for water-related services.
Contribute to interdepartmental working groups on land use, transportation, and stormwater to align infrastructure planning with watershed-scale management.
Provide technical support for policy development such as municipal codes, stormwater ordinances, LID standards, and development review checklists.
Help prepare grant reporting and performance metrics required by state revolving funds (SRF), regional grants, or federal funding programs.
Train operations and maintenance staff on new BMP maintenance standards, instrumentation calibration, and data collection protocols to ensure longevity of implemented projects.
Participate in industry conferences, professional societies (ASCE, AWRA, WEF), and continuing education to keep the program current on emerging regulations and best practices.
Maintain and update hydrology and water quality datasets and support creation of public-facing dashboards or GIS story maps to increase program transparency.
Coordinate pilot studies and small-scale demonstrations of emerging stormwater technologies, documenting performance and scaling recommendations.
Support internal audits and compliance reviews, responding to regulatory inquiries and coordinating corrective action plans when deficiencies are identified.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Professional Engineer (PE) license in Civil Engineering or equivalent (preferred) and strong knowledge of engineering fundamentals applied to water resources and drainage design.
Demonstrated experience with hydrologic and hydraulic modeling tools such as HEC-RAS, HEC-HMS, EPA SWMM, MIKE, or InfoWorks ICM, and ability to develop model inputs, run scenarios, and interpret outputs.
Proficiency with GIS platforms (ArcGIS, QGIS) for spatial analysis, asset mapping, watershed delineation, and production of plan-level exhibits.
Solid background in stormwater and wastewater regulations (NPDES, MS4 permits, CWA, TMDLs), permit development, monitoring program design, and regulatory reporting.
Strong technical writing and documentation skills—preparing permit submittals, engineering reports, technical memoranda, specifications, and executive summaries.
Experience preparing construction plans, details, and specifications using CAD software (AutoCAD Civil 3D or MicroStation) and familiarity with plan check workflows.
Competence in designing green infrastructure and low-impact development (LID) solutions with knowledge of sizing criteria, media specifications, and long-term maintenance implications.
Ability to design, deploy, and manage water quality monitoring programs including sampling design, QA/QC, chain-of-custody, and laboratory coordination.
Experience with asset management systems, condition assessment methodologies, and CIP prioritization frameworks.
Familiarity with grant writing, budget development, cost estimating, and financial management for public-sector projects.
Working knowledge of construction management practices, inspection, change order management, and contractor coordination.
Data analysis skills with Excel (advanced), statistical analysis, and the ability to summarize data trends for program evaluation.
Knowledge of environmental permitting processes (CEQA/NEPA) and the ability to prepare or support environmental documentation.

Soft Skills

Strong stakeholder engagement and public communication abilities; able to explain technical issues to non-technical audiences and lead productive public meetings.
Excellent project management skills including prioritization, scheduling, budgeting, and resource allocation across multiple concurrent projects.
Critical thinking and problem-solving orientation with a track record of practical, constructible engineering solutions.
Team leadership and mentorship: develops junior staff, fosters collaboration, and builds cross-disciplinary relationships.
High attention to detail paired with the ability to synthesize complex technical topics into concise recommendations for executives and elected officials.
Adaptability and resilience in fast-paced environments, managing changing regulatory priorities and emergency response situations.
Negotiation and conflict-resolution skills for contractor management, interagency coordination, and multi-stakeholder projects.
Strong organizational and documentation practices to support audits, compliance reviews, and transparent program governance.
Initiative and continuous improvement mindset, proactively identifying process inefficiencies and recommending technology or workflow enhancements.
Ethical judgement and commitment to public safety, environmental stewardship, and regulatory compliance.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Water Resources Engineering, Hydrology, or closely related field.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree in Water Resources, Civil/Environmental Engineering, Hydrology, or related discipline.
Active Professional Engineer (PE) license in civil engineering or eligibility for licensure.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Civil Engineering (Water/Drainage emphasis)
Environmental Engineering
Hydrology / Water Resources Engineering
Geospatial Science (GIS) or Environmental Science with strong quantitative focus

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 4–10+ years of progressive engineering experience focused on stormwater, drainage, wastewater, or water resources programs.

Preferred:

5+ years managing municipal or utility water/stormwater programs with NPDES/MS4 permit experience.
Demonstrated leadership on CIP projects from planning through construction and closeout.
Experience working with federal/state agencies, grant funding, and multi-stakeholder public infrastructure projects.