Director of Engineering - Heavy Civil

The Engineering Director will serve as a visionary leader and key director, spearheading technical excellence and innovation within the department to secure and triumph in alternative delivery projects. This role demands a strategic and technical expert who can navigate complex project landscapes, cultivate strong client and consultant relationships, and champion project success through a culture of continuous improvement and knowledge-sharing.

Key Responsibilities:

Project Pipeline and Client Relations:

• Pipeline Management: Proactively identify and evaluate upcoming alternative delivery projects, staying ahead of industry trends.
• Client Engagement: Build and maintain strong relationships with public and private sector leaders, understanding their priorities, concerns, and fostering open communication.
• Risk Mitigation: Collaborate with clients to identify and proactively address potential project risks and challenges, ensuring alignment and minimizing disruptions.
  
  
  

Consultant Selection and Management:

• Consultant Evaluation: Strategically assess and select consultant engineers, prioritizing expertise and innovation to optimize pre-qualification scores. Carefully evaluate the need for highly specialized consultants, identifying suitable firms and verifying their expertise through reference checks and successful project delivery history.
• Contract Negotiation: Skillfully negotiate Letters of Interest (LOIs) and draft comprehensive MOUs/DSAs with selected consultants.
• Fee Negotiation: Negotiate final tender design fees based on desired work product and proposal timelines, ensuring value and efficiency. Pay particular attention to securing competitive design fees, especially on less technically demanding projects, as consultant costs can significantly impact proposal success.
• Scope Management: Meticulously ensure comprehensive scope coverage across all consultants, proactively addressing any gaps to avoid budget shortfalls and delays.
• Design Optimization: Foster a collaborative environment, influencing consultants to develop Alternative Technical Concepts (ATCs) that enhance project competitiveness and mitigate risks.
• Resource Planning: Assess and confirm the availability of consultant manpower, ensuring they have the capacity to meet committed design schedules both pre and post bid.
  
  
  

Proposal Development and Pre-Construction:

• Qualifications Development: Lead the creation of compelling Statements of Qualifications (SOQs), showcasing technical expertise and innovation, tailored to each project and client.
• Technical & Commercial Analysis: Thoroughly evaluate technical and commercial provisions to gain a deep understanding of potential risks and develop effective mitigation strategies.
• Request for Information (RFI): Strategically draft and manage RFIs to seek clarity on technical provisions and further mitigate project risks.
• Contractual Clarity: Proactively negotiate contractual documents or assumptions to address potential data availability concerns (survey, geotechnical, utilities), ensuring a solid foundation for project execution.
• Design Service Agreements: Negotiate and finalize detailed design service agreements with consultants, encompassing clear scope, schedule, and fee structures. Prioritize clear scope definition to secure competitive design fees.
• Technical Writing: Contribute to and lead the creation of persuasive technical write-ups for proposal submissions, highlighting innovative solutions.
• Constructability Review: Collaborate closely with designers to ensure design compatibility with construction methodologies and supplier capabilities, optimizing efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
• Quantity Verification: Diligently review and validate Bills of Quantities (BOQs) from designers based on ratio comparison with past projects.
• Scope Gap Elimination: Work closely with estimators and designers to ensure all scopes required by the RFP are included in bid.
  
  
  

Detail Design Management and Optimization:

• Continuous Improvement: Champion a culture of continuous improvement, driving ongoing design optimization throughout the detail design phase
• Design Change Negotiation: Skillfully negotiate design changes or modifications to technical provisions to implement value-adding optimizations during detail design
• Schedule and Budget Management: Rigorously monitor design progress, work product production, and adherence to budget during the detail design phase, ensuring timely and cost-effective project delivery
• Design Within Bid Budget: Monitor design engineers work closely to ensure final design is within or less than bid budget, pushing designers to find a more constructable and cheaper ways to design the project.
• Design Comment Management: Efficiently coordinate and prioritize design comments during the detail design phase, pushing back against client “preferences / wants” when it does not align with the RFP, fostering collaboration to facilitate a smooth construction start
• Approval Process Improvement: Analyze and recommend process enhancements to streamline the design approval process during the detail design phase, accelerating project timelines
  
  
  

Technical Leadership and Innovation:

• Recruitment and Mentorship: Attract, mentor, and develop top engineering talent within the department, fostering a culture of technical excellence.
• Knowledge-Sharing & Industry Engagement: Actively participate in industry organizations like universities, the Transportation Research Board, and the Design-Build Institute of America, staying at the forefront of industry trends and best practices.
• Innovation Promotion: Continuously seek out and implement innovative approaches and technologies to enhance project competitiveness and deliver superior results. This includes advocating for and implementing new methods of project delivery and communication, such as 3D design on online platforms for early supplier and client engagement in the design approval process
  
  
  

Risk Mitigation Expertise: Develop and maintain a deep understanding of competitive mitigation strategies for various project types, ensuring proactive risk management