Director of Water Resources

Department: Civil/Municipal

Employment Type: Full Time

Location: Jackson, MS

Reporting To: Hayden Overby

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.

For nearly 50 years, Waggoner has delivered sound results through a culture built on integrity, service, and creativity. Having more than doubled in size over the last five years, Waggoner continues its rapid growth across 16 offices in 5 states, providing full-service engineering solutions with recognized strength in all areas of water infrastructure and planning.
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 ResponsibilityThis position has supervisory responsibility for a technical team that includes engineers, designers/technicians, and/or watershed planners. 

Work EnvironmentThis 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 WorkThis is a full-time position.  May require long hours and some weekend work.

TravelTravel 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