The posting
Waggoner Engineering, Inc. is seeking a Water Market Sector Leader to join our team. The Water Market Sector Leader is a senior strategic-operations leader responsible for growing the firm in the water market sector across all business units - growing talent, building high-performing teams, expanding the client base, and increasing profitable revenue and backlog in the water market. The role will elevate Waggoner’s brand and thought leadership, lead major client pursuits, and ensure excellent, consistent project delivery. Because the role has limited to no direct reports, success depends on leading through leadership influence - aligning Business Unit Leaders, Area Managers, Discipline Leaders, and Client/Project Teams around clear market priorities, development pathways, and quality outcomes for clients.
Sector Summary
Responsible for the strategy, growth, and delivery excellence of Waggoner’s Water Market for public-sector water clients, including a “One Water” approach covering water, wastewater, stormwater, reuse, and integrated planning. The leader serves as the primary market-facing champion for water services for local governments, state agencies, and federal departments responsible for water utilities and programs.
Market Sector Scope
- Primary clients: local government water and wastewater utilities, stormwater programs, watershed and coastal entities, state agencies responsible for water resources, and federal departments/agencies responsible for water infrastructure and compliance.
- Primary services: water/wastewater treatment and conveyance, stormwater and drainage, One Water and integrated planning, asset management and capital planning, regulatory compliance, funding support, and resilience/adaptation.
- Boundary: water infrastructure that is integral to industrial facilities (e.g., process water, industrial wastewater systems, and industrial stormwater within or directly serving an industrial site) is led by the Industrial Market Sector Leader. The Water Market Sector Leader collaborates where industrial projects require coordination with public utilities, agencies, or community systems.
Key Responsibilities
Market Strategy, Growth, and Thought Leadership
- Develop and execute a multi-year market strategy and annual plan (targets, priority clients, services, staffing, investments).
- Serve as a visible thought leader: publish, present, and represent Waggoner in industry forums to increase sector brand and market credibility.
- Lead or oversee major pursuits, capture plans, teaming strategies, and client messaging; partner with marketing and business development on campaigns and collateral.
Client Development and Winning Work
- Develop and maintain trusted advisor relationships with priority clients; lead account planning in coordination with Business Unit Leaders and Area Managers.
- Lead capture planning and pursuit strategy for major programs, including go/no-go, teaming, pricing strategy inputs, and interview preparation.
- Identify emerging client needs, regulatory/funding drivers, and competitive positioning; evolve service offerings accordingly.
Delivery Excellence, Standards, Quality, and Risk
- Ensure project delivery aligns with market strategy, client expectations, technical standards, and risk posture.
- Partner with Business Unit Leaders and Area Managers to forecast workload and coordinate resources to meet commitments.
- Promote consistent delivery methodologies, lessons learned, and knowledge-sharing across offices and disciplines.
- Champion consistent project delivery standards and quality systems across the sector, including use of standard agreements and templates where client requirements allow (e.g., EJCDC-based agreements and front-end documents).
- Support the development and use of firmwide templates and standards (e.g., supplemental conditions, spec/plan covers, standard details, report templates).
- Lead or participate in QA/QC and risk reviews on key pursuits and high-risk projects; promote ‘do it right the first time’ delivery.
- Advance safety in design practices, risk management, and a consistent project closeout process.
- Contribute to proposal reviews and continuous improvement of win themes, deliverables, and client communications (including letter proposals where appropriate).
People Leadership and Talent Development (Matrix Organization)
- Lead through influence in a matrix environment; align Business Unit Leaders, Area Managers, Discipline Leaders, and project teams to sector priorities.
- Establish clear target markets, clients, and services; translate strategy into actionable plans, account plans, and pursuit roadmaps.
- Coach, mentor, and develop staff across business units through project engagement, QA/QC reviews, and pursuit leadership—regardless of reporting lines.
- Build and sustain high-performing teams by mentoring, recruiting, and aligning talent to the best and highest use in service of clients.
- Develop communities of practice and technical development opportunities; encourage cross-office collaboration and staff visibility to sector work.
- Support succession planning and development of future leaders.
Financial and Performance Management
- Own sector performance and accountability (revenue, backlog, win rate, profitability, utilization, client satisfaction) in partnership with Business Unit Leaders and finance/operations.
- Maintain a pipeline and forecast; communicate risks and opportunities to Strategic Operations leadership.
Cross-Sector Collaboration
- Coordinate with other Market Sector Leaders when markets, clients, or services overlap; define clear lead/support roles for pursuits and client management.
- Develop integrated solutions and cross-sector teams to deliver greater client value and expand relationships.
- Use regular cross-sector planning, shared CRM/account plans, and joint pursuit reviews to prevent duplication and ensure a One Firm client experience.
- Escalate and resolve priority or resourcing conflicts through the EVP of Strategic Operations as needed.
Measures of Success
- Growth: achievement of annual net service revenue targets, healthy pipeline, improved win rate, and diversified client portfolio.
- Brand: increased visibility through speaking, publishing, associations, and client references aligned to the sector strategy.
- Delivery: strong client satisfaction, consistent QA/QC outcomes, reduced rework/risk events, and successful closeout on key projects.
- People: improved engagement and retention, effective mentoring, and a developing bench of sector leaders and technical experts.
- One Firm: effective collaboration across market sectors and business units with clear lead/support roles and integrated wins.
What you'll need
Minimum Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Civil, Environmental, or Chemical Engineering or related field (Master’s preferred).
- Registered Professional Engineer (PE) required.
- Typically 15+ years of progressive water experience, including 7+ years of client leadership and demonstrated pursuit leadership.
Preferred Qualifications
- Deep knowledge of funding programs, regulatory frameworks, and public procurement for water utilities.
- Experience leading One Water or integrated watershed/coastal resilience initiatives and driving standardization/quality systems.
Core Competencies
- Strategic thinking and market insight
- Client relationship leadership and executive presence
- Pursuit leadership and persuasive communication
- Technical leadership and commitment to quality
- Ability to influence without direct authority; collaborative leadership
- Financial acumen and performance accountability
- People development, mentoring, and team building
Travel and Work Environment
- Primarily office-based in any WEI location with flexibility; travel to client sites, Waggoner offices, and industry events as required.
- Occasional evening and weekend work may be needed during pursuits or critical project milestones.
Why Join Our Team
About Waggoner Waggoner is a multidisciplinary infrastructure and advisory firm focused on transforming communities and advancing the systems that support them. Our team brings together engineering, science, business, environmental expertise, digital innovation, program delivery, and strategic insight to solve complex challenges facing communities, industries, and governments.
We believe infrastructure is more than projects - it is the foundation of resilient communities, economic opportunity, and a stronger future. By integrating technical excellence with environmental stewardship, data-driven insights, and collaboration problem solving, Waggoner helps our clients realize what's possible and delivers solutions that create lasting impact for the people and places we serve.
Our culture is built on integrity, accountability, collaboration, and excellence. We empower talented professionals to lead, innovate, and work across disciplines to deliver meaningful outcomes for our clients and communities.
Our Vision To be the trusted partner organizations turn to for integrated solutions that strengthen communities, advance infrastructure, and solve complex challenges.
Our Mission Transforming communities. To improve the quality of life for our clients, communities, and employees by delivering innovative, resilient, and sustainable solutions that make a lasting difference.
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.
