Senior Civil Engineering Leader | Land Development

Description Seeking a senior land development leader who can serve as the engineering backbone of the office. This individual will operate as a trusted technical resource, mentor junior engineers, make independent project decisions, and provide leadership leverage for the firm's president. This is not a traditional project management position. The ideal candidate combines strong land development expertise with engineering judgment, leadership maturity, ownership mentality, and the ability to confidently guide projects, staff, and clients. This individual will serve as the organization's second-in-command from a technical leadership perspective and help reduce dependence on senior leadership for day-to-day engineering oversight. Key Responsibilities • Mentor and develop junior engineers and project engineers • Serve as a senior technical leader within the land development group • Help elevate technical standards and engineering decision-making • Function as the engineering backbone of the office • Provide project leadership across commercial, retail, mixed-use, industrial, and site development projects • Perform project oversight, technical review, and engineering decision-making • Coordinate with clients, agencies, consultants, and internal project teams • Support grading, drainage, utility, entitlement, and site development efforts • Guide project teams through permitting and agency coordination processes • Support proposal development and project planning activities • Make independent project and operational decisions while appropriately escalating major risk or liability concerns • Help create engineering consistency, accountability, and technical excellence across the team • Support long-term talent development and succession planning efforts within the organization Skills land development, autocad, civil 3d, project management, grading, utility plan, surveying Top Skills Details land development,autocad,civil 3d,project management,grading,utility plan,surveying Additional Skills & Qualifications Required Qualifications • Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering • 10+ years of civil engineering or land development experience • Significant experience supporting private land development projects • Strong understanding of grading, drainage, site development, utility coordination, entitlement, and agency review processes • Demonstrated experience leading projects, mentoring staff, and making engineering decisions with minimal oversight • Excellent client communication and interpersonal skills • Proven ability to balance technical excellence with project delivery deadlines • Strong sense of accountability, ownership, and professional responsibility • Experience operating in fast-paced consulting environments • Experience reviewing and approving technical work produced by other engineers. ________________________________________ Preferred Qualifications • Professional Engineer (PE) license strongly preferred • California PE welcomed but not required • Strong senior land development leaders without a PE may still be considered • Experience working for similar land development consulting organizations • Experience mentoring junior engineers and developing technical staff • Experience with AutoCAD Civil 3D • Experience supporting multiple project types within private land development environments Experience Level Expert Level
Job Type & Location
This is a Permanent position based out of Costa Mesa, CA.
Pay and Benefits
The pay range for this position is $140000.00 - $160000.00/yr. Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors. • Annual Bonus: Up to 10%
• Flexibility available for exceptional candidates who demonstrate the leadership, technical judgment, and long-term value CDR is seeking.
Workplace Type
This is a hybrid position in Costa Mesa,CA.
Application Deadline
This position is anticipated to close on Sep 24, 2026. About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without
regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability,
sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected
by law.

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Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the
city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants
with arrest and conviction records.

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It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a
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