What does a hydraulic engineer do?
Hydraulics engineers are engineering professionals who design projects that are related to the movement and control of fluids. These engineers must perform many studies to understand water systems and design dams, drainage systems, and levees for the local government. They are required to participate in the water resources and flood control planning by creating a deep foundation and flood control structure designs. Hydraulics must also communicate with clients and governing bodies to address their concerns about stormwater and erosion.
Hydraulic engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real hydraulic engineer resumes:
- Manage Jenkins security by providing specific access to authorize developers/testers using project base matrix authorization strategy.
- Used HEC-HMS to generate hydrographs of design floods.
- Assist the work of less experience engineers and technical assistants in GIS matters.
- Compile spatial data using raster and vector layers in GIS to facilitate design changes.
- Apply ANSYS/Multi-Physics, CFX, Solidworks simulations and FE-Safe to perform FEA/CFD analyses and mentore others on methods.
- Perform engineering services specializing in floodplain and floodway delineations on behalf of FEMA, and soil erosion control plans.
- Supervise the collection and compilation of water use, groundwater pumping, and all flow metering and measurements including SCADA records.
- Prepare BCI reports and propose rehabilitation measures.
- Develop several municipal groundwater supply systems in Missouri.
- Design adaptive digital filters for CGM receiver noise management, which allow extensive improvement in useful on-time display.
- Conduct geotechnical and environmental subsurface investigations.
- Design and successfully test FPGA implementation of RISC microprocessor.
Hydraulic engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 18% of Hydraulic Engineers are proficient in Hec Ras, Civil Engineering, and HEC-RAS. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Listening skills, and Math skills.
We break down the percentage of Hydraulic Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Hec Ras, 18%
Provide basic design utilizing AutoCAD and HEC RAS.
- Civil Engineering, 11%
Prepare civil engineering designs for water development facilities and canal over crossings along the California Aqueduct.
- HEC-RAS, 9%
Created two HEC-RAS models and completed a technical memorandum for the North Fork and South Fork Campbell Creek river crossings.
- Project Management, 6%
Led product development process including component and systemtesting, analysis, design improvements, supplier selection and project management.
- Cost Estimates, 6%
Prepare preliminary cost estimates for bridges, culverts and channel changes.
- Hydraulic Analysis, 5%
Carried out hydrological and hydraulic analysis.
Common skills that a hydraulic engineer uses to do their job include "hec ras," "civil engineering," and "hec-ras." You can find details on the most important hydraulic engineer responsibilities below.
Creativity. One of the key soft skills for a hydraulic engineer to have is creativity. You can see how this relates to what hydraulic engineers do because "mechanical engineers design and build complex pieces of equipment and machinery." Additionally, a hydraulic engineer resume shows how hydraulic engineers use creativity: "created cad drawings using mechanical desktop and inventor software. "
Listening skills. Many hydraulic engineer duties rely on listening skills. "mechanical engineers often work on projects with others, such as architects and computer scientists," so a hydraulic engineer will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways hydraulic engineer responsibilities rely on listening skills: "communicated levels of iso quality management system documentation. "
Math skills. hydraulic engineers are also known for math skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to hydraulic engineer responsibilities, because "mechanical engineers use the principles of calculus, statistics, and other advanced subjects in math for analysis, design, and troubleshooting in their work." A hydraulic engineer resume example shows how math skills is used in the workplace: "trained personnel in math and engineering, tutoring. "
Mechanical skills. hydraulic engineer responsibilities often require "mechanical skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "mechanical skills allow engineers to apply basic engineering concepts and mechanical processes to the design of new devices and systems." This resume example shows what hydraulic engineers do with mechanical skills on a typical day: "provided mechanical engineering support during fabrication, assembly, test and mass properties of units. "
Problem-solving skills. Another common skill required for hydraulic engineer responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." This skill comes up in the duties of hydraulic engineers all the time, as "mechanical engineers need good problem-solving skills to take scientific principles and discoveries and use them to design and build useful products." An excerpt from a real hydraulic engineer resume shows how this skill is central to what a hydraulic engineer does: "advocated for and convinced management to use java technology as a true cross platform solution. "
The three companies that hire the most hydraulic engineers are:
- Hazen and Sawyer56 hydraulic engineers jobs
- HDR10 hydraulic engineers jobs
- Volkert7 hydraulic engineers jobs
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Compare different hydraulic engineers
Hydraulic engineer vs. Development engineer
A Development Engineer is responsible for the development and validation of products, systems, and components. They are also responsible for quality control of work and continuous improvement of engineer activities.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between hydraulic engineers and development engineer. For instance, hydraulic engineer responsibilities require skills such as "hec ras," "civil engineering," "hec-ras," and "cost estimates." Whereas a development engineer is skilled in "java," "python," "c #," and "software development." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Development engineers earn the highest salaries when working in the technology industry, with an average yearly salary of $105,648. On the other hand, hydraulic engineers are paid more in the energy industry with an average salary of $97,790.The education levels that development engineers earn slightly differ from hydraulic engineers. In particular, development engineers are 3.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a hydraulic engineer. Additionally, they're 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Hydraulic engineer vs. Senior project engineer
A senior project engineer is responsible for monitoring the project team's overall process and operations from conceptualization until completion, ensuring the adherence to the clients' specifications, within the budget's goals, and the required deadline. Senior project engineers regularly communicate with the client regarding updates or necessary adjustments. They develop strategic procedures to finish the project efficiently by running diagnostic tests and troubleshooting discrepancies. A senior project engineer must have excellent communication and leadership skills to handle the team's performance and provide assistance when necessary.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, hydraulic engineer responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "civil engineering," "hec-ras," "hydraulic analysis," and "gis." Meanwhile, a senior project engineer has duties that require skills in areas such as "construction management," "ul," "engineering design," and "project scope." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, senior project engineers earn a higher salary than hydraulic engineers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, senior project engineers earn the most pay in the automotive industry with an average salary of $104,214. Whereas hydraulic engineers have higher pay in the energy industry, with an average salary of $97,790.senior project engineers earn lower levels of education than hydraulic engineers in general. They're 7.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for hydraulic engineers in the next 3-5 years?
Karen Panetta Ph.D.
Dean of Graduate Education, School of Engineering, Tufts University
The pandemic has also renewed our sense of need for internet security, privacy, and access to service. When all our social and educational interactions had to move to virtual platforms, we became aware of just how small and ill-prepared the world was and how inequitable the availability of these services was to parts of the world.
Hydraulic engineer vs. Senior design engineer
A senior design engineer is responsible for creating mechanical and electrical designs for machines and systems, following clients' specifications and business guidelines. Senior design engineers also assist junior design engineers with their tasks, sharing best practices and techniques, and suggesting adjustments as needed. They also oversee the manufacturing process, inspect possible inconsistencies, and revise plans without exceeding the agreed budget or compromising the quality. A senior design engineer must be keen with details and highly organizational, especially on meeting deadlines with the highest client satisfaction.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, hydraulic engineers are more likely to have skills like "civil engineering," "hec-ras," "cost estimates," and "hydraulic analysis." But a senior design engineer is more likely to have skills like "rf," "autocad," "c++," and "sr."
Senior design engineers make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $101,930. On the other hand, hydraulic engineers are paid the highest salary in the energy industry, with average annual pay of $97,790.Most senior design engineers achieve a similar degree level compared to hydraulic engineers. For example, they're 4.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Hydraulic engineer vs. Senior principal engineer
A senior principal engineer is responsible for leading engineering tasks within an organization and reports project updates to senior management. Senior principal engineers develop strategic methods and principles to improve the technical stability and efficiency of the company's systems, creating business proposals according to clients' specifications, and negotiating contracts with suppliers and other service providers. They also train new staff and identify innovations and business opportunities that would generate more revenue resources for the company.
Types of hydraulic engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
