What does a senior water resources engineer do?
A senior water resources engineer is an individual who is in-charged in supervising, planning, and implementing project management ideas for stormwater. His/Her or her roles also include establishing business relationships, analyzing the quality of water, and preparing contracts and project cost estimates. The core skills for the position include excellent leadership, communication, and time management skills and proficiency in project management and civil engineering. The job's education requirements include a degree in civil or environmental engineering.
Senior water resources engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real senior water resources engineer resumes:
- Lead technology teams charge with full life cycle development processes involving system requirements and system architecture.
- Analyze the conveyance capacity of existing storm and sanitary sewer systems using XP-SWMM.
- Perform hydraulic and hydrologic analysis for different projects to identify existing flooding problems and develop alternative solutions.
- Conduct extensive research for the NRDC in the application of green infrastructure for the reduction of CSOs in Chicago and Milwaukee.
- Perform regularly schedule maintenance boilers, heaters, pumps and HVAC equipment such as filter changes, greasing, etc.
Senior water resources engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 22% of Senior Water Resources Engineers are proficient in Hec Ras, Project Management, and Civil Engineering. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Time-management skills, and Leadership skills.
We break down the percentage of Senior Water Resources Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Hec Ras, 22%
Provide basic design utilizing AutoCAD and HEC RAS.
- Project Management, 14%
Project Management - Manage budget, schedule and quality aspects and deliverables for projects.
- Civil Engineering, 13%
Verified and updated other miscellaneous Design Change closeout documents requiring Civil Engineering responses.
- HEC-RAS, 10%
Performed floodplain delineations and flood protection analysis of special flood hazard areas using HEC-HMS and HEC-RAS.
- GIS, 9%
Developed a top-notch procedure to identify and locate automatically sources of contamination employing new GIS technology.
- Business Development, 7%
Managed business development, practice development, and creation of thought leadership collateral.
"hec ras," "project management," and "civil engineering" are among the most common skills that senior water resources engineers use at work. You can find even more senior water resources engineer responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a senior water resources engineer to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "natural sciences managers must be able to communicate clearly with a variety of audiences, such as scientists, policymakers, and the public." Additionally, a senior water resources engineer resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "developed system interface board for frymaster and managed the communications between oc and technology center. "
Time-management skills. Many senior water resources engineer duties rely on time-management skills. "natural sciences managers must be able to perform multiple administrative, supervisory, and technical tasks while ensuring that projects remain on schedule.," so a senior water resources engineer will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways senior water resources engineer responsibilities rely on time-management skills: "work with qa and supply base to achieve desired sigma levels and on time delivery metrics. "
Leadership skills. senior water resources engineers are also known for leadership skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to senior water resources engineer responsibilities, because "natural sciences managers must be able to organize, direct, and motivate others." A senior water resources engineer resume example shows how leadership skills is used in the workplace: "managed business development, practice development, and creation of thought leadership collateral. "
Problem-solving skills. For certain senior water resources engineer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "problem-solving skills." The day-to-day duties of a senior water resources engineer rely on this skill, as "natural sciences managers use scientific observation and analysis to find answers to complex technical questions." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what senior water resources engineers do: "provide technical reports for site inspections, problem resolution and consent orders. "
The three companies that hire the most senior water resources engineers are:
- Amec Foster Wheeler29 senior water resources engineers jobs
- Woods Services25 senior water resources engineers jobs
- Dewberry10 senior water resources engineers jobs
Compare different senior water resources engineers
Senior water resources engineer vs. Water quality specialist
Typically working for government agencies, a water quality specialist is in charge of conducting studies to test the quality and environmental sources of water, identifying potential issues should there be any. Among their responsibilities include traveling to various areas with water access points, gathering samples for laboratory tests, performing site inspections, and maintaining records of procedures. Through the research and test findings, a water quality test specialist draws conclusions and alerts the authorities for any problems. Moreover, aside from government agencies, a water quality specialist may also work for other institutions and private companies.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between senior water resources engineers and water quality specialist. For instance, senior water resources engineer responsibilities require skills such as "hec ras," "project management," "civil engineering," and "hec-ras." Whereas a water quality specialist is skilled in "customer service," "extraction," "water damage," and "msds." This is part of what separates the two careers.
On average, water quality specialists reach lower levels of education than senior water resources engineers. Water quality specialists are 10.0% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 6.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Senior water resources engineer vs. Resource specialist
A resource specialist is responsible for teaching students with learning difficulties and special needs, providing them with comprehensive educational materials and learning strategies for academic success. Resource specialists follow a specific curriculum adhering to the personal and educational development of the students, recording their progress by administering evaluations through individual and group assessments. They also conduct one-on-one counseling for the students to identify their needs, hone in on their strengths, manage their weaknesses, and develop their career aspirations.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that senior water resources engineer responsibilities requires skills like "hec ras," "project management," "civil engineering," and "hec-ras." But a resource specialist might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "patients," "customer service," "social work," and "community resources."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Resource specialists tend to reach similar levels of education than senior water resources engineers. In fact, they're 4.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 6.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Senior water resources engineer vs. Senior hydrogeologist
A water resource specialist is tasked with implementing strategies to solve water resource issues like water quality, water supply, or regulatory compliance issues. They perform hydraulic, hydrologic, and water quality analysis and modeling. They are also tasked with creating proposals, informational brochures, and similar documents on water purification, demand, and supply. A university degree and efficient communication skills are both needed to excel in this field.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, senior water resources engineers are more likely to have skills like "hec ras," "civil engineering," "hec-ras," and "infrastructure projects." But a senior hydrogeologist is more likely to have skills like "data collection," "osha," "regulatory agencies," and "groundwater flow."
When it comes to education, senior hydrogeologists tend to earn higher degree levels compared to senior water resources engineers. In fact, they're 8.8% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 5.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Senior water resources engineer vs. Water resource specialist
Types of senior water resources engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
