What does a wastewater engineer do?
Wastewater engineer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real wastewater engineer resumes:
- Create and manage comprehensive database of groundwater production assets.
- Monitor potable pilot plant for chlorination/dechlorination technologies including ozone, UV, chlorine gas/liquid emulsions, and peroxide.
- Develop system sequence and interlock definition documentation for support of operating procedures and DCS system development.
Wastewater engineer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 36% of Wastewater Engineers are proficient in Treatment Facilities, Conveyance, and Treatment Plant.
We break down the percentage of Wastewater Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Treatment Facilities, 36%
water treatment facilities and networks) throughout Southern Iraq.
- Conveyance, 24%
Designed a permanent water withdrawal and conveyance system as well as impoundments for water storage.
- Treatment Plant, 19%
Performed monthly monitoring of 17 sewage treatment plants treating domestic wastewater from hotels, residential developments, and retirement communities.
- Project Delivery, 7%
Assisted in sewer design Facilitated in Auto Cad design Expedited project delivery
- Contract Drawings, 5%
Prepared contract drawings and technical specifications.
- Construction Cost Estimates, 4%
Developed construction cost estimates for various water and wastewater treatment projects and analyzed system operational & maintenance costs.
Most wastewater engineers use their skills in "treatment facilities," "conveyance," and "treatment plant" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential wastewater engineer responsibilities here:
Problem-solving skills. One of the key soft skills for a wastewater engineer to have is problem-solving skills. You can see how this relates to what wastewater engineers do because "when designing facilities and processes, environmental engineers strive to solve several issues at once, from workers’ safety to environmental protection." Additionally, a wastewater engineer resume shows how wastewater engineers use problem-solving skills: "reviewed process and environmental data to determine various solutions to client problems and goals. "
The three companies that hire the most wastewater engineers are:
- MSA Professional Services38 wastewater engineers jobs
- Carollo Engineers13 wastewater engineers jobs
- Gannett Fleming11 wastewater engineers jobs
Compare different wastewater engineers
Wastewater engineer vs. Director water and waste services
Engineers are highly trained professionals who determine the feasibility of various projects, usually related to the construction industry. They are considered experts in mathematics and science, two disciplines that they need to use in designing and coming up with plans for projects. They should also be well-versed in different construction or industrial materials, and they ensure that appropriate materials are used for the project. They also ensure that the projects meet the requirements of the groups that hired them. They create spaces that would both address the needs of the end-users and the industry standards. They also ensure that the projects they make would stand the test of time.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, wastewater engineer responsibilities require skills like "treatment facilities," "conveyance," "treatment plant," and "design calculations." Meanwhile a typical director water and waste services has skills in areas such as "hazardous waste," "wastewater projects," "dot," and "educational sessions." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
The education levels that directors water and waste services earn slightly differ from wastewater engineers. In particular, directors water and waste services are 1.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a wastewater engineer. Additionally, they're 3.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Wastewater engineer vs. Water systems designer
Each career also uses different skills, according to real wastewater engineer resumes. While wastewater engineer responsibilities can utilize skills like "treatment facilities," "conveyance," "treatment plant," and "design calculations," water systems designers use skills like "gis," "water quality," "drawing packages," and "jan."
Water systems designers earn lower levels of education than wastewater engineers in general. They're 5.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 3.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for wastewater engineers in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Galen Duree
Head of the Department of Physics and Optical Engineering and Professor, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Wastewater engineer vs. Surface water manager
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, wastewater engineers are more likely to have skills like "treatment facilities," "conveyance," "treatment plant," and "design calculations." But a surface water manager is more likely to have skills like "plumbing," "water treatment plant," "water samples," and "process control."
Surface water managers typically earn lower educational levels compared to wastewater engineers. Specifically, they're 12.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 3.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Wastewater engineer vs. Engineer
Types of wastewater engineer
Updated January 8, 2025
