Principal - Water/Wastewater - Design Center

Are you driven to grow, lead, and make a meaningful impact? At Apex, we’re building more than a consulting and engineering firm—we’re creating a place where your career accelerates, your contributions matter, and your potential is fully realized. We invest in your development at every stage of your career, and you’ll work on projects that shape communities, protect the environment, and create lasting impact, while enjoying autonomy and flexibility. Apex Companies is hiring a Principal – Water/Wastewater to lead the build‑out of a design center focused on water and wastewater infrastructure. This unique role offers the chance to establish a center of excellence that drives technical delivery, innovation, and operational efficiency across the organization. Opportunity As a Principal Design Center Lead, you will establish and grow a centralized design capability that supports projects across multiple regions. You will define the vision, build the team, and implement the processes, tools, and culture needed to deliver high‑quality, efficient, and scalable engineering solutions. This role blends technical leadership, business strategy, and people development – ideal for a leader who thrives on building something from the ground up and driving measurable impact. What You’ll Do Build & Scale the Design Center Establish the vision, structure, and operating model for a centralized design center. Recruit, develop, and lead high‑performing engineering teams (EITs, PEs, designers, PMs). Create scalable delivery frameworks to support multi‑office and national project needs. Project Delivery & Fiscal Oversight Oversee delivery of design for infrastructure projects including water and wastewater treatment, distribution/collection systems, and stormwater management. Ensure technical excellence, quality control, and adherence to scope, schedule, and budget. Provide technical leadership, mentoring, and QA/QC oversight to project teams. Manage project performance, including backlog, utilization, and profitability metrics. Drive Technical Excellence & Delivery Ensure consistent, high‑quality design standards across all projects. Oversee production for water/wastewater treatment, conveyance, and infrastructure projects. Champion innovation, digital design tools, and process efficiency improvements. Partner with regional and market leaders to align resources with project demand. Drive utilization, performance metrics, and operational efficiency. Support business development by positioning the design center as a differentiator. Develop Talent & Culture Build a strong pipeline of engineering talent through mentorship and career development. Foster a collaborative, high‑accountability environment grounded in ownership and continuous improvement. Promote a culture of learning, innovation, and inclusion. What You Bring 15+ years of experience in water/wastewater engineering and project/program delivery. Proven experience leading teams, projects, or operations at scale. Strong understanding of design delivery models, project workflows, and quality standards. Demonstrated ability to build and grow teams, develop leaders, and drive performance. Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to build and implement new operating models. Professional Engineer (PE) license preferred. Benefits Company‑subsidized medical and dental. Company‑paid life, short, and long‑term disability. 401(k) match, tuition assistance, and more. Cross‑training and the ability to work on a variety of projects. Performance‑based bonuses or other incentives. Working with the best and brightest in the industry. 2,000+ employee national firm with 70+ locations across the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity We believe in equality for all and celebrate the diversity and differences of our employees, customers, and communities. We do not discriminate based on gender, race or color, ethnicity or national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other applicable characteristics protected by law. Apex aims to make apexcos.com accessible to all users. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation to navigate our website or complete the application process, please contact View email address on click.appcast.io or View phone number on click.appcast.io. EO/AA/VEV/Disabled Employer #J-18808-Ljbffr Apex Clearing Corporation