Wastewater Process Project Manager

Job Description

Job Description

Title: Wastewater Process Project Manager
Location: Richmond, VA (this role will start remote, then require being onsite as the site progresses)
Type: 2+ year Contract
Hourly Pay: $100-$180 per hour, based on level and experience
Benefits: Enhanced Benefits (Medical, Dental, Vision), Paid Holidays, PTO  

Engagement Model and Schedule

• Anticipated start: mid-August 2026
• Hours: Full-time, 40 hours per week
• Work Location (Phase 1): Remote, through first quarter of 2027
• Work Location (Phase 2): Onsite at the project campus, beginning second quarter of 2027 (as construction and detailed design ramp up)
• The shift to onsite aligns with critical project milestones and greater need for presence during construction.

Position Summary
The Owner’s Representative – WWTP Process Owner/ Wastewater Process Project Manager leads and oversees the design, permitting, and delivery of a new Wastewater Pretreatment Facility for a biopharmaceutical manufacturing campus. This position acts on behalf of the owner, not performing the design directly but making critical decisions, ensuring all contractors and engineering partners deliver according to the owner’s design philosophy, regulatory obligations, and project schedule.

The ideal candidate has a strong understanding of wastewater treatment plant operations and process chemistry—including Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Total Nitrogen (TN), and other relevant loading parameters—and is fluent in local code and permitting requirements for industrial sanitary sewer discharge. Core Responsibilities
1. Owner’s Engineering and Design Oversight

• Represent the owner’s interests in design and technical meetings with the WWTP contractor, engineering partners, and equipment vendors.
• Review and comment on design documents, including Design Basis Memorandum, 30/60/90% submittals, process flow diagrams, mass balances, and P&IDs.
• Ensure adherence to design objectives of reliability, simplicity, automation, compactness, and efficiency; promptly escalate deviations.

2. Process Group Coordination

• Act as primary liaison between the WWTP contractor and the internal process engineering team.
• Reconcile and communicate all influent waste stream data (including flow, BOD, COD, TN, TSS, phosphorus, chloride) to ensure accurate WWTP sizing.

3. Technical Fluency

• Clearly explain concepts of BOD, COD, nitrogen loading, and compliance requirements to internal and external (non-technical and technical) audiences.
• Review and challenge contractor process calculations and technology trade-offs (e.g., biological nitrogen removal, equalization sizing, process configuration alternatives).

4. Regulatory and County Interface

• Act as the owner's representative in communications and meetings with local and regional regulatory authorities on permitting and discharge compliance.
• Support permit application development, respond to regulator information requests, and advocate for the owner regarding effluent limits and waste load allocations.

5. Schedule and Milestone Management

• Monitor and report progress against the program schedule, including major project milestones (RFP award, design reviews, construction, commissioning, and performance guarantees).
• Flag potential schedule risks to project leadership.

6. Cross-Functional Coordination

• Coordinate with environmental health and safety, quality assurance, site operations, and the broader engineering team to maintain alignment with the overall project schedule and requirements.

7. Documentation and Reporting

• Maintain thorough records of design decisions, regulatory correspondence, and technical documents.
• Prepare regular status updates and issue summaries for leadership.

8. Project Engineering Ownership

• Own the schedule, scope, and contractor performance for the WWTP part of the project.
• Hold contractors and vendors accountable to deliverables and approved timelines.
• Review and approve/reject scope changes, ensuring updates are reflected in the project baseline.
• Lead or support management of contractor performance, including deliverables, regular meetings, claims, and change orders.
• Support change control, ensuring all changes impacting cost or schedule are fully documented and traceable.
• Serve as the single point of accountability for all day-to-day WWTP scope issues.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Environmental, Chemical, or Civil Engineering (or related field)
• Experience working with, or in, wastewater treatment plants with direct exposure to biological nutrient removal, equalization, and solids handling
• Ability to clearly explain BOD, COD, and related wastewater chemistry
• Working knowledge of local, state, and federal wastewater codes, industrial pretreatment, SIU permitting, and sewer use ordinances
• Proven experience interfacing with regulatory agencies on behalf of an owner organization
• Experience with design review and capital project delivery (preferably GMP or industrial settings)
• Demonstrated experience owning schedule, scope, and performance of contractors on large projects, including change order review
• Ability to work independently in a remote setting, with willingness to transition onsite as the project advances
• Strong written and verbal communication skills; confident presenting to leadership and regulators

Key Interfaces

• Design-Build Contractor: design review, technical clarifications, schedule tracking
• Engineering Project/Construction Management: design integration and coordination
• Process Engineering: waste stream characterization and data
• Local and Regional Regulators: permitting and compliance
• Environmental Health & Safety: permit accountability and compliance
• Project Leadership: status reporting and escalation
• Site Operations: operational readiness and handoff

 

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