Senior Planning Engineer

Senior Planning Engineer

Our purpose is to make life better for people by delivering water for life. Our mission is to provide customer with high-quality water and services at a reasonable cost while promoting the preservation of watershed lands and aquifers. Our vision is to be an innovative water utility that sustains life, strengthens our communities and protects natural resources for future generations. Our STARS values are Service, Teamwork, Accountability, Respect and Safety.

At the South-Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority (RWA), we provide more than just water—we deliver life-sustaining resources to nearly 430,000 consumers every day. As a nonprofit public corporation driven by our commitment to excellence and community, we take pride in being responsible stewards of over 28,000 acres of watershed land, ensuring the sustainability of our environment for future generations. When you join RWA, you have more than a job, you have a purpose and will become part of a team that values integrity, environmental stewardship, and community service. You'll work with purpose, knowing that every drop of water we deliver makes a difference, and that our customers trust us to uphold the highest standards of reliability, sustainability, and care.

The Senior Planning Engineer provides strategic and operational leadership for the planning, prioritization, and advancement of RWA's Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and long-range infrastructure initiatives. Reporting to the Director of Engineering, this position serves as a key link between system planning and capital project delivery, ensuring alignment between engineering decisions, capital investments, regulatory requirements, financial capacity, and organizational priorities.

This role leads the development and continuous improvement of capital planning processes and strategies, supporting data driven decision making and effective program governance. The Senior Planning Engineer collaborates closely with engineering, operations, finance, and regulatory stakeholders to ensure coordinated, efficient delivery of capital projects and alignment with system performance goals. The position also provides thought leadership and bring in new ideas to Engineering staff, fostering a collaborative, accountable, and forward-looking work environment.

As a senior member of the Engineering Department, the Senior Planning Engineer supports organizational change, continuous improvement, and innovation, while helping to ensure that infrastructure investments promote public health, environmental stewardship, and long-term system reliability and resiliency. This position is highly collaborative and primarily office-based; a hybrid work arrangement may be available for part of the week depending on weekly business needs.

Responsibilities:

1. Oversee and report on the development, management, performance, prioritization, and execution of the Capital Improvement Program (CIP), incorporating budget adherence, business case evaluation principles, lifecycle analysis, financial forecasts, and project performance.
2. Oversee and advance best practices in the management of Capital Improvement and O&M projects, including portfolio management, governance processes, and inter-departmental coordination, ensuring alignment with asset management objectives, budget constraints, and approved strategic plans.
3. Review and oversee master plans, technical studies, applied research, and planning activities, including hydraulic modeling, GIS analysis, and asset management, while approving early-stage project deliverables to ensure quality, consistency, regulatory compliance and development of planning-level designs that inform capital investment decisions.
4. Coordinate closely with project managers to transition projects from planning into design & construction phases, ensuring scope, schedule, and budget alignment, while identifying process improvements to enhance efficiency, transparency, and integration between all project phases.
5. Ensure effective cross-functional collaboration among engineering and inter-department level staff to align water quality, water supply, and treatment & distribution system planning with engineering delivery strategies.
6. Guide the development & implementation of engineering related policies, procedures, and standards supporting short‑ and long‑range planning, regulatory compliance, business continuity, and environmental & public health objectives.
7. Oversee consultant and contractor support related to capital planning studies, design services, program delivery support, and construction management, ensuring contractual compliance and performance expectations are met.
8. Support and coordinate initiatives to reduce non‑revenue water, ensuring engineering strategies, data accuracy, and planning efforts to inform systemwide loss control programs and reporting.
9. Provide thought leadership to Engineering fostering professional development, while cultivating a collaborative, planning focused culture that supports adoption of modern planning and portfolio-based practices.
10. Support organizational change by strengthening coordination, communication, and accountability across the Engineering Department, while evaluating emerging technologies, advancing pilots & research partnerships, and fostering innovation aligned with organizational needs and workforce development goals.
11. Perform special projects, when assigned, representing the department and company in inter‑departmental coordination, public forums, academic outreach, and external stakeholder engagements.
12. Other duties as assigned by the Director of Engineering or as necessary to accomplish the strategic initiative, mission vision and values of the organization.

Qualifications:

Educational/Licensure/Certification Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, or a closely related engineering discipline.

• Master's degree in Engineering, Water Resources, Business Administration, or related discipline is preferred and may be substituted for a portion of required experience.

• CT Licensed Professional Engineer (PE) preferred; candidates actively pursuing licensure with a clear path to certification will also be considered.

Experience/Skills/Abilities:

• Minimum of 10-20 years of progressively responsible experience in water/wastewater utility engineering, infrastructure planning, or capital program delivery with management or supervisory experience, preferably within a public-sector, municipal, or regulated utility environment.

• Demonstrated experience in capital improvement, asset management, and GIS based planning, including system planning, scoping, budgeting, scheduling, and performance reporting.

• Strong foundation in engineering design & construction standards, financial management, environmental policies, contracts management, regulatory compliance & permitting processes, and construction administration.

• Strong leadership and interpersonal skills, with the ability to coordinate across multi‑disciplinary RWA teams, also including consultants, contractors, and regulatory stakeholders.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills for effective team guidance and inter-agency reporting, including the ability to present complex information to executive leadership and non-technical audiences.

• Excellent problem-solving, conflict resolution, and decision-making abilities with proven capability to manage multiple priorities and tasks, enhancing internal and external customer service.

Why Join the RWA?

• Be part of a forward-thinking organization that values innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Enjoy opportunities for career growth and professional development.
• Competitive benefits package

The RWA's comprehensive benefits package includes:

• Medical, dental, vision, and life insurance
• Generous paid time off

• Short-term and long-term disability coverage
• 401k and tuition reimbursement plans
• Wellness Program & Incentives

South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority (SCCRWA) will not discriminate or permit discrimination against any person or group of persons on the basis of race, color, religious creed, age, marital status, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, intellectual disability, mental disability or physical disability including, but not limited to, blindness, (unless such disability, even with reasonable accommodation, prevents the applicant from being able to perform the work involved), or in any manner prohibited by the laws of the United States or of the State of Connecticut. Further SCCRWA will not retaliate against or condone retaliation against any person or group of persons who oppose actions, treatment or conduct that they believe to be discriminatory.