Principal Consultant

The Opportunity

As a Principal Consultant, you will manage and participate in a team of business and technology consultants in defining a solution strategy and roadmap, developing solution requirements, and supporting clients across technology, business processes, data, and organizational readiness. You will also lead solution framing and architecture, guide multidisciplinary delivery teams, and partner closely with sales, market, and delivery leaders to advance Black & Veatch’s optimization capabilities. The role balances client delivery, solution development, and business development support, with accountability for shaping repeatable, scalable solutions that produce measurable client value.  

Key Responsibilities

• Frame and validate cross‑sector optimization use cases, including opportunities that integrate with adjacent solutions such as asset management, reliability, digital transformation, or planning.
• Define and architect optimization solutions at asset, facility, and enterprise levels, ensuring alignment with client objectives, operational constraints, and measurable outcomes
• Drive the development of reusable optimization templates, playbooks, and reference architectures that can scale across sectors and client contexts
• Lead and support client engagements for complex optimization programs from early discovery through pilot execution and scaled adoption across power, oil & gas, water, and data center sectors  
• Facilitate client workshops and stakeholder sessions to define objectives, requirements, KPIs, and future-state decision workflows  
• Guide multidisciplinary teams in the design, integration, and deployment of optimization solutions, leveraging advanced analytics, AI, and industry platforms as appropriate  
• Ensure delivery quality, risk management, and client satisfaction throughout the solution lifecycle
• Capture delivery learnings and codify them into reusable solution assets to improve consistency and scalability
• Support integrated resource planning initiatives for electric utilities, data center operators, and other large energy users, including load growth analysis, resource options evaluation, and scenario assessment
• Conduct market and client needs assessments to identify and prioritize high-value optimization use cases and inform solution roadmaps
• Support business development by shaping opportunities, evaluating and preparing proposals and statements of work, and articulating the business case and value proposition for optimization solutions  
• Partner with account and sales leaders to identify pilot opportunities, define scope and success metrics
• Contribute to solution marketing and thought leadership through development of white papers, case studies, and external presentations in collaboration with partners and clients  
• Transfer knowledge and best practices to project teams and colleagues through mentoring, reviews, and internal enablement efforts
• Provide ongoing feedback to professionals on projects and their supervisors. Contribute to the development of others through engagement assignments and general evaluation 

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant experience
• Experience managing or leading significant client engagements
• 10+ years of experience in a consulting, advisory, engineering, or related professional services environment
• All applicants must be able to complete pre-employment onboarding requirements (if selected) which may include any/all of the following: criminal/civil background check, drug screen, and motor vehicle records search, in compliance with any applicable laws and regulations. 

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in engineering, applied mathematics, operations research, computer science, economics, or business preferred
• 15+ years of experience in consulting, advisory, engineering, analytics, or related professional services environments
• Demonstrated experience leading complex, cross‑functional client engagements with senior executive and technical stakeholders
• Proven ability to frame and architect complex decision‑support or analytical solutions across asset‑intensive industries
• Experience supporting integrated planning, operational decision‑making, or performance improvement initiatives in sectors such as power, oil & gas, water, manufacturing, or data centers
• Knowledge of optimization methods and experience with designing and delivering optimization solutions  
• Strong understanding of operational, financial, reliability, and sustainability trade‑offs in large infrastructure systems
• Experience guiding multidisciplinary teams (engineering, analytics, data, IT/OT) through solution design and delivery
• Prior experience supporting business development efforts, including opportunity shaping, proposal development, and client presentations
• Ability to translate complex analytical concepts into clear, executive‑level insights and recommendations
• Experience developing reusable frameworks, templates, or playbooks that enable scalable solution delivery
• Familiarity working with commercial software platforms, data environments, or digital solutions commonly used in infrastructure sectors
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with demonstrated ability to influence without formal authority
• Professional certifications related to area of expertise preferred 

Work Environment

• Hybrid or flexible work options may be offered after the first 90 days of employment based upon manager discretion, job performance and work assignments 

• Travel may be required and varies based on client and project needs