Senior Water Resources Planning Engineer

Senior Water Resources Planning EngineerFreese and Nichols is seeking an experienced Senior Water Resources Planning Engineer to join our growing team in either our Denver or Loveland, Colorado office to support and help grow our Colorado Water Resources Planning practice with a strong emphasis on Colorado water rights, basin-scale hydrology, and long-range water supply planning.This position will support public-sector clients throughout Colorado and nationally, including municipal and regional water providers, special districts, and state or basin-driven planning entities. The successful candidate will have a seller/doer role, helping to identify, pursue, win, and manage technically complex planning and water rights-related projects while providing senior technical leadership within multidisciplinary teams.This role is intended to support Freese and Nichols' strategic expansion of water resources planning services in Colorado with close integration across water/wastewater planning, environmental services, and infrastructure planning disciplines, nationally. Project focus will include geographically and technically diverse efforts across Freese and Nichols geographies.What you'll do:Serve as Project Manager and/or Technical Lead for complex Colorado water resources planning projects, including:Long-range water supply and integrated water resources plansWater rights evaluations and strategy supportBasin-scale hydrologic and yield analysesScenario-based planning related to climate variability, demand growth, storage, reuse, and operational constraintsProvide technical support to water rights applications and processes, including:Support for water court change cases (engineering analyses, yield impacts, depletion accounting)Evaluation of conditional and absolute water rightsAnalysis of augmentation plans, substitute supply plans, and conjunctive use operationsCoordination with legal counsel on water rights mattersLead or contribute to development of quantitative planning and decision-support models, including surface water and/or integrated surface water–groundwater systemsPrepare and review technical memoranda, reports, exhibits, and expert-support documentation suitable for planning studies, regulatory review, and legal proceedingsSupport business development by:Assisting in preparation of proposals (scope, staffing, fee)Participating in client meetings and industry eventsLeveraging existing and developing new client relationships across ColoradoSupervise and mentor engineers, planners, and analysts; provide technical guidance and quality controlCoordinate with multidisciplinary internal teams (environmental, water/wastewater, planning) and subconsultantsQualifications:Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, Water Resources Engineering, or related engineering disciplineProfessional Engineer (P.E.) license in the State of Colorado (or ability to obtain via comity within a defined timeframe)10+ years of progressively responsible experience in water resources planning and/or water rights analysisDemonstrated experience working in Colorado's prior appropriation systemExperience supporting or leading projects involving Colorado water rights administration, such as:Augmentation plan supportChange of water right analysesYield and reliability analysesConjunctive use or replacement water evaluationsStrong technical writing and presentation skillsExperience preparing scopes, schedules, and budgets for professional servicesAbility to work independently while functioning as part of a collaborative teamPreferred Qualifications:Direct experience working with or supporting:Municipal or regional water providers in ColoradoBasin roundtables or Colorado Water Plan–related effortsState agencies such as the Colorado Water Conservation Board or Division of Water ResourcesModeling experience relevant to Colorado water rights and planning, such as:StateModRiverWareStateCUExperience with groundwater flow modeling (e.g. MODFLOW or equivalent), particularly for:Stream–aquifer interaction analysesWell depletions and lagged response evaluationSupport of water rights and augmentation planning decisionsPlanning-level evaluation of groundwater supplies as part of integrated municipal or regional water supply portfolioExperience with scenario-based and risk-informed planning approachesFamiliarity with climate-driven hydrologic stressors affecting Colorado supply systemsExperience collaborating with legal teams on water rights matters; May provide technical support for water court proceedings, including preparation of engineering analyses and coordination with legal counselExisting professional relationships within the Colorado water community (utilities, agencies, or legal firms)Advanced degree preferred but not required