Water Resources Engineer

Spronk Water Engineers, Inc. is seeking a water resources engineer to support water supply planning, water rights engineering, hydrology, and related water resources projects in Colorado and other western states. Typical work includes research and analysis of streamflow and diversion records, climate data, water right decrees, maps, aerial imagery, remote sensing data, and other technical records.

Project work may include changes of water rights, plans for augmentation, lawn irrigation return flow studies, water right adjudications, surface water and groundwater modeling, municipal firm yield analyses, and evaluation of water supply acquisitions, facilities, and operations. You will work closely with experienced project managers and principals who provide mentorship, technical review, and opportunities to develop independent judgment.

Responsibilities

• Compile, organize, QA/QC, and document hydrologic, climate, diversion, land use, groundwater, aquifer, and reservoir operations data.
• Perform statistical analyses of historical time-series data to uncover trends, correlations, uncertainties, and other statistical properties.
• Develop water balance, surface water, and groundwater analyses to evaluate water use, water supply, and surface water/groundwater interactions.
• Use GIS, remote sensing, and mapping tools to support water rights, water supply, and hydrologic analyses.
• Prepare figures, technical memoranda, reports, and presentations that clearly communicate assumptions, methods, results, and conclusions.
• Participate in meetings with client representatives to present your analyses and convey the information that clients need to make important decisions related to their water supply operations, acquisitions, and development.
• Provide litigation support for our clients and their legal counsel in water right matters, and support preparation of expert reports and delivery of expert testimony by project managers and principals in court and administrative hearings.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, environmental engineering, hydrology, hydrogeology, watershed science, or a related field.
• 0–5 years of experience in hydrology, water resources, water supply planning, water rights, or related technical work.
• Strong analytical skills and ability to accurately compile, organize, analyze, and document numerical data.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel and Word.
• Working familiarity with GIS or mapping tools such as ArcGIS Pro or QGIS.
• Strong technical writing, verbal communication, and organizational skills.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks and deadlines in a consulting environment.
• Valid driver’s license and ability to travel occasionally for meetings, fieldwork, or project needs.

Preferred Qualifications

• E.I.T., H.I.T., or similar certification, or ability to obtain certification within 12 months.
• Working knowledge of Colorado water rights, prior appropriation, augmentation plans, exchanges, storage, substitute water supply plans, or water rights accounting.
• Experience with Colorado Decision Support System (CDSS), HydroBase, water court decrees, well permits, diversion records, or water rights administration data.
• Experience with surface water, groundwater, hydrologic, or water-allocation models.
• Experience with Python, R, databases, or similar programs.
• Experience with remote sensing, raster analysis, or geospatial analysis.
• Experience with data visualization or dashboarding tools such as Power BI.
• Ability to distill complex technical data and analyses into concise and understandable forms.
• Ability to obtain a professional engineer license or professional hydrologist certification within 5 years.

Compensation and Benefits

• Annualized base pay range: $75,000–$100,000.
• Eligible for annual discretionary bonus.
• Flexible hybrid work environment.
• Health insurance with employer-paid employee premium and partial company-paid premiums for family members.
• 401(k) retirement plan with employer match.
• Paid time off.

Job Type: Full-time position (40 hours per week, Monday through Friday) with occasional paid overtime when necessary. This is a hybrid position with occasional travel required. The Spronk office is located in Denver, Colorado.

Company Background

SWE has provided consulting engineering services in water resources engineering, water supply planning, and water rights engineering since 1984. We are a small company (approximately 10 employees) and foster a stimulating and challenging work environment.We work on many important and cutting-edge water supply and water rights issues throughout the western United States.