Senior Coastal Engineer

Overview

Pape-Dawson Engineers is seeking a Senior Coastal Engineer to lead our growing Coastal Flood Protection and Infrastructure Design practice. Our Texas team is at the forefront of civil works and water resource projects along the Texas coast, and we are looking for a leader to help us continue our growth. This role will involve building a coastal infrastructure team, developing client relationships, managing large-scale civil works projects, and providing technical expertise in coastal engineering.

Preferred candidates will have experience in coastal restoration, beach nourishment, shoreline protection, dredging, ship simulations, coastal structures, hazard analysis, hydrodynamic modeling, and coastal process analysis.

Responsibilities

• Lead and contribute to coastal engineering projects, focusing on coastal protection, flood mitigation, hydrodynamics, wave theory, and sediment transport.
• Build and maintain strong client relationships, especially within Texas and the Gulf States, including managing large coastal programs.
• Oversee the planning, scheduling, and coordination of detailed coastal engineering phases for marine projects.
• Provide technical leadership in project delivery, ensuring high standards in quality, schedule, and cost management.
• Mentor and develop the coastal engineering team, fostering growth and expertise.
• Lead business development efforts, including preparing proposals, identifying market opportunities, and enhancing client engagement.
• Stay current with regulatory policy and build relationships with regulatory agencies.
• Represent Pape-Dawson in professional conferences and seminars through presentations and papers.
• Perform design and modeling for coastal engineering projects, ensuring compliance with technical standards.
• Regularly coordinate with leadership and clients to explore new opportunities, forecast budget needs, and assess staffing requirements.

Qualifications

• Professional Engineer (PE) license in Texas, or ability to obtain within 6 months.
• Bachelors degree in Coastal, Ocean, or related Engineering field.
• 15+ years of experience in engineering, design, and numerical modeling for coastal storm risk management projects.
• Expertise in coastal science, including wind-wave-water interactions, sediment transport, and erosion analysis.
• Strong project management skills with experience in team management, client coordination, and regulatory engagement.
• Proficiency in CAD, ArcGIS, and coastal engineering analysis for flood hazard studies.
• Experience working with federal agencies are a plus.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including client presentations and technical report writing.
• Ability to work Monday - Friday, 8am - 5pm with overtime as needed.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Coastal, Ocean, or related Engineering field.
• PMP certification.
• Navigation and dredging experience.
• Experience with numerical modeling tools (ADCIRC, Delft3D, SWAN, Mike) and CFD models (OpenFOAM, Fluent, Flow3D).