Engineering Director, Flood Mitigation

Salary: Depends on Qualifications
Location : Houston, TX
Job Type: Regular Full-time
Job Number: 15918
Department: Engineering Department
Opening Date: 01/12/2026
Closing Date: 6/30/2026 9:59 AM Central

Position Description
Position Overview:

The Engineering Director, Flood Mitigation, serves as a senior executive leader responsible for overseeing the strategic planning, execution, and successful delivery of Harris County's large-scale neighborhood drainage improvement initiatives and long-term infrastructure resiliency programs. Reporting directly to the Office of the County Engineer's executive leadership, the Director provides vision, direction, and management for all drainage-related capital projects, ensuring alignment with the County's flood mitigation priorities, disaster recovery goals, and community resilience strategies.

This role has broad authority over the end-to-end lifecycle of complex capital programs-including planning, design, permitting, right-of-way acquisition, procurement, construction, inspection, contract administration, project controls, and stakeholder communication. The Director leads multidisciplinary teams, may oversee Assistant Directors and Senior Project Managers, and coordinates extensively with internal divisions, consulting engineers, contractors, public officials, and community partners to ensure timely, cost-effective, and high-quality project delivery.

The Director may serve as the primary liaison, representing the department in high-profile public forums, interagency meetings, and executive-level decision-making sessions.

Job Duties & Responsibilities:

• Provide executive leadership for the County's drainage improvement portfolio, overseeing hundreds of active design and construction projects totaling significant capital investment.
• Establish long-range program goals, priorities, standards, and performance expectations aligned with countywide flood mitigation and resiliency strategies.
• Develop strategic plans for subdivision drainage programs, major infrastructure upgrades, and community-level resiliency initiatives.
• Lead policy development, strategic program planning, and continuous improvement initiatives across all drainage project delivery functions.
• Direct the planning, scheduling, design, permitting, procurement, construction, and closeout of capital drainage and resiliency projects.
• Oversee project performance through project management system(s), ensuring accurate tracking of cost, schedule, scope, documentation, and reporting.
• Implement and monitor quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) standards across all program phases.
• Ensure accurate compliance with regulatory frameworks, including FEMA, HUD (CDBG-DR), USACE, and state/local permitting authorities.
• Lead, mentor, and oversee management teams including Assistant Directors, Senior Project Managers, and support staff.
• Establish workforce strategies to support recruitment, training, performance management, and succession planning.
• Allocate staffing resources across multiple programs and ensure appropriate workload distribution for optimal efficiency.
• Serve as the department's primary representative for drainage capital programs in meetings with Commissioners Court, elected officials, community organizations, and intergovernmental partners.
• Coordinate closely with federal and state agencies, including FEMA, GLO, HUD, TxDOT, HCFCD, and local municipalities.
• Lead public engagement for major capital projects, including community meetings, workshops, and communication campaigns.
• Oversee program budgets, financial planning, and capital allocations for drainage improvement projects.
• Ensure compliance with federal and state funding requirements and oversee preparation of mandated reports and documentation.
• Lead long-term capital planning, project prioritization, and funding strategies, incorporating risk assessments and cost/benefit analyses.
• Develop, implement, and maintain division Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to ensure consistency, accountability, and regulatory alignment.
• Oversee internal audits, process evaluations, and performance improvement initiatives related to drainage capital project delivery.
• Manage division-wide governance processes and report program status to executive leadership.
• Serve as Acting Executive Director/Deputy in the absence of senior leadership.
• Provide expert guidance with County leadership on drainage and resiliency matters and participate in emergency response activities as needed.

Harris County is an Equal Opportunity Employer

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If you need special services or accommodations, please call or email

This position is subject to a criminal history check. Only relevant convictions will be considered and, even when considered, may not automatically disqualify the candidate.

Requirements
Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering or relevant field.
• Registered Professional Engineer in Texas or Registered Professional Engineer in any other state, but be able to achieve TEXAS P.E. within six months of employment

Experience:

• Minimum ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in engineering, construction, or infrastructure project delivery.
• At least seven (7) years in senior leadership roles directing complex drainage or public infrastructure programs.

Knowledge, Skill & Abilities (KSAs):

• Expert knowledge of drainage infrastructure design, permitting, and construction.
• Mastery of project management principles, including project controls, risk management, budgeting, and scheduling.
• Strong fiscal management skills with experience overseeing large capital budgets and grant-funded projects.
• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and presentation skills.
• Ability to build consensus and maintain strong working relationships with executive leaders, elected officials, regulatory bodies, and community stakeholders.

NOTE: Qualifying education, experience, knowledge, and skills must be documented on your job application. You may attach a resume to the application as supporting documentation but ONLY information stated on the application will be used for consideration. "See Resume" will not be accepted for qualifications.
Preferences
Certifications:

• PMP Certification
• Certified Floodplain Manager Certification (CFM)

General Information
Position Type, and Typical Hours of Work:

Full-Time | Regular | 40 hours per week.

Subject to early mornings, late evenings, weekends, and holidays at times, depending upon the project or workload.

Salary:

Commensurate with experience, based on 26 pay periods.

Physical Demands and Environmental Exposure:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions:

• Occasional driving of a vehicle with automatic and four-wheel drive controls.
• Frequent standing and walking; prolonged sitting for extended periods of time.
• Frequent stooping, bending, reaching, lifting, and carrying items up to 10 pounds with occasional lifting of up to 20 pounds.
• Extensive use of a video display terminal (computer monitor).
• Occasional sorting, filing, shelving, and handling documents, books, files, materials, and equipment.
• Frequent standing and walking on rough, uneven, or rocky surfaces and ground during field visits.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is exposed to weather conditions prevalent at the time:

• Approximately 90% of duties will be performed indoors in a normal office environment with acceptable lighting, temperature, air conditions, and noise levels.
• Approximately 10% of duties will be performed outdoors, where there will be exposure to heat, cold, moisture, air pollution, wind, and dust.
• Must be willing to work in various weather and working conditions when visiting a field location.

FEATURED BENEFITS:

Medical, vision, and dental insurance.

Wellness.

Professional development opportunities.

Flexible spending accounts.

457 deferred compensation plans.

Retirement pension (TCDRS).

Transportation assistance (Metro Ride Sponsor Program).

Disability and life insurance.

Harris County is a Qualified Employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF).
Employment may be contingent on passing a drug screen and meeting other standards. Due to a high volume of applications positions may close prior to the advertised closing date or at the discretion of the Hiring Department.

HARRIS COUNTY EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Harris County offers a highly competitive benefits program, featuring a comprehensive group health plan and defined benefit retirement plan.
The following benefits are offered only to Harris County employees in regular (full-time) positions:
Health & Wellness Benefits

• Medical Coverage
• Dental Coverage
• Vision Coverage
• Wellness Plan
• Life Insurance
• Long-Term Disability (LTD) Insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Healthcare Flexible Spending Account
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account

Paid Time Off (PTO)

• Ten (10) days of vacation leave per year (accrual rate increases after 5 years of service)
• Eleven (11) County-observed holidays
• One (1) floating holiday per year
• Paid Parental Leave*
• Sick Leave

Retirement Savings Benefit

• 457 Deferred Compensation Plan

The following benefits are available to Harris County employees in full-time and select part-time positions:

• Professional learning & development opportunities
• Retirement pension (TCDRS defined benefit plan)
• Flexible work schedule*
• METRO RideSponsor Program*

* Participation may vary by County department. The employee benefits plans of Harris County are extended to all eligible participants across various departments with the exception of the Harris County Community Supervision and Corrections Department, for which the cited Health & Wellness Benefits are administered through the State of Texas.
In accordance with the Harris County Personnel Regulations, group health and related benefits are subject to amendment or discontinuance at any time. Harris County Commissioners Court reserves the right to make benefit modifications on the County's behalf as needed.
For plan details, visit the Harris County Benefits & Wellness website:
01

Do you have a bachelor's degree in civil engineering or a relevant field?

• Yes
• No

02

Are you a Registered Professional Engineer in Texas or Registered Professional Engineer in any other state, but are able to achieve a TEXAS P.E. within six months of employment?

• Yes
• No

03

Do you have a minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in engineering, construction, or infrastructure project delivery?

• Yes
• No

04

Do you have at least seven (7) years in senior leadership roles directing complex drainage or public infrastructure programs?

• Yes
• No

05

Describe your experience in managing design and construction of flood mitigation programs and projects.
06

Describe your experience in the financial management of capital projects and programs you have led.
Required Question