Communities everywhere share the need for clean water. And as they work to meet that need, they're facing new, more complex challenges every day. Our water professionals collaborate to contribute innovative ideas, guided by scientific rigor and a vision for sustainable growth. Every day, we're helping communities improve, reuse, and protect our world's most precious resource.
Join our team to deliver transformational projects that will benefit future generations. Grow with us, H2O+U.
Lead Resident Engineer
The Lead Resident Engineer will supervise activities related to a multi-year, > $1 billion (USD) water transmission system program in the Chicagoland area by managing a portfolio of construction contracts for large water supply infrastructure projects. With help from several Resident Engineers, the Lead Resident Engineer will be responsible for administering multiple construction contracts, monitoring cost, schedule and quality of the Construction Contractor's work, and establishing that construction work is completed in conformance with the requirements of the contract documents.
Your Key Responsibilities
The Lead Resident Engineer, under the supervision of the Construction Manager, will be responsible for the following on their assigned portfolio of construction contracts:
- Supervising Resident Engineers (REs) and other assigned personnel; filling in for REs as necessary.
- Ensuring that construction work is performed in accordance with contract documents, specifications and applicable codes and standards.
- Overseeing the day-to-day activities related to construction management administrative and financial matters including record keeping, processing of periodic payments, drafting of field change orders, negotiation of change orders, general correspondence, and compiling and drafting of required reports.
- Ensuring that safety protocols are followed.
- Overseeing the process for review of Contractor's payment applications, including recommending appropriate adjustments as necessary based on work completed.
- Reviewing and evaluating potential items of extra work and preparation of justifications and cost estimates.
- Monitoring and reporting on Contractor(s) performance, schedule compliance, overall responsiveness, and effectiveness.
- Oversight of CM Field Office staff, which may include sub-consultants, including timekeeping practices, training and development, mentoring, and rewarding exceptional performance.
- Acting as liaison to program and design staff for resolution of issues.
- Coordinating the construction work with facility operations, maintenance, police, other contractors and other stakeholders.
- Ensuring that non-conformances are satisfactorily resolved for close out of contracts.
- Experience on water/wastewater infrastructure projects in a Construction Management or Owner's Representative role managing the observation of construction progress, site management, permitting requirements, code compliance and local regulations, conformance with plans and specifications, contractor practices, and QC/QA and performance of inspections, commissioning, close-out, and final acceptance.
- Proficiency in MS Office Suite products including Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
- Familiarity with systems for organizing and managing construction-related communications, reports, photos, etc. (e.g., Kahua, e-Builder or other similar software).
- Excellent organization skills and capacity to handle multiple tasks and projects concurrently.
- Ability to quickly adapt to new priorities.
- Strong oral and written communication skills.
- Strong work ethic, attention to detail, and commitment to exceptional client service.
- Demonstrated ability to build trust and positive business relationships.
- Effective problem-solving, facilitation, and negotiation skills.
- The position involves work associated with critical infrastructure and confidential information; therefore, a background check is required.
- Knowledge of local, state, and federal building codes, construction principles, techniques and procedures, occupational hazards, and safety precautions.
- Ability to be an independent thinker capable of solving problems within a team environment by analyzing technical issues, applying underlying principles, and delivering cost-effective solutions that provide value to clients.
Education and Experience
- Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering, Construction Management, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or closely related field.
- Licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Illinois is preferred
- Experience with construction of water or wastewater projects, $100M in construction value or greater is preferred.
- Minimum of 10 years of experience on multi-discipline construction projects, with extensive experience managing construction work and project staff is preferred.
- Preference given to candidates located in northeastern Illinois or northwest Indiana
Pay Transparency: In compliance with pay transparency laws, pay ranges are provided for positions in locations where required. Please note, the final agreed upon compensation is based on individual education, qualifications, experience, and work location. At Stantec certain roles are bonus eligible. Actual compensation for part-time roles will be pro-rated based on the agreed number of working hours per week.
Benefits Summary: Regular full-time and part-time employees (working at least 20 hours per week) have access to medical, dental, and vision plans, a wellness program, health saving accounts, flexible spending accounts, 401(k) plan, employee stock purchase program, life and accidental death & dismemberment (AD&D) insurance, short-term/long-term disability plans, emergency travel benefits, tuition reimbursement, professional membership fee coverage and paid family leave. Regular full-time and part-time employees will receive ten paid holidays in each calendar year. In addition, employees will be eligible to accrue vacation between 10 and 20 days per year and eligible for paid sick leave (and if more generous, in accordance with state and local law).
Temporary/casual employees have access to 401(k) plans, employee stock purchase program, and paid leave, in accordance with state and local law.
The benefits information listed above may not apply to union positions because benefits for such positions are governed by applicable collective bargaining agreements
Primary Location: United States | IL | Chicago
Other Locations: United States | IL | Joliet
Organization: BC-1734 Water-US North Central
Employee Status: Regular
Management Level: Individual contributor
Business Justification: New Position
Travel: No
Schedule: Full time
Job Posting: 27/07/2026 02:07:45
Req ID: 1006926
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Stantec provides equal employment opportunities to all qualified employees and applicants for future and current employment and prohibit discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, genetic information, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. We prohibit discrimination in decisions concerning recruitment, hiring, referral, promotion, compensation, fringe benefits, job training, terminations or any other condition of employment. Stantec is in compliance with laws and regulations and ensures equitable opportunities in all aspects of employment. At Stantec we are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is accessible to all. If you require reasonable adjustments to be made during the recruitment process then please inform a member of our Talent Acquisition team.
