Hydraulic Engineer

About Us

Larson Design Group (LDG) is an award-winning, employee-owned Architecture, Engineering, and Consulting Firm. Guided by our core values, we’re expanding our team, opening new offices, and adding new offerings to provide responsive, innovative solutions to clients nationwide.   

Being 100% employee-owned directly impacts our culture: it drives our decision-making, motivates our teams, increases our productivity, improves retention, and contributes to the future success of our company. Our culture is one where we work hard for our clients and for each other – and we have fun collaborating, sharing experience and expertise, and learning along the way. We’re passionate about delivering exceptional quality, elevating client relationships, enriching the careers and lives of our employee owners, and enhancing the communities where we live and serve.     

At LDG, we strive to create an organization where people want to work. We offer a flexible work environment, paid training for required licensures, competitive benefits, bonus plans, and a company-funded Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) while supporting your professional and personal growth.    

Your Opportunity + Impact

The Hydraulic Engineer functions as a technical contributor and emerging leader within the Transportation group. This role requires a Professional Engineer (PE) license and relevant experience in NCDOT hydraulic design, including drainage, bridge and culvert replacements, and hydrologic/hydraulic modeling. The Hydraulic Engineer supports and coordinates design activities, assists with project schedules and submissions, and performs QA/QC tasks to ensure deliverables meet NCDOT standards and client expectations.

Key Responsibilities

• Performs independent hydraulic planning and design tasks, including roadway drainage design, culvert and bridge hydraulics, stormwater management, and erosion control plans.
• Conducts HEC‑RAS 1D modeling for culverts and bridges; 2D modeling experience is a plus.
• Supports NCDOT bridge and culvert replacement projects, including hydraulic reports, scour analysis, and coordination with roadway and structures teams.
• Develops NCDOT drainage designs, including storm drain systems, ditches, channels, and BMPs.
• Utilizes OpenRoads Designer (ORD) Drainage & GeoPak Drainage for hydraulic modeling and plan production.
• Performs supplemental surveys and field reconnaissance to verify drainage features, collect site data, and support hydraulic analyses.
• Reviews the work of others, prepares construction documents, and assists in delivering projects to completion.
• Maintains collaborative inter‑departmental and cross‑functional working relationships with project team members.
• Conducts initial QA/QC reviews of hydraulic submissions to ensure compliance with NCDOT standards and technical requirements.
• Assists senior staff in developing schedules, technical proposals, and labor hour estimates for hydraulic scopes.
• Communicates effectively with project teams to define and deliver hydraulic design scope.
• Promotes and supports quality assurance and quality control processes to enhance deliverables and reduce design errors or omissions.
• Performs and verifies hydraulic calculations, develops technical specifications, and prepares cost estimates.
• Develops and manages design budgets for routine hydraulic scopes of work.
• Provides guidance, training, and support to engineering associates and interns, helping them develop technical skills and design intuition.

Education and Experience

• Education: Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering or related field from an ABET‑accredited program.
• Experience: 4-10 years of hydraulic engineering experience, preferably with NCDOT bridge & culvert replacement projects. Proficiency with HEC‑RAS 1D, OpenRoads Designer (ORD) Drainage and/or GeoPak Drainage.
• Licensure/Certification: Professional Engineer (PE) required.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong desire to expand technical knowledge and take on new responsibilities within hydraulic engineering.
• Proficiency with HEC‑RAS 2D
• Proficiency with Hydrologic/hydraulic software such as HY‑8, StormCAD, FlowMaster, PondPack, or similar
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook).
• Excellent organizational and time‑management skills to manage multiple tasks and meet deadlines.
• Strong oral and written communication skills; able to work independently and collaboratively.
• Exhibits strong critical thinking and problem‑solving skills with a commitment to technical excellence and innovation.

EEO Statement

Larson Design Group, Inc. is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer (EEO) that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws. This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization.