Senior Hydrotechnical Engineer

Vancouver, BC
On-site
Posted Aug 29, 2026
1 position

Opens an external site

Employment type: Full-time
Experience level: Lead · 10+ years
Minimum education: Bachelor’s degree
Posting language: English
Working hours: 40 hours per week

Job summary

The Senior Hydrotechnical Engineer will lead dam safety reviews, inspections, and mine water management projects while providing technical direction and mentorship to junior staff. They are responsible for directing complex hydrologic and hydraulic analyses and ensuring all work meets regulatory standards and professional requirements.

Job details

SENIOR HYDROTECHNICAL ENGINEER Dam safety, mine water management, and flood hazard leadership Location: Vancouver, BC Permanent, Full-time About the role PRI is looking for a Senior Hydrotechnical Engineer to help lead our Hydrotechnical practice. Dam safety and mining are central to this role, alongside flood hazard assessment and river engineering. You will lead and seal Dam Safety Reviews and dam safety inspections for water retention dams and tailings storage facilities, direct inflow design flood and dam breach assessments, and lead mine water management work. This is high-consequence work governed by clear standards, including the Canadian Dam Association Dam Safety Guidelines, the BC Dam Safety Regulation, and the EGBC guidelines for flood mapping and legislated flood assessments. What you'll own • Lead Dam Safety Reviews and dam safety inspections, and take professional responsibility for the resulting reports and recommendations. • Direct inflow design flood analysis, dam breach and inundation mapping, consequence classification, and spillway and outlet works assessment and design. • Review instrumentation and surveillance data, prepare or update OMS manuals and Emergency Preparedness Plans, and support Engineer of Record programs. • Lead mine water management, including site-wide water balance, diversions, tailings facility hydrology, and closure drainage and spillways. • Lead flood hazard and flood risk assessments, floodplain mapping and legislated flood assessments, dike assessments, river engineering, and steep creek and debris flow hazard work. • Lead assignments across the breadth of our practice, including hydropower and run-of-river, water supply and reservoirs, municipal drainage and stormwater master planning, water and wastewater infrastructure, resource road hydrology, and coastal and sea level rise work. • Lead projects end to end, seal your work, advise clients directly, and mentor engineers and EITs toward registration. What you bring • P.Eng. registered with EGBC, or immediately eligible for registration in BC. • Degree in Civil, Water Resources, or Environmental Engineering with a hydrotechnical focus; a graduate degree is an asset. • Minimum 8 years of progressive hydrotechnical consulting experience, leading and sealing your own projects. • Demonstrated dam safety experience, including Dam Safety Reviews or inspections, inflow design flood analysis, dam breach assessment, and spillway hydraulics. • Working knowledge of the Canadian Dam Association Dam Safety Guidelines and the BC Dam Safety Regulation. • Strong hydrologic and hydraulic modelling capability, including two-dimensional river modelling, using tools such as HEC-RAS, HEC-HMS, SRH-2D, MIKE, or PCSWMM. • Breadth across water resources engineering, and the appetite to lead assignments beyond a single niche. Mining, tailings, or Engineer of Record experience is a strong asset. • Class 5 BC driver's license, and willingness to travel to project and mine sites, including remote, fly-in, or camp-based work. Why PRI • A growing practice with a specialized dam safety and mining portfolio, where a senior engineer can genuinely shape the technical direction. • Unusual breadth, from dams and mining to hydropower, municipal water, resource roads, and coastal work. • A multidisciplinary platform, working alongside geotechnical, civil, environmental, natural sciences, and geomatics colleagues, and a direct path to practice leadership. • Competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits, and support for professional development and EGBC obligations. PRI is a multidisciplinary engineering and natural sciences consulting firm with offices across British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Nova Scotia. We are an equal-opportunity employer and welcome applications from all qualified candidates. We particularly encourage applications from Indigenous professionals.

What you’ll do

Requirements

Candidates must be a P.Eng. registered or eligible for registration in BC with at least 8 years of progressive hydrotechnical consulting experience. A degree in Civil, Water Resources, or Environmental Engineering is required, along with strong expertise in dam safety and hydrologic modelling software.