Would You Take This Job? — Civil Engineering Manager

Civil Engineering Manager
Employer: AEC Talent Acquisition
Location: Tampa / Orlando / Lakeland, FL (multiple office options)
Pay: Competitive (not specified)
Type: Full-time

What You’ll Do

  • Manage civil design work for land development and electrical substation/transmission right-of-way projects (site layout, grading, drainage).

  • Oversee permitting support, stormwater analysis, detention basin and retaining wall design, and construction support.

  • Produce civil construction specifications, cost estimates, proposals, and project schedules.

  • Coordinate survey activities, geotechnical input, and vendor/contractor work during design and construction.

  • Mentor and grow the Civil team, manage department resources, and run regular project/department meetings.

  • Act as the company’s brand ambassador with clients, permitting agencies, and stakeholders.

Why It Stands Out

  • Work with a long-established firm (60+ years) on high-voltage transmission and substation infrastructure across the US and Caribbean.

  • Leadership role with clear influence on growing and shaping the Civil Department across regional offices.

Potential Trade-offs

  • Requires strong experience in specialty civil work for substations/ROW — a niche that may limit candidate pool.

  • High responsibility for project delivery, stakeholder coordination, and meeting tight schedules.

  • Likely travel between regional offices and occasional field/onsite time during construction.

Qualifications / Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (required); Professional Engineer (PE) required.

  • 15+ years of related engineering experience, including transmission/substation civil design.

  • Strong knowledge of Civil 3D/AutoCAD/MicroStation and stormwater analysis tools.

  • Experience with grading, drainage/detention design, structural foundations, retaining walls, and permitting.

  • Project management skills and comfort with scope/schedule/budget responsibilities.

  • Excellent verbal and written communication; ability to mentor and lead a team.

  • Must pass drug screen, background check, and have satisfactory driving record.

Perks / Benefits

  • Opportunity to lead and expand a regional Civil Department with diverse project types.

  • Exposure to complex power-industry projects and cross-disciplinary collaboration.

  • Professional growth in technical leadership, process improvement, and client-facing roles.

Here is the link to view more job details or apply.

Would you take this job? — How do you feel about leading civil design for high-voltage transmission and substations while growing a regional team?

I’ve had substation/ROW packages in Tampa and Lakeland go smoother by pulling SWFWMD into a pre-app before 30% so your “stormwater analysis” and outfall assumptions are blessed early (Civil 3D SSA is fine for the first pass), see https://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/permits/environmental-resource-permitting. In Orlando, SJRWMD tends to push harder on pre/post volume, so bake an extra review loop into your schedule rather than promising a single-turn ERP approval. If pay’s truly competitive, I’d still ask about travel time credit when bouncing between the Tampa/Orlando/Lakeland offices since those drives eat your permitting days.

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But on Florida substation yards, get clarity early on whether the rock yard is counted as impervious; SWFWMD usually does, and it can swing your pond sizing more than you think. @sjohns19 nailed the pre-app angle — small caveat: Polk and Orange reviewers still want the native ICPR file, not just HydroCAD PDFs, so plan your modeling stack.

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