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Senior Principal Coastal Engineer

Geosyntec Consultants

Oak Brook, ILFull-time$165–248K/yrPosted 6 days agoStill listed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$165–248K/yr
Location
Oak Brook, IL
Schedule
Full-time
Work Authorization
Not specified

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Requirements

Credentials this posting asks for.

Professional Certification (PE Or PG), requiredBachelor's degree, requiredValid US Driver's License, required

Job overview

Geosyntec Consultants seeks a highly experienced Senior Principal Coastal Engineer to help grow its coastal and water resources engineering practice in its Oak Brook or Chicago office. The role involves coastal resiliency, waterfront design, marinas, harbors, shoreline protection, beaches, and wetlands projects for public, private, and governmental clients. The engineer will lead project delivery and business development while managing and mentoring staff.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Coastal Engineering, requiredWater Resources Engineering, requiredCoastal Regulations, requiredMultidisciplinary Teamwork, requiredClient Development, requiredLeadership, requiredProject Management, requiredOSHA 40-Hour HAZWOPER, nice to haveHealth and Safety Training, nice to haveDriving, required

Qualifications

Bachelor's in Coastal or Water Resources Engineering, requiredAdvanced Degree in Same, nice to haveProfessional Certification (PE or PG), required15+ Years Consulting Experience, required25+ Years Consulting Experience, nice to haveValid US Driver's License, requiredSatisfactory Driving Record, required

Benefits

Paid Time Off
Medical Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
401(k) Match

Full job description

Overview

Do you want to build an impactful career to change the world for the better?

Geosyntec has an exciting opportunity for a Senior Principal Coastal Engineer to help grow our coastal and water resources engineering practice in our Oak Brook, or Chicago, IL office. This position is well-suited for a talented, highly experienced individual who is interested in being a leader and contributing to innovative and challenging projects involving coastal and water resources engineering, coastal resiliency, waterfront design development, marinas, harbors, shoreline protection structures, beaches, and wetlands. Our client base includes a diverse mix of public sector, private sector, and governmental clients.

Geosyntec is an innovative, international engineering and consulting firm serving private and public-sector clients to address new ventures and complex problems involving our environment, natural resources, and civil infrastructure. Our engineers, scientists, technical and project employees serve our clients from offices across the world. Ranked by ENR as one of the top environmental engineering design firms, Geosyntec is internationally known for its technical leadership, broad experience, and exceptional client service.

We invest in our people. Each employee is unique, and your career at Geosyntec will be too. We offer competitive pay and benefits, and well-being programs to support you and your family.

To Learn More Visit: http://www.geosyntec.com/careers/

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

  • Civil design, coastal design, and water resources design projects;

  • Business development; including bringing in new clients and obtaining repeat business from existing clients, leading proposal preparation, and developing and implementing a business development plan;

  • Management and mentoring of junior staff and managing subcontractors;

  • Project and task management, including planning and implementing investigation and data collection projects, budgeting and budget management, adherence to schedule, quality, client satisfaction, and profitability;

  • Preparation of engineering reports, design calculations, drawings, technical specifications, and permit applications;

  • Fieldwork associated with design and construction administration services;

  • Reviewing and managing written document production;

  • Preparing for and participating in meetings with clients, regulatory personnel, and other parties; and

  • Drive personal, company, and rental vehicles to client or company project or office sites, and other business locations, as needed.

Education and Licensure

  • Bachelor’s degree in coastal or water resources engineering (required)

  • Advanced degree in the same. (preferred)

  • Professional certification (i.e., P.E., P.G.). (required)

Skills, Experience and Qualifications

  • At least 15 years (25+ preferred) years of directly relevant experience in a consulting environment, or equivalent combination of education and experience. (required)

  • Detailed understanding of coastal and water resources regulations. (required)

  • Experience with multi-disciplinary project teams. (required)

  • Demonstrated success in the development and management of clients. (required)

  • Proven leadership skills. (required)

  • Ability to succeed in a fast-paced consulting environment, handling multiple project assignments, meeting strict deadlines, and traveling to client facilities as needed. (required)

  • Current OSHA 40-hr HAZWOPER training and refreshers. (preferred)

  • Health & Safety training, medical monitoring, and client-driven drug and background testing may be required.

  • Valid U.S driver’s license and a satisfactory driving record for business travel. (required)

This opportunity will be posted for at least five days. Below are the potential compensation ranges that we in good faith believe are applicable for this role at the time of this posting and are only applicable for jobs to be performed in the specified location(s) below. The typical base salary range for this position is just one component of Geosyntec’s total compensation package for employees. Actual compensation will be determined based on education, experience, skill set and location.

  • Minimum Salary: $165,255/year / Maximum Salary: $247,885 /year (Oak Brook, Chicago, IL)

We offer a comprehensive benefits package including, paid holidays, vacation, sick, and personal paid time off, medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance, 401(k), and other benefits to eligible employees.

How this job compares

Set against the 22,242 open Project Manager jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 10, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$165–248K/yr
  • Illinois median$105–161K/yr522 salary ranges
  • US median$108–174K/yr14,195 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $207K, is 54% above the Illinois median midpoint ($134K) — in the top quarter of Project Manager salary ranges in Illinois.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 645 open Project Manager jobs in Illinois and 22,242 across the US. 5% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in Illinois
Experience
This posting asks for at least 15 years of experience — more than three in four Project Manager postings that state a minimum ask for (median 6 years, across 19,079 postings).
Education
This posting asks for a bachelor's degree; 11,452 of the 22,242 open Project Manager jobs (51%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 10, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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