
Lead Plumbing Engineer - Buildings
San Francisco, CAJob$123–182K/yrSeen 1mo agoSeen in employer's feed 6 days ago
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At a glance
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Requirements
Credentials this posting asks for.
Job overview
WSP is seeking a Lead Plumbing Engineer for its San Francisco office to lead planning, design, and implementation of plumbing systems across diverse high‑profile building projects, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams and ensuring compliance with codes and client requirements.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Benefits
Full job description
This Opportunity
WSP is currently initiating a search for a Lead Plumbing Engineer for our San Francisco, CA office.
Be involved in projects with our Property & Buildings Team and be a part of a growing organization that meets our clients' objectives and solves their challenges. At WSP, we are driven by inspiring future-ready solutions that shape communities and the built environment. This role offers the opportunity to work on complex, high-profile projects across a variety of market sectors including commercial, workplace, healthcare, higher education, civic, science & technology, aviation, and mixed-use developments.
Your Impact
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Lead the planning, design, and implementation of plumbing systems for new construction, renovation, and tenant improvement projects.
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Design and analyze domestic water, sanitary waste and vent, storm drainage, natural gas, medical gases, process piping, and specialty plumbing systems.
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Develop plumbing calculations, technical specifications, narratives, reports, and engineering studies.
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Serve as a technical lead for multidisciplinary project teams and coordinate with mechanical, electrical, structural, civil, fire protection, and architectural disciplines.
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Oversee production of construction documents using Revit and other design technologies.
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Perform quality reviews of technical deliverables to ensure conformance with WSP standards, client requirements, and applicable codes.
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Provide guidance and mentorship to early career and mid-level plumbing engineers and designers.
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Support project managers with scope development, budgeting, scheduling, staffing, and risk management.
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Interface directly with clients, regulatory agencies, contractors, and project stakeholders throughout all phases of project delivery.
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Conduct site investigations, existing system evaluations, field verification activities, and construction support services.
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Remain current with industry trends, California codes, sustainability initiatives, and emerging plumbing technologies.
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Exercise responsible and ethical decision-making regarding company funds, resources, and conduct while adhering to WSP's Code of Conduct and related policies.
Who You Are
Required Qualifications
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Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical or closely related engineering discipline.
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7+ years of relevant plumbing engineering experience within the A/E/C industry.
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Demonstrated experience designing plumbing systems for commercial, institutional, healthcare, life sciences, aviation, higher education, or mixed-use facilities.
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Proficiency in Revit, AutoCAD, and related engineering design tools.
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Strong knowledge of California Plumbing Code (CPC), California Building Code (CBC), and other applicable codes and standards.
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Experience preparing technical calculations, specifications, construction documents, and engineering reports.
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Proven ability to lead discipline design efforts on complex building projects.
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Strong communication and client relationship management skills.
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Ability to mentor junior staff and contribute to a collaborative team environment.
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Excellent problem-solving, organizational, and project coordination skills.
Preferred Qualifications
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Professional Engineer (PE) license or ability to obtain California PE through reciprocity within 12 months.
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Previous experience serving as Engineer of Record for building projects.
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LEED Accredited Professional (LEED AP) credential.
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Healthcare, life sciences, laboratory, mission critical, aviation, or large commercial project experience.
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Project management experience, including financial management, staffing coordination, and client leadership responsibilities.
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Experience with sustainable and water-efficient building system design.
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Familiarity with integrated project delivery, design-build, or alternative delivery methods.
WSP Benefits:
WSP provides a comprehensive suite of benefits focused on a providing health and financial stability throughout the employee’s career. These benefits include coverage related to medical, dental, vision, disability, and life; retirement savings; paid sick leave; paid vacation (or other personal time); paid parental leave; and paid time off for purposes of bereavement, voting, and/or attendance at naturalization proceedings.
Compensation:
Expected Salary (all locations): $122,700 - $182,200
WSP USA is providing the compensation range that the company in good faith believes it might pay and offer for this position, based on the successful applicant’s education, experience, knowledge, skills, abilities in addition to internal equity and specific geographic location. WSP USA reserves the right to ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and offer additional benefits and other compensation, depending on circumstances not related to an applicant’s sex or other status protected by local, state, and/or federal law.
#LI-JM1
About WSP
WSP USA is the U.S. operating company of WSP, one of the world's leading engineering and professional services firms. Dedicated to serving local communities, we are engineers, planners, technical experts, strategic advisors and construction management professionals. WSP USA designs lasting solutions in the buildings, transportation, energy, water and environment markets. With more than 15,000 employees in over 300 offices across the U.S., we partner with our clients to help communities prosper.
WSP provides a flexible and agile workplace model while meeting client needs. Employees are also afforded a comprehensive suite of benefits including medical, dental, vision, disability, life, and retirement savings focused on providing health and financial stability throughout the employee’s career.
At WSP, we want to give our employees the challenges they seek to grow their careers and knowledge base. Your daily contributions to your team will be essential in meeting client objectives, goals and challenges. Are you ready to get started?
WSP USA (and all of its U.S. companies) is an Equal Opportunity Employer Race/Age/Color/Religion/Sex/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/National Origin/Disability or Protected Veteran Status.
The selected candidate must be authorized to work in the United States.
NOTICE TO THIRD PARTY AGENCIES:
WSP does not accept unsolicited resumes from recruiters, employment agencies, or other staffing services. Unsolicited resumes include any resume or hiring document sent to WSP in the absence of a signed Service Agreement where WSP has expressly requested recruitment/staffing services specific to the position at hand. Any unsolicited resumes, including those submitted to hiring managers or other business leaders, will become the property of WSP and WSP will have the right to hire that candidate without reservation – no fee or other compensation will be owed or paid to the recruiter, employment agency, or other staffing service.
How this job compares
Set against the 1,230 open Lead Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted October 29, 2026.
- Pay
- This posting$123–182K/yr
- California median$156–230K/yr82 salary ranges
- US median$126–216K/yr947 salary ranges
This range's midpoint, $152K, is 23% below the California median midpoint ($197K) — in the lowest quarter of Lead Engineer salary ranges in California.
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 101 open Lead Engineer jobs in California and 1,230 across the US. 10% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Hiring the most in California
- Leidos7 open
- Apple5 open
- Sargent & Lundy4 open
- Experience
- This posting asks for at least 7 years of experience; Lead Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for 8 years at the median (1,080 postings).
- Education
- This posting asks for a bachelor's degree; 788 of the 1,230 open Lead Engineer jobs (64%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on October 29, 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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