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Senior Dam Safety Engineer

Schnabel Engineering

Chattanooga, TNJob$125–165K/yrSeen 5 days agoSeen in employer's feed 5 days ago

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At a glance

Compensation
$125–165K/yr
Location
Chattanooga, TN
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 Engineer LicenseTennessee PE Registration Within Six MonthsBachelor's degree

Job overview

Schnabel Engineering is seeking a Senior Dam Safety Engineer for its new Chattanooga office to help grow its dam engineering practice in Tennessee and the Southeast. The role leads complex dam safety evaluations, studies, designs, and project delivery; manages client relationships and business development; and mentors engineers. Work spans embankment and concrete dams, spillways, outlet works, and related water infrastructure.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Dam Safety EngineeringDam EvaluationDam DesignDam RehabilitationDam ConstructionHydraulic StructuresTechnical LeadershipMultidisciplinary Team LeadershipProject ManagementClient Relationship ManagementBusiness DevelopmentStaff MentoringEngineering JudgmentWritten CommunicationVerbal CommunicationField WorkTravelEmbankment Dam EngineeringConcrete Dam EngineeringRisk AssessmentPotential Failure Mode AnalysisComprehensive Dam Safety ReviewsGeotechnical EngineeringHydrologic/Hydraulic EngineeringSeismic EngineeringStructural EngineeringConstruction-Phase EngineeringFERCTVAUSACEUSBRNRCSState Dam Safety ProgramsHydropower FacilitiesProfessional Organization Participation

Qualifications

Bachelor's in Civil Engineering or Related12+ Years Relevant Engineering ExperienceProfessional Engineer LicenseTennessee PE Registration Within Six MonthsMaster's in Civil Engineering or RelatedBackground CheckPre-Employment Drug Screening

Benefits

Medical Insurance
Dental Insurance
401(k) Match
Paid Time Off
Tuition Assistance

Full job description

Description

Schnabel is an employee-owned, professional engineering and consulting firm that focuses on solving problems related to the earth and environment through specialization in geotechnical, geostructural, tunnel, and dam engineering. Schnabel’s high standards for quality, business ethics, and concern for the communities in which we live are a vital part of who we are. Schnabel is an ENR Top 500 Design Firm with 700+ employees in over 33 offices throughout the United States.

Recognized by CE News as one of the Best Engineering Firms to Work for, Schnabel provides employees with a competitive benefits package including maternity leave, tuition reimbursement for continuing education, health, dental, life and disability insurance and a wellness program. As an employee-owned company, through the Employee Stock Ownership Plan, Schnabel employees directly benefit from the success of our growing firm.

Benefit options include:

  • Medical insurance

  • Dental insurance

  • Flexible spending accounts

  • Employee life & ADD insurance (100% company-paid)

  • Short-term disability (100% company-paid)

  • Long-term disability

  • Supplemental life insurance

  • 401(k) and profit-sharing plan

  • Employee stock ownership plan (ESOP)

  • Bonus program

  • Paid time off

  • 9 Paid Holidays

  • Wellness program

  • Professional development and tuition reimbursement

Job Description:

Schnabel's new Chattanooga office is seeking a Senior Dam Safety Engineer to help grow our dam engineering practice in Tennessee and the Southeast. This is an opportunity to join the Chattanooga team early in its growth, lead significant projects and client relationships, develop engineers, and help shape the local practice while contributing to the long-term success of an employee-owned firm.

We are seeking an experienced dam engineer with demonstrated technical, project, client, business-development, and leadership capabilities. You will work on multidisciplinary projects involving the inspection, evaluation, rehabilitation, design, and construction of embankment and concrete dams, spillways, outlet works, and related water infrastructure, including challenging assignments requiring sound engineering judgment and multidisciplinary problem solving.

Job Responsibilities:

  • Lead dam safety evaluations, investigations, rehabilitation studies, designs, risk-informed studies, and construction-related engineering services.

  • Serve as project manager, technical lead, or senior reviewer for complex and multidisciplinary dam engineering projects.

  • Develop engineering recommendations and solutions for dams, spillways, outlet works, and related hydraulic structures.

  • Provide senior technical direction and review engineering analyses, reports, drawings, specifications, and other technical deliverables.

  • Plan and manage projects, including scope, staffing, schedule, budget, technical delivery, quality, and financial performance.

  • Lead multidisciplinary teams and coordinate technical resources across Schnabel offices.

  • Build and maintain relationships with dam owners, utilities, government agencies, and other clients.

  • Lead and contribute to proposals, interviews, client development, and pursuit of new project opportunities.

  • Mentor and develop engineers and provide technical and project-management guidance to less experienced staff.

  • Participate in Potential Failure Mode Analyses, risk assessments, comprehensive dam safety reviews, and other dam safety studies as appropriate to experience.

  • At the Senior Associate level, take broader responsibility for major or multiple complex projects, strategic client relationships, development of new business, staff leadership, and growth of the dam engineering practice.

Required Skills/Experience:

  • Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering or a related engineering discipline from an ABET-accredited program.

  • Approximately 12+ years of relevant engineering experience, with final classification based on experience and demonstrated capabilities.

  • Professional Engineer licensure and ability to obtain Tennessee PE registration within six months of hire.

  • Substantial experience with the evaluation, design, rehabilitation, or construction of dams and related hydraulic structures.

  • Demonstrated technical leadership in at least one discipline applicable to dam engineering and the ability to lead multidisciplinary teams.

  • Experience managing engineering projects, including scope, schedule, budget, staffing, and technical delivery.

  • Experience managing client relationships and contributing to proposals and business development.

  • Demonstrated ability to mentor and develop engineering staff.

  • Strong engineering judgment and excellent written and verbal communication skills.

  • Willingness and ability to perform field work and travel for project assignments, client meetings, and business-development activities.

Preferred Skills/Experience:

  • Master's degree in Civil Engineering or a related engineering discipline.

  • Experience with embankment or concrete dam evaluation, rehabilitation, and design.

  • Experience with dam safety risk assessment, potential failure mode analysis, or comprehensive dam safety reviews.

  • Expertise in geotechnical, hydrologic/hydraulic, seismic, structural, or hydraulic structure engineering.

  • Experience with construction-phase engineering for dams or major water infrastructure.

  • Experience with FERC, TVA, USACE, USBR, NRCS, state dam safety programs, or hydropower facilities.

  • Established relationships with dam owners, utilities, or water-resource clients in Tennessee or the Southeast.

  • Active participation in ASDSO, USSD, ASCE, or other relevant professional organizations.

Other Requirements:

  • Travel is a normal part of dam engineering and may include inspections, investigations, and construction assignments throughout the Southeast and elsewhere in the United States. Some project assignments may require extended periods away from the Chattanooga office.

  • Ability to pass a background check which may include criminal history, motor vehicle record, and credit check.

  • Ability to pass a pre-employment drug screening.

The compensation range for an Associate level candidate is between $125,000 - $145,000.

The compensation range for a Senior Associate level candidate is between $135,000 - $165,000.

Compensation for this position may vary based on geographic location and other factors. We remain committed to providing competitive and equitable compensation to all employees, regardless of their location.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities

This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws.

For further information, please review the Know Your Rights (https://www.eeoc.gov/poster) notice from the Department of Labor.

How this job compares

Set against the 5,086 open Civil Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted October 28, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$125–165K/yr
  • Tennessee median$91–140K/yr50 salary ranges
  • US median$91–145K/yr2,779 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $145K, is 21% above the Tennessee median midpoint ($120K) — in the top quarter of Civil Engineer salary ranges in Tennessee.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 114 open Civil Engineer jobs in Tennessee and 5,086 across the US. 5% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in Tennessee
Experience
This posting asks for at least 12 years of experience — more than three in four Civil Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for (median 5 years, across 4,139 postings).
Education
This posting asks for a bachelor's degree; 3,962 of the 5,086 open Civil Engineer jobs (78%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on October 28, 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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