Hybrid Technical Director, Geotechnical

at Arcadis

• Job title: Technical Director, Geotechnical
• Job type: Full Time
• Experience level: Lead
• Salary: CA$162,000 - CA$212,000 per year
• Degree requirement: Bachelor's Degree
• Location requirements: Hybrid, Vancouver, Canada

About the role

• Technical Director with deep geotechnical expertise providing leadership for infrastructure projects in Canada. Overseeing design teams and ensuring technical innovation throughout project phases.

Responsibilities

• Provide visionary leadership and program oversight, guiding contributions to some of the most high-profile infrastructure projects in the region and across Canada.
• Oversee geotechnical input on major undertakings such as tunnels, transit infrastructure, heavy civil works, and port facilities.
• Lead large, complex projects from inception through completion, defining work scopes, developing budgets and schedules, managing risks, and ensuring technical quality and innovation throughout.
• Mentor and develop senior engineers and technical staff, fostering a culture of continuous learning, technical excellence, and high performance within the team.
• Collaborate closely with multidisciplinary teams, including civil, structural, and bridge engineers, and interface regularly with clients, contractors, and regulators to ensure project success.
• Manage project portfolios ensuring profitability, client satisfaction, timely delivery, and compliance with all regulatory and company standards.
• Represent Arcadis as a technical leader at industry events, technical committees, and client forums, enhancing the company’s reputation in the geotechnical engineering field.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering; Master’s or PhD in Geotechnical Engineering or related discipline strongly preferred
• 20+ years of progressive experience in geotechnical and geo-structures engineering, with extensive involvement in major infrastructure projects across roads, rail, transit, and port sectors
• Proven senior leadership experience managing multi-disciplinary teams and complex project portfolios at a regional or national level
• Professional Engineer (P.Eng.) registration in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, or another Canadian jurisdiction, with eligibility to obtain registration in additional provinces as required
• Strong expertise in interpreting ground investigations, developing geotechnical design parameters, and leading the preparation and review of Geotechnical Interpretative Reports (GIR) and Geotechnical Design Reports (GDR)
• Proven design experience with deep and shallow foundations, retaining structures, deep excavations, tunnels, slopes and embankments, and a range of ground improvement techniques
• Demonstrated capability in geotechnical seismic engineering, including liquefaction assessment, mitigation strategies, and seismic numerical modelling using PLAXIS or equivalent advanced tools
• Experience with marine or port structures, offshore geotechnics, soft soils, or rock engineering is considered a strong asset
• High level of familiarity with advanced geotechnical and numerical modelling tools, such as PLAXIS, RS Pile, LPile, APile, SHAFT, GROUP, Seep/W, Slope/W, Slide2, CPeT-IT, CLiq, LiqSV, Settle3, and related analytical platforms
• Strong understanding and application of relevant industry standards including the Canadian Foundation Engineering Manual (CFEM 2023) and the Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code (CSA S6-19 / S6-25)
• Demonstrated ability to lead innovation in design methodologies, ground investigation strategies, and risk mitigation
• Exceptional communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills with a track record of building trusted client relationships
• Strong business acumen with experience in project financial management, resource allocation, and strategic growth initiatives
• Excellent technical writing skills and experience producing high-impact reports, presentations, and proposals.

Benefits

• We believe everyone's contribution matters.
• It's why we are pioneering a skills-based approach, where you can harness your unique experience and expertise to carve your career path and maximize the impact we can make together.
• You’ll do meaningful work, and no matter what role, you’ll be helping to deliver sustainable solutions for a more prosperous planet.
• We want you to be able to bring your best self to work every day which is why we take equality and inclusion seriously and hold ourselves to account for our actions.