Director of Engineering
Location: Springfield (Eugene), Oregon for the first two years; after that, the role can be based at any of the firm's offices: Springfield (Eugene), Bend, or West Linn (Portland Metro), Oregon, or Boise, Idaho (new office opening in 2027)
Compensation: $170k-$190k DOE + Profit-Sharing Bonus + Path to Ownership
Employment Type: Full-Time
About the Company
HireIQ Solutions is leading the search for a Director of Engineering at an established Pacific Northwest consulting engineering firm providing mechanical, electrical, commissioning, and energy services for complex building systems. The firm's work spans higher education, K-12, healthcare, laboratory, civic, and central plant projects, and roughly 80% of its work comes from repeat clients.
With offices across Oregon and a new Boise, Idaho office planned for 2027, the firm is investing in the leadership, systems, and operating discipline needed to grow sustainably without compromising quality, profitability, culture, or client experience.
About the Role
The Director of Engineering leads the firm's Engineering Division and is accountable for turning company strategy into coordinated action and reliable results. Reporting to the CEO and serving on the Leadership Team, you will lead Department Heads, Project Managers, and Project Delivery Leads across multiple offices and service lines.
This is not a strictly technical-oversight role. The Director is a degreed engineer with the technical credibility to lead engineers, who also runs the business side: balancing leadership initiatives, the firm's strategic objectives, and the technical delivery of projects. A core part of the job is synthesizing input from the Leadership Team, technical department heads, and design and engineering staff into one unified delivery approach and message for the company.
You will own the Division's annual plan, budget, and financial KPIs; hold final Engineering approval on Go/No-Go decisions and fee proposals; set the standards for how projects are planned, delivered, and closed out; and build the next generation of project managers, department leaders, and future principals.
Key Responsibilities
Division Leadership & Direction
• Run the Engineering Division under a clear annual plan aligned with company strategy, with defined priorities, accountability, resources, and measurable outcomes.
• Give Department Heads, Project Delivery Leads, and Project Managers clear responsibilities, decision rights, and expectations, and hold them accountable for results.
• Communicate direction and decisions consistently across disciplines and offices.
Revenue & Client Development
• Own a coordinated Engineering revenue and client-development plan across departments, markets, and offices.
• Maintain visibility into backlog, pipeline, revenue forecasts, client concentration, and staffing capacity, and act early on workload and capacity risks.
• Lead strategic client engagement and high-priority pursuits with Business Development, holding final Engineering approval on Go/No-Go decisions.
Project Delivery & Operations
• Set and enforce consistent standards for scope and fee development, work planning, interdisciplinary coordination, project controls, quality reviews, client communication, change management, and closeout.
• Assign projects based on scope, schedule, budget, capacity, expertise, client continuity, and staff development.
• Monitor project health, require recovery plans on elevated-risk projects, and step in when delivery, client relationships, quality, or financial performance are at risk.
Leadership & Talent Development
• Develop Department Heads into effective business, technical, and people leaders.
• Define and strengthen the project-management function: PM authority, expectations, training, coaching, and feedback.
• Maintain a five-year workforce and succession plan, and build clear pathways for technical experts, PMs, people leaders, and future principals.
Contracting, Quality & Risk
• Review and approve Engineering scopes and fee proposals and recommend contracts for CEO execution; take part in contract negotiation, scope changes, and dispute resolution.
• Match qualified technical leaders and reviewers to projects by complexity and risk.
• Hold Department Heads accountable for current, consistently applied standards, and feed lessons learned back into standards and training.
Financial Stewardship
• Build the annual Engineering Division budget and revenue goals, and set financial KPIs for departments, service lines, offices, and projects.
• Keep a consistent financial pulse on the Division, spot unfavorable trends early, and lead corrective action.
• Use Deltek Vantagepoint data to drive hiring, workload, pursuit, and investment decisions, and build the financial acumen of Department Heads and PMs.
Strategy, Scale & Leadership Team
• Develop short- and long-term strategy for the Division and each service line, including where to strengthen, expand, reposition, or exit.
• Make sure new markets, services, and offices have clear leadership, delivery systems, quality controls, and economic visibility before growth is accelerated.
• Contribute to company goals, budgets, and enterprise decisions, and give the CEO and Leadership Team concise, decision-ready reporting.
Qualifications
• Bachelor's degree in engineering (required). An MBA alongside the engineering degree is a strong plus. Professional engineering (PE) licensure is preferred but not required.
• Senior leadership experience that balances business operations, strategic initiatives, and technical delivery, leading technical managers and multidisciplinary teams.
• A track record of owning financial results: building budgets and revenue goals, setting KPIs, managing backlog and forecasts, and correcting course before results slip.
• Experience setting project-delivery standards and project controls, and improving how projects are scoped, staffed, delivered, and closed out.
• Commercial judgment on pursuits, fees, contracts, and risk, including Go/No-Go decisions, fee proposals, and contract negotiation.
• Strong communicator who can bring leadership, department heads, and engineering staff together around one clear direction and message.
• Working fluency in Deltek Vantagepoint, or a comparable ERP / project-accounting platform and the ability to get fluent quickly.
• Industry background: consulting MEP experience is a big plus. Candidates from the owner's side of building systems (public or private sector), or from other types of companies in the MEP and building-systems space, are also encouraged to apply.
Work Environment & Physical Requirements
• Office-based leadership role at the Springfield (Eugene), Oregon headquarters for the first two years, with the option to base out of Bend, West Linn, or Boise after that.
• Leads people and work across multiple offices, so periodic travel between offices is expected.
• Standard professional office setting; collaborative, values-driven culture with flexible schedules and sustainable workloads.
Why Join
• Set the strategic direction of the Engineering Division, lead strategic client engagement, and help shape company strategy as a member of the Leadership Team.
• A seat on the Leadership Team and a real path to ownership, at a firm where leaders have grown into shareholders.
• Inherit strong footing: decades of reputation, long-standing institutional clients, and about 80% repeat business.
• Shape growth directly, including the build-out of a new Boise office in 2027.
• A culture known for low turnover, approachable leadership, 100% employer-paid medical, dental, and vision premiums, and real work-life balance.