Entry-level Water Resources Engineer​/Hydrogeologist; Sacramento, CA

Entry-level Water Resources Engineer/Hydrogeologist (Sacramento, CA)

Woodard & Curran is a national engineering, science, and operations firm committed to clean water, a safe environment, healthy communities, and happy people. As an employee‑owned company, we cultivate teams that encourage collaboration in an inclusive culture and prioritize people, offering opportunities for professional growth, ownership, and flexibility.

We have an exciting opportunity for a full‑time water resources engineer or hydrogeologist who will develop innovative solutions to challenging groundwater‑related projects. The preferred location is our Sacramento, CA office, but other CA locations are acceptable and a virtual arrangement can be accommodated.

• Actively develop, calibrate, and apply hydrogeologic conceptual and groundwater flow models to support policy and regulatory processes.
• Support a wide variety of groundwater management and planning activities related to SGMA implementation, water supply assessment and management studies, and conduct groundwater analysis in support of environmental permitting and regulatory compliance.
• Conduct complex data analysis related to water resources management, including data compilation, review, processing, and analysis using spreadsheets, databases, GIS, graphing software, and computer programming.
• Evaluate land surface operations, including land use data analysis, and quantify agricultural and urban water supplies and demands.
• Prepare data summaries, graphics, presentations, technical reports, and memoranda.
• Develop tools using code such as Python to support and analyze groundwater modeling projects.

• BS in Water Resources Engineering, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Hydrology, Hydrogeology, or a related field; MS/PhD preferred.
• Proactive communicator, able to work with both junior and senior project staff.
• Excellent organizational, writing, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• Experience working on water resources, groundwater, or closely related projects; experience with local and regional modeling is highly desirable.
• Current or prior knowledge of California regulations desirable.
• Experience with hydrologic modeling platforms such as IWFM and/or MODFLOW desirable.
• Experience with programming languages such as Python for data analysis desirable.

Annual salary range: $75,000 – $85,000. Final pay will depend on experience level and geographic differential.

• 401(k) pre‑tax or Roth contributions with 100% match of the first 3% of salary contributed.

• Observed holidays: choose up to 9 holidays to observe annually.
• Vacation: accrued based on years of experience and calculated on hours worked.
• Sick time: paid sick time for non‑work related illness or injury.
• Parental leave: up to 80 hours of paid parental leave for child bonding.

• Disability: paid short‑ and long‑term disability.
• Health: medical plan options, plus dental and vision plans.
• Life: basic employee group life insurance and AD&D, with additional voluntary life insurance available.
• Well‑being:
  Dario Mind assistance program combined with personalized mental health and wellbeing resources.

Woodard & Curran is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Individuals with disabilities and protected veterans are encouraged to apply. We are committed to ensuring our employment practices are non‑discriminatory and based solely on job‑related factors. If you have a disability and need a reasonable accommodation, please contact Beth Sweitzer.

We welcome individuals from all backgrounds to apply. We believe that diverse perspectives enrich our workplace and improve our service to clients and communities.

We do not accept unsolicited resumes or candidate submissions from recruitment agencies. Any resumes or candidate profiles submitted without a signed contract will be considered unsolicited and will not be eligible for referral fees. Recruitment agencies must have a valid, signed agreement with our company before submitting candidates.

We may use AI tools to support parts of the hiring process, but final hiring decisions are made by humans.