Senior Vice President – Land Development at Pape-Dawson in Plano, TX

Job Description:

Overview

The Senior Vice President of Land Development is a senior executive leader responsible for the strategic direction, technical excellence, and sustained growth of the firm’s land development practice. This role provides enterprise-level leadership across commercial, residential, and site development services, ensuring consistent delivery of high-quality, compliant, and client-focused solutions.

As a leader of leaders, the Senior Vice President oversees multiple Vice President–level teams and senior managers, sets strategic priorities, develops future leaders, and makes high-impact decisions that shape the organization’s performance, culture, and reputation. This role embodies the firm’s values, holds teams accountable to leadership principles, and is recognized internally and externally as a trusted industry leader.

Responsibilities

• Provide executive leadership and strategic oversight for the land development practice, including site, commercial, and residential development services.

• Lead and develop multiple Vice President–level teams, ensuring alignment with organizational goals, consistent performance, and excellence in project delivery.

• Establish and uphold technical standards, quality controls, and best practices for land development engineering across all teams.

• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local regulations governing land development, permitting, and site infrastructure.

• Serve as a senior client advisor and relationship manager, strengthening long-term partnerships and ensuring superior client satisfaction.

• Drive strategic growth through business development, market positioning, client engagement, and expansion of land development services.

• Oversee financial performance for the practice, including budgets, resource planning, staffing strategies, and profitability.

• Mentor and develop senior leaders and emerging talent, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

• Represent the firm externally with clients, agencies, industry groups, and professional organizations as a recognized leader in land development.

• Champion the firm’s mission, values, and culture, ensuring leadership excellence and consistency across all teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering or a related field from an ABET-accredited program; advanced degree preferred.

• Licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) in the state of employment.

• 15+ years of progressive experience in land development engineering, including significant leadership experience overseeing large, multidisciplinary teams.

• Demonstrated success leading complex land development programs involving grading, drainage, utilities, and site infrastructure.

• Extensive experience managing senior leaders and multiple teams at scale (typically 20+ staff and multiple leadership layers).

• Strong understanding of state and local land development regulations, permitting processes, and approval frameworks.

• Proven ability to set strategic direction, make high-level organizational decisions, and drive sustained business growth.

• Exceptional leadership, communication, and relationship-building skills, with a strong commitment to client service and professional excellence.

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EEO Statement:

All qualified applicants for Pape-Dawson Engineers will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or status as a protected veteran.