Principal Land Quality Specialist📣 Job Ad

About the Opportunity

KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) is seeking a Principal Land Quality Specialist to join its team. This is a contract position located in the Makkah and Jeddah regions. The role provides strategic leadership in land and groundwater management, waste, and contamination studies.

Role Overview

The Principal Land Quality Specialist emphasizes client engagement, business development, and leading multi-disciplinary consulting projects. This position works across the land quality, water resources, and mining sectors, serving as a key technical and strategic advisor within KAUST's initiatives.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead soil and groundwater assessments for complex projects, including resource evaluations and land quality assessment.
• Act as a technical advisor to clients on sustainable groundwater management, recharge, and construction support.
• Oversee and review soil and groundwater models, risk assessments, and land quality deliverables.
• Develop proposals, scopes, and budgets, contributing to business development and client relationship growth.
• Represent the department with clients, regulators, and in industry forums.
• Mentor and supervise other technical staff, ensuring QA/QC of project deliverables and managing multi-disciplinary project teams.
• Develop and approve Conceptual Site Models (CSMs), translating them to 2D/3D numerical models and uncertainty analyses.
• Direct complex contamination investigations, site-specific quantitative risk assessments, remedial strategy evaluations, and monitored natural attenuation studies.
• Lead stakeholder engagement, including regulator negotiations, community meetings, and client steering committees.
• Oversee wellfield design, managed aquifer recharge (MAR) studies, and dewatering programs for major projects.
• Provide expert witness/testimony or senior technical advisory for regulatory hearings and disputes.
• Own technical QA/QC frameworks, conduct senior peer reviews, and provide sign-offs on deliverables.
• Shape proposals, write winning methodologies, level of effort, and budgets for multi-year programs.
• Grow the land quality/contaminated land and related services portfolio, build client relationships, and identify cross-selling opportunities.
• Guide the adoption of digital tools (model GUIs, GIS, databases) and champion data governance standards.
• Coach and develop teams, establishing training plans and succession for hydrogeology capability.

Required Qualifications and Experience

• A minimum of 5 to 10 years of relevant professional experience in land and groundwater management.

Preferred Knowledge

• Knowledge of mining-related soils, hydrogeology, and waste management is considered advantageous for this role.

Work Environment

This contract position offers an opportunity to contribute to significant land and groundwater management projects within the dynamic environment of KAUST, operating across the Makkah and Jeddah regions.