Water Quality and Modeling Consultant (Finance)

Arcadis is the world's leading company delivering sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets.

We are more than 36,000 people, in over 70 countries, dedicated to improving quality of life. Everyone has an important role to play. With the power of many curious minds, together we can solve the world's most complex challenges and deliver more impact together.

Role description:

Arcadis is seeking a highly skilled and motivated Water Quality and Modeling Consultant with a PhD to join our National Resilience Water Team in Chicago, Illinois. This role will focus on the development of advanced predictive models for lead service line (LSL) identification, while also supporting a broader range of data science and modeling applications within the drinking water sector.

The ideal candidate will help Arcadis expand its technical leadership in the field of predictive modeling and contribute to cutting-edge industry research in collaboration with utilities, research institutions, and organizations like the Water Research Foundation (WRF).

Role accountabilities:

• Develop Predictive Models: Support the design, implementation, and refinement of machine learning models and other data science tools for lead service line identification, with the goal of reducing material unknowns and accelerating inventory completion.
• Expand Modeling Applications: Contribute to the development of predictive tools beyond LSLs, including use cases such as:
  • Contaminant exposure modeling (e.g., PFAS)
  • Water main risk assessment
  • Operational dosing optimization (OPEX)
  • Broader infrastructure asset management
• Advance Research and Innovation:
  • Collaborate with external partners, including WRF and academic institutions, to push the boundaries of modeling in the water sector.
  • Help build internal modeling capacity and support Arcadis's leadership in predictive analytics.
• Client and Utility Engagement: Engage with utilities to understand local system characteristics, interpret model outputs, and deliver actionable, data-driven recommendations.
• Support Regulatory Strategy: Provide technical insights and modeling support to help clients comply with the Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR), Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI), and related programs.
• National Team Participation: Serve as a technical contributor on the Arcadis National Lead and Copper Team, helping to shape best practices for modeling implementation.

Additional Responsibilities May Include

• Assisting in the development of project scopes, work plans, budgets, and schedules
• Conducting literature reviews, benchmarking studies, and data quality assessments
• Supporting funding applications and grant management
• Communicating technical findings to clients, internal teams, and regulatory stakeholders

Qualifications & Experience:

Required Qualifications

The candidate in this role is required to have a PhD in Engineering, Data Science, Environmental Science, or a related technical discipline. In addition, at least 1 year of experience in predictive modeling, water quality, or regulatory compliance.

Preferred Qualifications

It is preferred that the candidate have 2 or more years of experience applying advanced modeling techniques in the water sector, familiarity with the Lead and Copper Rule and related regulatory frameworks (LCRR, LCRI), and demonstrated experience working with WRF or research collaborators. Experience presenting at national conferences or contributing to peer-reviewed publications is a plus. An ideal candidate will possess skills in geospatial analysis, risk assessment, or environmental justice metrics, and be proficient with data tools and platforms such as Python, R, Power BI, and SQL, with the ability to translate complex datasets into actionable insights.

Why Arcadis?

We can only achieve our goals when everyone is empowered to be their best. 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. Make your mark, on your career, your colleagues, your clients, your life and the world around you.

Together, we can create a lasting legacy.

Join Arcadis. Create a Legacy.

Our Commitment to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging

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. Our ambition is to be an employer of choice and provide a great place to work for all our people. We are an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer. Women, minorities, people with disabilities and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. We are dedicated to a policy of non-discrimination in employment on any basis including race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, citizenship status, disability, veteran status, or any other basis prohibited by law.

Arcadis offers benefits for full time and part time positions. These benefits include medical, dental, and vision, EAP, 401K, STD, LTD, AD&D, life insurance, paid parental leave, reward & recognition program and optional benefits including wellbeing benefits, adoption assistance and tuition reimbursement. We offer nine paid holidays and 15 days PTO that accrue per year. The salary range for this position is $73,000 - $100,000/year. Actual salaries will vary and are based on several factors, such as experience, education, budget, internal equity, project and location.

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