Director of Concrete Science

Job Summary

The Director of Concrete Science is AET's senior technical authority on concrete materials and an individual contributor role. The Director sets the technical direction for mix design work, durability enhancement, materials testing, petrography and other forensic work; and personally leads AET's most complex concrete projects. The Director will drive business development for concrete services and serve as the senior relationship owner for a portfolio of key clients. The Director will also mentor and train senior and junior professionals across AET's technical teams, so the firm's concrete expertise grows well beyond the Director's own billable hours. The role comes at a pivotal time, as owners and agencies push to cut embodied carbon, extend service life and adopt performance-based specifications, and AET wants to be the firm they call first.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

Reasonable accommodations or workable solutions may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

Technical Leadership

• Set the technical vision and research roadmap for AET's concrete materials services, including low-carbon binders, supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), admixtures and alternative aggregates.
• Oversee mix design development, optimization and qualification for structural, mass, precast, high-performance and specialty concretes.
• Lead durability and service-life evaluations: alkali-silica reaction, sulfate attack, freeze-thaw, chloride ingress, corrosion and shrinkage cracking.
• Direct forensic investigations and failure analyses, and author or approve expert reports, including litigation support and expert testimony where required.
• Ensure laboratory and field testing meets ASTM, AASHTO, ACI, USACE, and applicable state DOT standards, and support AET's accreditations (e.g., AASHTO re:source, CCRL, ISO/IEC 17025) and USACE validations.
• Serve as final technical reviewer on high-risk or high-value concrete making materials deliverables.
• Facilitate the documentation of technical knowledge in the form of Standards and Practices, and promote knowledge sharing across the Business Groups.
• Track regulatory and market shifts, such as embodied-carbon requirements, Buy Clean policies, EPDs and performance-based specifications, and turn them into service offerings.

Business Development

• Work closely with leadership to develop and execute long-term growth plans for concrete services, with targets for revenue, backlog, win rate and new markets.
• Identify and pursue opportunities with owners, DOTs, contractors, ready-mix and precast producers, cement, SCM, and admixture manufacturers, design firms, insurers and law firms.
• Support major pursuit coordination, including capture planning, pre-proposal visits, proposal preparation with technical and marketing staff, presentations and negotiations.
• Develop new service lines where demand is emerging, such as low-carbon mix qualification, embodied-carbon consulting, performance specification support and research partnerships.
• Maintain a qualified pipeline in the CRM, with accurate forecasts reported [monthly / quarterly].
• Drive thought leadership within AET and the industry through conference presentations, technical papers, webinars, client seminars and ACI/ASTM committee work, to elevate AET's profile.
• Establish partnerships with subconsultants, universities and industry professional organizations to augment AET's capabilities and advance the state of practice.
• Collaborate with other disciplines and Business Groups to cross-sell concrete expertise and advance innovative concepts for AET's clients.

Key Client Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior relationship owner and trusted technical advisor for a portfolio of dozens of key client accounts.
• Build an account plan for each key client covering priorities, upcoming programs, decision-makers, growth targets and risks.
• Hold regular relationship reviews, at least quarterly, to assess performance, gather feedback and surface new needs.
• Expand key relationships from single projects into master service agreements, multi-year programs and preferred-provider status.
• Personally lead key clients' most critical or sensitive work, including disputes, failures and high-visibility projects.
• Resolve escalations quickly, and ensure commitments to clients are met on quality, schedule and budget.
• Track account health using revenue, margin, repeat-work rate and client satisfaction, and act upon early warning signs.

Technical Mentorship

• Mentor and train senior and junior engineers, scientists, petrographers and laboratory technicians on concrete materials, test interpretation and report writing.
• Coach project managers and staff on client communication, scoping and business development.
• Lead technical training, lunch-and-learns and case-study reviews across AET's footprint.
• Provide peer review and guidance on complex or high-risk projects led by others.
• Strategically identify technical expertise gaps, and work with the Business Groups to identify key hires.
• Support staff pursuing PE licensure and ACI certifications, and help develop technical career paths.
• Advise leadership on laboratory capabilities and equipment investment for concrete work.

Safety Responsibilities

• Adhere to all AET safety policies, procedures, and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Maintain a safe work environment by identifying and reporting hazards, unsafe conditions, incidents, and near misses.
• Properly wear and utilize all required personal protective equipment (PPE) and safety equipment.
• Participate in safety meetings, training programs, inspections, and other safety-related activities as required or assigned.
• Exercise stop-work authority when an imminent danger presents a risk of serious injury or death and immediately notify supervision.
• Demonstrate personal accountability for safety and actively promote a culture of safety through safe work practices, awareness, and collaboration.

Supervisory Responsibility

• None. This is an individual contributor role.
• Provides technical mentoring and may provide work direction to engineers, petrographers and laboratory technicians on assigned projects.

Qualification & Education Requirements

• Undergraduate degree, in civil engineering, materials science or a related field, with a focus on cementitious materials.
• 12 or more years of progressive experience in concrete materials, including 5 or more years mentoring engineers and technical staff.
• Deep knowledge of cement chemistry, SCMs, admixtures, mix design, durability mechanisms and test methods.
• Working command of ACI, ASTM and AASHTO standards and state DOT specifications.
• Proven record of winning work, including originating clients, leading proposals and meeting sales or backlog targets.
• Experience managing senior client relationships and resolving high-stakes technical issues.
• Proficient in all Microsoft Office applications.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills, including explaining complex science to non-technical audiences.

Preferred Skills

• MS, or PhD in civil engineering, materials science or a related field, with a focus on cementitious materials
• Professional Engineer (PE) license, or eligibility to obtain one within [12] months.
• ACI certifications and active ACI or ASTM committee involvement.
• Experience with low-carbon concrete, EPDs, life-cycle assessment or performance-based specifications.
• Forensic and expert-witness experience.
• Strong publication and presentation record, and an established network across owners, contractors and producers.
• Laboratory accreditation and quality-system experience.
• Ability to develop and implement creative/innovative solutions to a wide range of problems.
• Skill in reviewing contract terms and conditions and making recommendations for final review by company officer.
• Ability to work at industrial and construction sites and perform field work, including collecting samples and cores, operating field instruments, following procedures, arranging job logistics, and documenting field activities and data collected.

Pay Transparency

Base compensation is expected to be in the range of $140,000 - $160,000 per year based on skill set and experience. AET offers a comprehensive benefits package, including health benefits, insurance, Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), long term savings, paid time off, and professional development opportunities. The selected candidate must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. without requiring visa sponsorship now or in the future.

Work Environment

This job primarily operates in a remote professional office environment, with regular work at AET's St. Paul, MN office and laboratory. This position also may require field work in outdoor conditions on construction sites with uneven ground and adverse weather conditions. This role routinely uses standard office and laboratory equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers and microscopes.

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job:

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear.
• The employee frequently is required to stand; walk; use hands or finger, handle or feel; and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to sit; climb or balance, and stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to [50] pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus.

Other Duties

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.

Third Party Disclosure
Notice to Third Party Agencies: AET does not accept unsolicited resumes from third party recruiting firms. Absent a signed Service Agreement by AET's Chief People Officer (CPO), AET reserves the right to pursue and hire these candidates without financial obligation to recruiters or agencies.