Job Description

Job DetailsJob Location: Salt Lake City, UTPosition Type: Full Time
Department: Forensics
Job Summary:
Lerch Bates is seeking a strategic leader with extensive experience in forensic engineering consulting and team leadership. The Director of Operations – Forensics drives operational excellence, sets standards for core values and best practices, and ensures the success of both internal teams and client outcomes.
This senior role oversees departmental operations, including revenue tracking, contracts, resource management, and forecasting, while fostering strong client relationships. The Director leads collaborative project teams, solves complex operational and strategic challenges, and guides the business group toward its goals.
About Lerch Bates:
Lerch Bates (LB) is a global technical consulting firm focused on improving how buildings perform for owners, designers, and the people who use them every day. For more than 75 years we’ve partnered on some of the world’s most complex and high‑profile projects. Today we provide Total Building Performance expertise that pairs Building Science and Building Flow with one integrated team delivery. Our work spans design, construction, investigation, repair, management and modernization with one consistent goal: helping clients make confident, well‑informed decisions in an increasingly complex Built Environment.
We are each 100% equal owners in the LB ESOP, which drives our ownership mindset and shapes everything we do. At Lerch Bates, your expertise matters, your voice carries weight and your work directly contributes to our shared success as OneLB. We invest in professional growth, collaboration, and technical excellence, supporting challenging and meaningful work alongside people who care about getting it right. If you’re motivated by solving real problems, working on impactful projects, and being part of a team that truly owns both the work and the outcome, you’re ready to be more than an employee. You’re ready to be an employee-owner.
What You’ll Do:
The duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed in this position. They are not intended to prescribe or restrict the assignments that management may make.
Leadership
Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing forensic team by identifying opportunities for technical growth, project management development, and professional advancement.
Train and coach team members by leading select projects while meeting individual utilization and performance expectations.
Conduct monthly one-on-one meetings with each direct report using a standardized meeting framework, and observe second-level reports during initial team sessions.
Oversee Business Operations Specialists by ensuring contracts are created and maintained, bi-weekly internal contract meetings occur, and periodic client outreach is completed.
Promote a culture of accountability, collaboration, and technical excellence.
Participate in company-wide initiatives and cross-functional efforts as needed
Operations
Coordinate and deliver forensic consulting projects ranging from short-term assignments to complex, long-term engagements.
Lead or co-lead resource scheduling to meet individual utilization goals, team performance targets, and revenue objectives.
Review consultant and specialist deliverables for quality, consistency, compliance, and adherence to reporting standards and timelines.
Provide a two-week lookahead to support efficient staffing and workload alignment, partnering with other leaders to resolve scheduling gaps.
Support business development efforts by providing technical insight and staffing availability for proposals.
Prepare and deliver operational reports, progress updates, and performance metrics as required.
Create, review, and submit final client invoices in alignment with Accounting timelines.
Maintain high-touch client engagement on complex, sensitive, or strategically significant projects.
Build and strengthen relationships with new and existing clients to support both near-term execution and long-term growth.
Strategic
Anticipate and communicate changes related to client needs, local markets, and industry trends.
Develop and implement strategic plans to optimize performance and mitigate operational or market challenges.
Generate and manage revenue forecasts, backlog planning, staffing strategies, and resource utilization models.
Provide bi-weekly operational updates during leadership huddles.
Own and present department-specific updates during Monthly Town Hall meetings.
Lead monthly progress-tracking meetings to evaluate performance against goals and assess staffing needs.
Co-lead the annual business planning process, including revenue and margin targets, service line expansion, staffing and training needs, and team development initiatives.
What You’ll Bring:
Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Architecture, or a related discipline.
Professional Engineer (PE) or AIA license, preferred.
Eight or more years of experience in engineering, architecture, construction management, project management, or forensic consulting.
Two or more years of business unit leadership experience, including people management, revenue accountability, growth strategy, hiring, performance management, and business development.
Strong understanding of the design and construction process from project inception through investigation.
Demonstrated technical expertise with the ability to communicate clearly and build trust with clients, colleagues, and partners.
Proven ability to coach, mentor, and develop teams.
Practical knowledge of building structures and systems.
Ability to anticipate changes in client needs, emerging technologies, and industry conditions.
Strong judgment and discretion in complex and high-impact situations.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Ability to read and interpret drawings and technical documentation.
Highly organized, adaptable, and confident multi-tasker capable of managing competing priorities and deadlines.
High level of financial acumen, including forecasting and operational planning.
Commitment to quality, consistency, organization, and attention to detail.
Why work with Lerch Bates?
Competitive compensation
Medical, dental, and vision insurance
Employee Stock Ownership Program
Generous paid time off
Incentive compensation bonus
401(k) with up to 6 percent employer match
FSA and HSA options
Charitable paid time off
Birthday bonus
Paid parental leave
Tuition reimbursement
Learning and professional development programs
Dedicated internal career development team
Exceptional company culture
Employee resource groups
Team building and networking activities
And more!
Be more than just an employee…
Lerch Bates is 100 percent employee-owned. Our employee-owners bring an ownership mindset to every project and partnership. When you join us, you join a company that values responsibility, service, and performance.
After meeting service eligibility requirements, you can participate in our Employee Stock Ownership Program, providing an opportunity for long-term wealth building and retirement savings while directly benefiting from the success you help create.
CORE Values: Ownership . Community . Integrity . Respect . Optimism
Working Environment:
This role involves both physical and mental demands and may be performed in various settings, including offices, construction sites, and confined spaces like elevator pits. Tasks often require frequent movement in multiple directions. Lerch Bates will provide reasonable accommodations upon request through Human Resources.
Physical Demands:
This role requires regular sitting, talking, and hearing in meetings and by phone. Employees must navigate tight spaces, climb ladders, move around construction sites, take measurements, and travel by car, air, or rail. Duties may involve working at heights and in confined spaces, using hands for tasks like typing and operating elevator components, and applying up to 30 lbs. of force. Close visual attention is also required.
Mental Demands:
This position requires strong written and verbal communication, problem-solving, and analytical skills. Employees must interpret complex information, apply mathematical and logical reasoning, quickly learn new skills, and manage detailed, multitask workloads under shifting deadlines. Regular interaction with executives, colleagues, clients, and external stakeholders is also expected.
Employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a pre-employment background check and drug test. The drug test includes screening for marijuana, regardless of state or local laws permitting its use. A conditional offer of employment will be rescinded if a candidate fails either the background check or the drug test. This requirement is mandated by federal regulations applicable to our government contracting obligations.
We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by law.