Civil Engineer

Overview

Application

Location: Austin, TX

Type: Full-time

Compensation: $90,000 - $180,000 annually

Company: sanctuary.co

If you’ve spent your career in environments where everything is already figured out - established civil standards, tidy workflows, and predictable processes - you won’t find that here.

We’re early, messy, and building as we go.

And that’s why this role matters.

If chaos excites you more than it scares you,

if land speaks to you,

and if you want to shape both the work and the way the work gets done…

Then keep reading….

Who we are

Sanctuary builds nature - led, wellness - centered communities that feel alive. Our first 135 acre residential community in the Texas Hill Country is designed with:

🌱 Non-toxic materials

💧 Clean water and filtration systems

⚡ EMF-conscious design

🌿 135 acres of preserved land and eco - sensitive planning

We are a global team of designers, architects, engineers, and dreamers building spaces that restore and inspire. For us, it’s not just where people live - it’s how they live.

We’re a team spread across 8 countries, building our 1st community in Austin, Texas. This is only the beginning. Our vision is to bring Sanctuary to major cities around the world: healthy, sovereign communities that sit on the edges of every modern metropolis.

And now, we’re searching for the civil engineer who can make this vision buildable in a way that honors the land.

🗺️ What this role really means

For too long, we’ve relied on outside consultants for grading, drainage, and site layout - and frankly, it slowed us down and diluted the beauty of what we’re building.

We’re bringing this role in-house because we need someone who sees land as a canvas, not a constraint.

You will literally shape how the community feels underfoot

• Roads that follow the land instead of fighting it
• Homes tucked gracefully into natural contours
• Stormwater systems that follow the logic of nature
• This is a rare chance to blend engineering, architecture, sustainability, and design into one high-impact role.
• Your impact will show up everywhere ✨

Your work determines

Pace: How fast we can build.

Aesthetics: How beautifully each home sits within the land.

Sustainability: How thoughtfully we work with nature (designing roads that follow terrain, and stormwater paths that work with natural systems).

You will be the bridge between vision and reality - the person who turns world-class architecture into something constructible, intelligent, and deeply respectful of the Hill Country terrain.

What you’ll own (end-to-end)

You will lead civil engineering for our entire community - full stop.

This includes

Site & Land Development

• Full-site grading, drainage, roadway layout, and retaining design
• Creating grading that makes every home feel naturally placed
• Topography-driven design that minimizes cuts, scars, and cost

Permitting & Approvals

Prepare and submit permit-ready civil drawing sets for

TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality)

Hays County

City of Dripping Springs

And own the entire permitting process end-to-end.

Cross-functional Design Leadership

• Work closely with global architects, designers, and MEP teams
• Collaborate daily with construction in Austin to ensure buildability
• Guide design decisions using deep knowledge of Texas codes/standards

Technical Execution

• Translate geotechnical & survey data into actionable plans
• Develop drainage models, stormwater paths, and cut-fill strategies
• Coordinate civil work packages: roads, driveways, water/sewer, utilities
• Review consultant work and integrate it into Sanctuary standards

Systems & Standards

• Build the foundation of Sanctuary’s civil engineering processes
• Create templates, workflows, and documentation that scale to future communities
• This is a role for someone who loves rolling up their sleeves, running models, walking the land, and making decisions that will shape a community for decades.
• What You Bring