Key Takeaways
PFAS Is No Longer Just a Technology Problem
For the past several years, the PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) conversation in the US has been dominated by treatment options, regulatory thresholds, testing methods, and funding. Those issues still matter, but they are no longer the only problem. In many cases, they are not even the main problem.
Most utilities now know the broad treatment routes available to them. Granular activated carbon, ion exchange, reverse osmosis, and other advanced treatment approaches are no longer theoretical. The challenge is getting from technical possibility to operational performance, and that depends on people.
This is where the market is tightening. A treatment system can be designed on paper, funded through federal or state programs, and approved through procurement, but it still needs professionals who understand how to move that project through pilot testing, design review, installation, commissioning, optimization, reporting, and long-term compliance. That is where many programs will either move forward or stall.
The uncomfortable truth for utilities and engineering firms is this: PFAS project timelines will not only be shaped by regulation, capital, or procurement. They will increasingly be shaped by whether the right technical people are available at the right time.
Why Water Hiring in the US Has Become So Urgent
In April 2024, the EPA finalized the first national drinking water regulation. The rule established enforceable limits for several chemical compounds, including PFOA and PFOS, and created new requirements for public water systems around monitoring, public notification, and treatment where levels exceed the standards.
The EPA has since proposed an implementation framework that would allow eligible public water systems to request up to two additional years, until 2031, to comply with enforceable limits for PFOA and PFOS. That proposed extension is important, but it should not be mistaken for breathing room that removes urgency. It is better understood as recognition that implementation is difficult, especially for systems that need to plan, fund, construct, commission, and operate complex treatment solutions (EPA).
The scale of the challenge is significant. When the 2024 rule was finalized, reporting indicated that EPA expected around 6% to 10% of approximately 66,000 covered public drinking water systems may need to take action to reduce PFAS levels. Even at the lower end, that represents thousands of systems moving toward assessment, engineering, treatment selection, capital planning, and delivery.
That volume of activity does not happen without talent. It requires engineers who understand treatment selection, specialists who can interpret pilot data, project managers who can coordinate delivery, compliance professionals who can manage reporting, and commissioning teams who can make systems perform in the real world.
This is why hiring has become so competitive. The regulatory pressure has arrived faster than the workforce pipeline can respond.
Funding Exists. Delivery Capacity Is the Problem.
One of the biggest misconceptions around PFAS is that money solves the problem. Funding helps, but funding does not design treatment systems, interpret breakthrough curves, troubleshoot media performance, or manage compliance reporting.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated $9 Billion specifically to address PFAS and other emerging contaminants in drinking water, with an additional $12 billion available for general drinking water improvements that can include treatment.
That level of investment creates opportunity, but it also creates pressure. As more utilities move from investigation to implementation, the same technical skill sets are being pulled in several directions at once. Consulting firms need engineers to deliver studies and designs. OEMs need applications specialists to support technology selection and client engagement. Utilities need internal capability to oversee projects, operate systems, and maintain compliance.
The result is not simply “more PFAS jobs in the USA.” It is a market where a small number of genuinely experienced professionals are being asked to support a growing national workload.
This is where specialist recruitment becomes a strategic risk. A utility may secure funding and still struggle to execute because it cannot access the right expertise. A consultancy may win work and then find its delivery team stretched across too many projects. An OEM may have the right technology but not enough applications or field support talent to meet demand.
It is no longer a question of whether the sector has solutions. It is a question of whether the sector has enough people who can deliver those solutions at scale.
The Roles Creating the Biggest Bottlenecks
Not all hiring is equally difficult. Some roles are proving far more challenging than others because they sit at the point where technical depth, regulatory knowledge, and practical delivery experience overlap.
PFAS Treatment Engineers
Water treatment engineers are in demand because they help organizations move from contamination data to treatment strategy. This is not the same as hiring a general water engineer. The right person needs to understand how different technologies behave under real operating conditions, including influent variability, competing contaminants, media life, waste streams, and long-term performance expectations.
A candidate who has worked only on conventional treatment may have valuable experience, but that does not automatically make them ready to lead PFAS-specific treatment planning. This is where many hiring processes become misaligned. The job title looks familiar, but the capability requirement is much more specific.
For hiring managers, the key question is not “has this person worked in water treatment?” It is “has this person worked on the kind of treatment challenge we are actually facing?”
Applications Engineers
Applications engineers are becoming increasingly important because these projects often require careful translation between technology, client need, site constraints, and performance expectations. These professionals help bridge the gap between a treatment solution and a practical, defensible application.
This is especially important for OEMs and technology providers, where the applications engineer is often the person who helps utilities and consultants understand what will work, what will not, and what trade-offs need to be considered. They need technical confidence, commercial awareness, and enough project understanding to advise without overselling.
That combination is difficult to find. Strong applications engineers are rarely sitting on the market waiting to be approached. They are usually embedded in active project pipelines and being relied upon heavily by their current employers.
Commissioning and Start-Up Specialists
One of the biggest mistakes organizations make is assuming that once the system is designed and installed, the hardest part is over. In treatment, commissioning and start-up capability can be the difference between a project that reaches compliance-ready performance and one that struggles in the field.
Commissioning specialists understand how systems behave outside the design document. They know how to troubleshoot flow, pressure, media performance, controls, sampling, and operational handover. They can identify whether a system is underperforming because of design assumptions, operating conditions, installation issues, or process control problems.
This expertise is becoming a major bottleneck because many projects are now moving from planning into delivery. The sector does not just need people who can design systems. It needs people who have repeatedly helped bring systems online and optimize them for compliance.
Environmental Compliance Professionals
PFAS regulation has increased the pressure on compliance teams. Monitoring, reporting, public communication, regulatory interpretation, and documentation are all becoming more demanding, particularly for utilities already managing aging infrastructure and limited internal resources.
The challenge is that compliance is not purely administrative. It requires people who can understand technical data, communicate with engineers and regulators, and identify risks before they become failures. In smaller utilities, one person may be expected to carry responsibilities that would be distributed across a larger team elsewhere.
This is why compliance hiring cannot be treated as a back-office function. The right compliance professional protects the organization from regulatory, operational, and reputational risk.
Project Managers With PFAS Delivery Experience
These projects are complex because they sit at the intersection of regulation, public health, funding, engineering, procurement, construction, and operations. A project manager who has delivered general infrastructure work may be capable, but PFAS introduces additional complexity around stakeholder scrutiny, treatment performance, and regulatory milestones.
The strongest project managers in this space understand that delivery is not just about schedule and budget. It is about coordinating technical decisions that have compliance consequences. That requires enough technical literacy to ask the right questions and enough leadership experience to keep multiple parties aligned.
These candidates are difficult to find because they are valuable to almost every organization in the supply chain.
Why Traditional Recruitment Approaches Are Falling Short
The problem with recruitment is not that organizations are doing nothing. Many are posting roles, contacting agencies, searching LinkedIn, and reviewing candidates. The issue is that these methods often only reach the visible part of the market.
The strongest candidates are usually not active job seekers. They are already employed, often on critical projects, and often aware that their skills are in demand. They may not respond to a generic message about a “great opportunity,” especially if that message does not show a real understanding of their technical background or the work they care about.
This is where broad recruitment tactics fall down. Keyword matching can identify people who mention PFAS, GAC, IX, membranes, or compliance on a resume, but it cannot reliably identify whether they have the right depth of experience. It cannot tell whether someone has supported pilot testing or full-scale implementation. It cannot separate theoretical exposure from hands-on delivery.
Technical hiring requires sharper qualification. It requires asking better questions about project stage, treatment technology, regulatory involvement, troubleshooting experience, and candidate motivation. Without that, hiring managers end up with shortlists that look plausible on paper but do not solve the real problem.
What Candidates in PFAS Actually Care About
Organizations often assume that salary is the main lever in a tight talent market. Compensation matters, especially when demand is rising, but it is rarely the only reason strong engineers move.
Specialists are often motivated by the technical quality of the work. They want to know whether the project is meaningful, whether the organization is serious about delivery, and whether they will have the resources and authority to do the job properly. They also want to understand the long-term career path, especially in a market where expertise is likely to remain valuable for years.
This matters because many job descriptions fail to communicate the opportunity properly. They describe duties, reporting lines, and required qualifications, but they do not explain why the role matters or what the candidate will actually influence.
A strong candidate does not need another list of responsibilities. They need to understand the technical challenge, the project pipeline, the leadership environment, the level of autonomy, and the reason the role exists.
That is where specialist recruitment changes the conversation. It is not just about finding names. It is about positioning the opportunity in a way that respects how experienced engineers make career decisions.
How Utilities and Engineering Firms Can Reduce the PFAS Talent Bottleneck
Organizations that treat hiring as a last-minute recruitment exercise will struggle. The demand curve is too steep, and the candidate pool is too limited. A better approach starts earlier and connects hiring strategy to project delivery.
1. Map talent needs before the project reaches delivery
Many organizations wait until treatment selection or implementation is already underway before identifying the people they need. By that point, competition is high and timelines are tight. Workforce planning should sit alongside technical and capital planning from the start.
This means identifying which roles will be needed at each stage, from assessment and pilot testing through design, procurement, commissioning, operations, and compliance. It also means being honest about what capability already exists internally and where external hiring will be required.
2. Define PFAS experience precisely
“PFAS experience” is too broad to be useful. A candidate who has supported sampling is different from a candidate who has designed treatment systems. A candidate who has reviewed pilot data is different from one who has commissioned a full-scale system.
Hiring teams need to define whether they require experience in technology selection, pilot testing, process design, applications engineering, commissioning, regulatory reporting, project management, or operations. The more precise the brief, the easier it becomes to identify the right people and avoid wasting time on near-fit candidates.
3. Engage passive candidates with a real story
The best candidates are not waiting for a job ad. They need to be approached with a message that is specific, credible, and relevant to their background.
That means explaining the project, the technical challenge, the organization’s commitment, and why the opportunity is worth considering. Generic outreach does not work in a specialist market where candidates are already being contacted regularly.
4. Move quickly once the right candidate is identified
Candidates with strong experience are unlikely to remain available for long. Slow interview processes, unclear decision-making, and extended approval cycles give competitors an opportunity to move first.
Speed does not mean rushing the process. It means aligning stakeholders before the search begins, agreeing what good looks like, and removing unnecessary delays between stages.
5. Build retention into the hiring strategy
Attracting the right talent is only part of the challenge. Retaining it matters just as much, particularly when competitors are actively targeting the same people.
Retention depends on more than salary. It requires meaningful work, credible leadership, clear development opportunities, and the sense that the organization is serious about building long-term capability rather than simply filling an immediate gap.
Where TSC Fits Into the Hiring Challenge
Recruitment is not a volume game. It is a precision exercise.
The organizations that succeed will not be the ones that receive the most resumes. They will be the ones that understand exactly what capability they need, where that capability sits in the market, and how to engage it before competitors do.
At The Sterling Choice, we work with utilities, engineering consultancies, OEMs, and environmental service providers to identify and secure specialist talent across water, wastewater, engineering, and PFAS-related hiring in the US. Our focus is on understanding the role behind the job title, qualifying candidates for real-world delivery, and helping clients access talent that is rarely active on the open market.
That matters because the difference between the right hire and the wrong hire is not small. It can affect project timelines, compliance readiness, operational performance, and long-term risk.
Need to Hire Specialist Talent?
If you are hiring for engineers, applications specialists, commissioning and start-up professionals, compliance experts, or project delivery leaders, the challenge is rarely just candidate availability. More often, it is access, qualification, and positioning.
The Sterling Choice helps organizations across the US reach the specialist talent that job boards and general searches often miss. We focus on the people who can turn strategy into operational delivery.
If your project depends on securing the right technical capability, speak with our team.
Because the next phase of PFAS delivery will not be won by the organizations with the best intentions. It will be won by the organizations with the right people in place.
Contact TSC for more information on our water and wastewater recruitment.
