Tetra Tech Inc. late Thursday said that David King resigned as chief financial officer and treasurer to accept a position with a solar company based in China.

The Pasadena engineering and consulting firm said Steve Burdick, senior vice president and corporate controller, has been named acting chief financial officer and treasurer effective immediately. Burdick earlier was CFO at Aura Systems Inc. and TRW Ventures, and spent 12 years at Ernst & Young.

The company will begin a search for a new controller.

“We congratulate David on his exciting new opportunity and thank him for his contributions,” said Chief Executive Dan Batrack in a statement. “Tetra Tech is fortunate to have a strong executive team, including such talent as Steve, who is a Tetra Tech veteran.”

Shares earlier closed down 57 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $23.06 on the Nasdaq.