Associate Engineer - Environmental Services Department

Job Description:

Associate Engineer - Environmental Services Department

Description

Our diverse and inclusive workforce of more than 7,000 employees play a key role in the success of San José, the heart of the Silicon Valley. All City of San José employees work together as one team to make San José a vibrant, innovative, and desirable place to live and work. Visit here to learn more about our One Team Leadership Values and Expectations, including quality and excellent customer service and here to learn more about San José.

The City of San José is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants for all job openings will be considered without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status or any other consideration made unlawful under any federal, state or local laws. The City of San José is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at 408-535-1285, 711 (TTY) , or via email at CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov .

About the Department

The Environmental Services Department (ESD) is a national leader in pollution prevention, watershed protection, utility service provision, and climate action. Together, ESD employees positively impact every resident and business in San Jose.

Our department is an exceptional place to start or grow your career. We have a supportive leadership team, numerous professional growth opportunities, and an inclusive workplace culture that is welcoming of your talents! We offer an array of meaningful career paths and value flexibility. Additionally, the City offers excellent health and pension benefits, as well as 15 paid holidays!

To learn more about ESD, follow @sjenvironment on X (formally Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and San Jose Environmental Services on LinkedIn.

About the Regional Wastewater Facility
The San José-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility (RWF) is one of the largest advanced wastewater treatment facilities in the nation and treats water from homes and businesses in the cities of San José, Santa Clara, Milpitas, Campbell, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, and unincorporated areas within Santa Clara County. The RWF serves a population of over 1.4 million people and has the capacity to treat 167 million gallons of wastewater per day. The Operations and Maintenance division is in charge of managing daily activities related to operation and maintenance of all aspects of the facility.

For more information, visit our website at https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your-government/departments-offices/environmental-services/water-utilities.About the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Division
The Capital Improvement Program (CIP) division is leading one of the largest public works programs in San José’s history! The division is responsible for delivering a 10-year capital improvement program estimated at $1.4 billion and assuring the future of wastewater treatment services for 1.7 million residents and 17,000 businesses.

The CIP division performs the overall planning and project delivery for all aspects of the RWF treatment process. Our engineering teams are divided into delivery packages for solids, liquids, process engineering and facilities. Our team also includes program administration and budget planning. The division is also supported by a co-located team of consultant staff and staff from the Department of Public Works, who provide program management and construction management services.

About the Water Resources Division
The Water Resources Division is comprised of three sections: Municipal Water System, South Bay Water Recycling, and Operations and Maintenance. The Water Resources Division provides potable water service through the Municipal Water System to the communities of Evergreen, North San José/Alviso, Edenvale, and Coyote. The Water Resources Division also provides recycled water service through the South Bay Water Recycling system to the cities of San José, Santa Clara, and Milpitas. South Bay Water Recycling includes 143 miles of pipeline and facilities, including four pump stations, three reservoirs, and Retail Agency Operations and Maintenance activities for over 800 individual customer connections. In addition, the Water Resources Division also leads water conservation efforts for the City of San José.

Position Duties

The Environmental Services Department is currently seeking to fill two (2) full-time Associate Engineer position in the Capital Improvement Program Division and one (1) full-time Associate Engineer position in the Water Resources Division.

The current salary range for this classification is: $135,975.84 - $172,099.20. This amount includes an approximate five percent (5%) ongoing non-pensionable pay. The actual salary shall be determined by the final candidates’ qualifications and experience.

Associate Engineer Position at Capital Improvement Program
The Capital Project Delivery section has a wide variety of responsibilities, including preparing and/or reviews designs, improvement plans, condition assessments, feasibility studies, construction estimates, specifications, and contract documents for capital improvement projects that are prepared by subordinates and/or consultants engaged by the City. Typical duties for the position include but are not limited to:

• Manages capital improvement projects from concept development to completion, i.e., overseeing, controlling, and guiding projects.
• Prepares engineering plans, project schedule, engineer’s cost estimates, budgets and specifications.
• Negotiates, drafts, and manages consultant agreements and/or construction contracts.
• Supervises staff including work prioritization, performance evaluations, training and involvement in hiring and disciplinary processes.
• Oversees the preparation and/or reviews of designs and contracts documents for various of construction projects or engineering related projects.
• Evaluates and coordinates responses for bid documents and construction documents.
• Interprets plans and specifications, resolving field problems, conducting inspection, and facilitate project acceptance procedures.
• Collaborates with construction inspectors and attends field meetings regarding problems in the field during the construction.

Associate Engineer Position at Water Resources Division
The Municipal Water System section is responsible for system operation and maintenance engineering support, and design and construction of the Municipal Water System pipeline and facilities. This includes supporting the water quality program, the conservation program, providing development related support services, ensuring availability of water supply, capital improvements, construction inspection, and engineering support to operations and maintenance.

The responsibilities of the currently vacant position specifically include 1) representing the water utility in the City’s development review process, including coordinating with external developers and engineers to review construction plans for proposed infrastructure, 2) creating and/or overseeing preparation of improvement plans, specifications, and contract documents, and 3) managing consultant/contractor agreements during project implementation.

Typical duties for the position include but are not limited to:

• Supervises staff including: prioritizing and assigning work; conducting performance evaluations; ensuring staff is trained; making hiring, termination, and disciplinary recommendations.
• Oversees the preparation and/or review of designs, improvement plans, estimates, specifications, and contract documents for construction projects or other engineering related projects.
• Directs the collection and analysis of field data and prepares recommendations.
• Reviews plans and specifications for conformance to established standards and directs the inspection of major engineering projects.
• Coordinates project management (i.e., oversees, controls, and guides the engineering project).
• Assembles plans and specifications, prepares bidding documents, solicits bids, awards contracts, administers the contract, interprets plans and specifications, resolves field problems, gives final inspection, and follows through with acceptance of project.
• Participates in the formulation and preparation of master plans.
• Prepares and coordinates consultant and testing agreements.
• Represents the City with contractors, consulting firms, and public agencies, and at public meetings concerning City policy on engineering projects.
• Interprets plans and specifications, resolves field problems, gives final inspection, and follows through with acceptance of project.

Minimum Qualifications

Education: A Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in the required professional engineering discipline or possession of an Engineer-in-Training (EIT) certificate.

Experience: Three (3) years of increasingly responsible professional engineering experience.

Acceptable Substitution: A Master’s degree from an accredited college or university in the required professional engineering discipline may be substituted for one (1) year of professional engineering experience.

Required Licensing: Possession of a valid State of California driver's license may be required.

Desirable Licensing or Certification: Possession of a Certificate of Registration as a Civil Engineer (PE) issued by the California Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists.

Other Qualifications

The ideal candidate will possess the following competencies, as demonstrated in past and current employment history. Desirable competencies for this position include:

• Job Expertise- Demonstrates knowledge of and experience with applicable professional/technical principles and practices, Citywide and departmental procedures/policies and federal and state rules and regulations.
  • Capital Improvement Program - Job Expertise
  • Proven experience in project management within the realm of capital improvement or related fields.
  • Negotiation skills with a demonstrated ability to draft and manage consultant agreements effectively.
  • Proficiency in design review, contract document preparation, bidding, and construction of capital improvement projects.
  • Knowledge of principles of design for water/wastewater systems, process engineering, and hydraulic principles.
  • Experience working with multiple stakeholders during the design of capital improvement projects, including operations and maintenance staff, consultant staff, and city planning and building code enforcement officials.
  • Excellent leadership abilities, including experience in staff supervision, performance evaluation, and team development.
• Communication Skills - Effectively conveys information and expresses thoughts and facts clearly, orally and in writing; demonstrates effective use of listening skills and displays openness to other people's ideas and thoughts.
• Initiative - Exhibits resourceful behaviors toward meeting job objectives; anticipates problems, is proactive, and avoids difficulties by planning ahead; displays willingness to assume extra responsibility and challenges; pursues continuing education opportunities that promotes job performance.
• Problem Solving - Approaches a situation or problem by defining the problem or issue; determines the significance of problem; collects information; uses logic and intuition to arrive at decisions or solutions to problems that achieve the desired outcome.
• Project Management - Ensures support for projects and implements agency goals and strategic objectives.
• Supervision - Sets effective long and short-term goals based on a good understanding of management practices; establishes realistic priorities within available resources; provides motivational support; empowers others; assigns decision-making and work functions to others in an appropriate manner to maximize organizational and individual effectiveness.
• Teamwork & Interpersonal Skills - Develops effective relationships with co-workers and supervisors by helping others accomplish tasks and using collaboration and conflict resolution skills.

Selection Process
The selection process will consist of an evaluation of the applicant's training and experience based on the application and responses to all the job specific questions. You must answer all questions to be considered or your application may be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Applicants are expected to write their own essays/responses. Please be advised that use of AI content in your responses may result in your removal from the hiring process. Only those candidates whose backgrounds best match the position will be invited to proceed in the selection process. Additional phases of the selection process will consist of one or more interviews.

If you have questions about the duties of these positions, the selection or hiring processes, please contact Angela Tea at Angela.Tea@sanjoseca.gov.

Additional Information:

Employment Eligibility: Federal law requires all employees to provide verification of their eligibility to work in this country. Please be informed that the City of San Jose will NOT sponsor, represent or sign any documents related to visa applications/transfers for H1-B or any other type of visa which requires an employer application.

You must answer all job-specific questions to be considered for this vacancy or your application will be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Applicants are expected to write their own essays/responses. Please be advised that use of AI content in your responses may result in your removal from the hiring process.

Please note that applications are currently not accepted through CalOpps or any other third party job board application system.

This recruitment may be used to fill multiple positions in this, or other divisions or departments. If you are interested in employment in this classification, you should apply to ensure you are considered for additional opportunities that may utilize the applicants from this recruitment.

Please allow adequate time to complete the application and submit before the deadline or the system may not save your application. If your online application was successfully submitted, you will receive an automatic confirmation email to the email address you provided. IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE THE CONFIRMATION, please email CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov and we will research the status of your application.

The City of San Jose offers a wide range of core health benefits including Medical, Dental, Vision, Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance, Disability, and Savings Plans. Please visit the City's benefits pagefor detailed information on coverage, cost, and dependent coverage.

For information on the City’s Retirement Plan(pension for full-time employees), please visit the Office of Retirement Services website. You will be able to view information based on different Sworn/Federated job classification.

In additional to the benefits above, there is an additional perks siteto explore further benefits of working for the City of San Jose like paid leave, educational reimbursements, and holiday pay are specific to the job classification and union membership.

Closing Date/Time: 9/21/2025 11:59 PM Pacific

Salary:

$135,975.84 - $172,099.20 Annually