Civil Engineer

Statement of Duties

Provide engineering services for city improvements and permitted activities to ensure conformance with city policies, permit conditions, applicable technical standards, plans and specifications to assure that private development, utility upgrades, and streetscape improvements are being properly executed to manage the urban environment and minimize constituent impacts.

Essential Functions:

The essential functions or duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various type of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position.

• Administer the City’s permit program for all work conducted within the public right-of-way and excavations throughout the City. Review applications for conformance with City standards and policies. Coordinate with other City staff to attach permit conditions, such as traffic management plans to mitigate construction impacts.
• Provide engineering and technical assistance to the Department of Public Works, Water & Sewer Department, and other City departments as needed to support ongoing operations and improve public utility asset management.
• Review site plans and project specifications for private developments to ensure compliance with City standards and sound engineering practices, particularly improved stormwater management to reduce flooding impacts, improve water quality, and eliminate Combined Sewer Overflows.
• Conduct field investigations or inspections and document research as needed to support the planning, design, construction, and operation of public infrastructure.
• Manage and execute requests for public infrastructure (water, sewer, drain, roadway, etc) records requests.
• Review and prepare of grants of location for private utilities within the public right of way.
• Understand water, sewer, and drainage infrastructure improvement projects.
• Act as Resident Engineer and quality inspector on minor construction projects to ensure conformance with plans, specifications, and long term reliability of utility, roadway, and sidewalk infrastructure.
• Understand and interpret City Ordinances and Engineering Department policies.
• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing and to conduct design reviews with applicants, and to respond to service requests, questions and concerns from constituents.
• Serve as point of contact for residents regarding Engineering permits, standards, and general inquiries. Provide technical information and assistance to constituent requests submitted via Engineering Division shared email and online request portal.
• Utilize Microsoft Office programs including Word, Excel, Outlook, Power Point, and other computer programs and portals such as Citizen Serve and Utility Cloud.
• Perform related duties as assigned.

Recommended Minimum Qualifications

Education and Experience

Minimum of bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from an accredited program with one to three (1-3) years of related work experience; or any equivalent combination of education, training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

Special Requirements

Successful pre-employment physical examination

Valid Class D driver’s license (recommended)

OSHA 10-hour Construction Site Safety (recommended)

Knowledge, Abilities and Skill

Knowledge: thorough knowledge of engineering standards. Knowledgeable in record keeping and report writing. General knowledge of the principles and practices of project management, work breakdown structures, communications planning, and work load management.

Abilities: Ability to produce written documents with clearly organized thoughts using proper sentence construction, punctuation and grammar; use and interpret graphical information such as construction plans, schematic drawings, flow charts, layouts and other visual aids, and electronic project management applications; ability to interpret information accurately and make decisions according to existing laws, regulations and policies; ability to manage multiple projects of various complexities with competing interest and multiple funding sources; ability to manage and coordinate contractors and outside vendors effectively on a construction site.

Skill: Proficient communication skills, both verbal and written as well as the ability to deal with the public in tense situations; proficiency with computers and Microsoft Office platform.

Work Environment

The work environment is a mix of field and office work, with the opportunity for hybrid work. The office work involves everyday discomforts typical of offices. Noise or physical surroundings may be distracting, but conditions are generally not unpleasant. The field work requires moderate intermittent physical strength and effort around navigating and assisting construction and repair sites with exposure to the elements. Additionally, the employee may occasionally be required to work beyond normal business hours in response to attend evening meetings or complete work assignments.

Physical and Mental Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the position’s essential functions.

Physical Skills

Employee will spend time in the office and in the field during construction projects. Work effort involves an equal mix of sitting, standing and walking to perform work tasks. Work requires some agility such as moving in or about construction sites or over rough terrain. There may also be some occasional lifting of objects such as books, office equipment, and computer paper (up to 30 lbs). During construction season, employee may be standing for periods longer than two to three (2-3) hours at a time, and may encounter inclement weather.

Motor Skills

Duties may involve assignments requiring application of hand and eye coordination with finger dexterity and motor coordination. Examples include operating a motor vehicle, using a personal computer, or climbing a ladder.

Visual Skills

Visual demands include constantly reading documents for general understanding and for analytical purposes, making detailed visual observations, and routinely reviewing non-written materials such as maps and blueprints for analytical purposes; the employee is required to determine color differences.

Hours: Full-Time
Salary: $81,182.41 yearly, plus benefits
Union: Non-Union
FLSA: Exempt
Date Posted: February 26, 2024

City of Somerville residents are especially encouraged to apply.

The City of Somerville is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, disability or any other protected category. Women, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures will be provided to qualified individuals with disabilities free of charge, upon request. Persons with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication (i.e., CART, ASL), written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures in order to access the programs, activities, and meetings of the City of Somerville should please contact Adrienne Pomeroy at 617-625-6600 x 2059 or apomeroy@somervillema.gov.

Pre-Employment Requirements for All Employees:

• MA Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) clearance
• Completition of Conflict-of-Interest Law Education training for municipal employees

Overview of Total Rewards:

• 4 weeks annual vacation (for non-union positions) union positions vary by contract
• Medical insurance through the Group Insurance Commission (GIC) - 80% of premium costs paid by City
• Dental coverage low and high plans through Cigna
• Vision care through Vision Service Plan (VSP)
• Long term disability through Sun Life
• Group and voluntary life insurance through Boston Mutual
• Health Care and Dependent Care flexible spending through Benefit Strategies
• Deferred compensation plans through a choice of three vendors
• Free, confidential services through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provided by E4Health
• Annual cancer screening & wellness release
• Somerville Retirement Pension System
• Tuition reimbursement
• MBTA pass program
• FREE Blue Bikes membership
• Eligible employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF)

Benefits listed are for benefits-eligible positions and the above information is meant to be a general overview of the benefit programs offered by the City of Somerville and not a binding contract.

Salary : $81,182