The Senior Project Engineer, under the direction of the City Engineer, will manage the development, funding, design, right-of-way acquisition, and construction of capital projects for the City of Maple Valley.  This position can significantly influence quality, schedule, costs, and public confidence.  Therefore, the Senior Project Engineer has oversight responsibility for all aspects of the budgets and schedules for assigned capital projects. The Senior Project Engineer will provide support to the Public Works Department in determining and implementing the necessary public improvements needed to meet the goals and policies of the City of Maple Valley’s Comprehensive Plan, the Six Year Transportation Improvement Program, environmental permitting requirements, Public Works Road Standards, and engineering standards.

The Senior Project Engineer will manage the planning, development, and implementation of a variety of Public Works programs including: the City’s Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan, Comprehensive Solid Waste, Recyclables and Yard and Food Waste Collection Contract and Franchise programs, the grant funded Solid Waste, residential and business recycling programs and will serve as the city representative to the Metropolitan Solid Waste Management Advisory Committee.

The Senior Project Engineer manages Public Works capital improvement projects, adopt-a-road program, procures and administers service contracts, grants, interlocal agreements with other agencies, and prepares and presents material for presentation to the Maple Valley City Council.

This is a full-time FLSA Exempt position, not eligible for overtime compensation.

Essential Job Functions

The Senior Project Engineer:

• Assists the Public Works Director and City Engineer in determining necessary capital projects, including the Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) and other public works capital improvement plans
• Provides public outreach and facilitates public open houses for capital projects
• Assists in grant applications for proposed capital projects
• Provides excellent communication to the public, both in writing and orally
• Exercises independent judgment and flexibility in developing methods, techniques, and processes for evaluating and/or obtaining project results
• Defines and performs essential project management including management of scope, quality, schedule, cost estimates & actual costs, budget for implementation & management of assigned projects, capital project design and resource planning, risk personnel, consultants/contractor, contracts, and communications
• Works with WSDOT Local Programs and PSRC on managing federal or state funding for capital projects and with different WSDOT divisions on planning, design, ROW, and construction phases of capital projects on state routes
• Is responsible for contract development, advertising, public bidding, and contract award process required to implement assigned capital projects, assuring contract compliance after award
• Serves as the City’s project manager for hired consultant teams performing preliminary engineering, environmental and geotechnical documentation, right-of-way acquisition, and final design process of City capital projects
• Reviews, determines the legitimacy, and approves consultant project schedule, invoices, and tracks monthly progress and budget
• Manages the development of plans and schedules for the timely acquisition of right-of-way and resolving utility issues
• Reviews progress payments for construction management consultants and contractors
• Reviews design documents for design and construction issues at all stages of development
• Facilitates and secures the timely review by others, including utility and regulatory agencies, during the design process
• Prepares reports and other documents as necessary concerning assigned projects for the City Council, City Manager, staff, funding, and regulatory agencies
• Selects or recommends design consultants and general contractors using City of Maple Valley processes; and negotiates planning, design, and construction contracts and associated change orders for assigned projects
• Coordinates engineering plan review comments from other city departments and consultants
• Coordinates with the city’s Construction Inspector regarding permitted work in progress to ensure that projects are completed in compliance with approved plans and specifications, and with applicable regulations and standards; additionally, this position may be required to perform construction management and inspections as necessary
• Prepares red-line comments on plans, specification and estimates of probable costs for infrastructure
• Manages contracts for on-call geotechnical services, solid waste consultant services, and on-call tree trimming services, and other public works engineering on-call services
• Coordinates with franchise utilities to ensure minimal infrastructure conflicts, this may include distribution of engineering plans and facilitation of comment resolution meetings during planning, design, and construction phases of capital projects  
• Reviews and approves engineering designs, bid specifications, contracts and other documents requiring Professional Engineer’s experience
• Assists in updating Transportation, Environmental Quality, and Capital Facilities Elements of the City’s Comprehensive Plan, and applicable areas of the Municipal Code
• Assists in Municipal Code amendments related to street standards
• Prepares agenda items and presentations and attends City Council meetings and other commission meetings as needed
• Manages the comprehensive solid waste contracts and franchise agreements, including contract development and design, assembling and facilitating evaluation teams and presenting recommendations to City Council. Conducts contract negotiations, pre-roll out development and post roll out contract implementation; manages the city’s  Solid Waste Interlocal Agreement with King County, tracks regulatory and contract compliance of hauler agreements;  reviews and recommends annual rate adjustments; publishes related newsletter articles; reviews haulers monthly reports; addresses customer issues; coordinates specialty programs to reduce waste and increase recycling service and volume; and  attends monthly Metropolitan Solid Waste Management Advisory Committee meetings  
• Administers the solid waste grant programs to include acquiring grants from various agencies to provide residents and businesses with special collection recycling events, selects consultants, submits reimbursement requests and grant required records and reports
• Manages the Adopt-A-Road volunteer program and coordinates other walk-in volunteer projects such as Eagle Scout projects. Reports quarterly volunteer hours
• Tracks and reports on compost use by the city, whether used by the city in general landscaping maintenance or used in CIP projects
• Works actively with citizens, citizen groups, Homeowner Associations, and local business, as necessary, to respond to requests from the public regarding capital projects and infrastructure impacts
• Trains and mentors junior engineering staff
• Other duties as assigned

CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS

 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities include:

• Excellent communication, negotiation, project management, and problem-solving skills are required.
• Ability to make decisions under pressure, in the field, in order to implement contract provisions and/or change orders
• Ability to communicate effectively with professionals, co-workers, elected officials, utility agencies, and contractors both orally and in writing
• Demonstrated working knowledge of APWA and WSDOT design standards and specifications, the review of engineering documents and public works construction procedures
• Experience in managing federal or state funded capital projects
• Experience in reviewing right of way plans and resolving utility conflicts
• Knowledge of civil engineering principles, practices, and methods, including but not limited to traffic engineering, storm drainage systems, streets, utilities, clearing and grading, geotechnical and structural engineering
• Knowledge of civil engineering construction standards and inspection methods and techniques
• Knowledge of pertinent Federal, State, and local laws, codes, and regulations related to civil engineering, public works, and environmental mitigation, not limited to but including SEPA and/or NEPA environmental review requirements associated with municipal public works design and construction
• Knowledge of King County Surface Water Design Manual and Washington Fish and Wildlife Hydraulic Project Approval (HPA) permits, SEPA, and Army Corps of Engineers permitting process.
• Knowledge of general computer applications, transportation and storm-water software, computer aided drafting and design software CADD, and Geographic Information Systems
• Commitment to the public sector performance and accountability standards

 Education and experience:

• A bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, or related engineering degree
• Washington State PE registration, or ability to obtain registration within six months
• Five years of professional engineering experience in a municipal or related public works department, or equivalent private sector experience
• An equivalent combination of education and experience will be considered

Special Requirements:

• Position requires occasional evening and weekend hours
• Valid Washington State Driver’s License or the ability to obtain one by start of employment
• Must be insurable by the city’s insurance carrier
• Valid CPR/First Aid/AED certification or able to obtain within two months of employment
• Ability to pass a criminal background check
• All staff positions at the city are required to be available to report to work during off hours in case of emergency and perform duties as assigned

 Physical Requirements:

• This position will work primarily in an office environment with some trips to construction sites, roadways, or drainage facilities to collect data or perform inspections.
• Office environment-walking standing, and lifting records, boxes, and objects up to 40 pounds; fine motor skills; auditory, verbal, and visual ability
• Outdoors environment-ability to negotiate safely in a traffic environment or the rough terrain of a construction site

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 these essential functions.