Sanitary Engineer (Wastewater Engineer) – Environmental Services Department

The City of San José's Environmental Services Department (ESD) is an award-winning department with a mission to deliver world-class utility services and programs to improve our health, environment, and economy. The Department is a national leader in managing garbage and recycling services; watershed protection and pollution prevention; municipal drinking water and recycled water; sustainability initiatives; and the operation and infrastructure improvements of the San José-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility. Together, ESD employees positively impact every resident and business in San José.

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!

To learn more about ESD, follow @sjenvironment on X, Facebook, and Instagram, and San José Environmental Services on LinkedIn.


About the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Division

The CIP division is responsible for planning and implementing long term capital improvement projects at the Regional Wastewater Facility (RWF).

The RWF is an advanced wastewater treatment plan that serves approximately 1.4 million residents over a 300 square mile service area. The RWF is one of the largest advanced treatment plants in the western U.S. Since 1956, it has protected public health and the environment by treating the South Bay’s wastewater and releasing clean, treated water into the South San Francisco Bay. This process supports healthy ecosystems and aligns with ESD’s mission of sustaining our communities and natural resources.

The ESD CIP division is currently comprised of 53 full-time positions that perform program administration, budget planning, project delivery, and process. engineering services. 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, respectively. This integrated team is responsible for delivering a 10-year capital improvement program estimated at $1.4 billion. RWF CIP is an exciting opportunity that stands among one of the largest construction programs in South Bay. The CIP Division is pioneering the design-build method for major wastewater projects, completing three large efforts and advancing two more using this collaborative, efficient delivery approach. About one-third of our team holds Associate DBIA or full DBIA certifications, reflecting our growing expertise. Our next milestone is the $240 million Aeration Project - the largest design-build project in CIP history.

Capital Improvement Program link: https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your-government/departments-offices/environmental-services/water-utilities/regional-wastewater-facility/capital-improvement-program

The Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is currently recruiting for multiple full-time Sanitary Engineer positions located at the San Jose/Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility (RWF).

The total annual salary range for the Sanitary Engineer position is $118,067.04 - $149,451.12. This amount includes an approximate five percent (5%) ongoing, non-pensionable pay. The actual salary will be determined based on the selected candidate’s qualifications and experience.

The incumbent in this position will be supervised by an Associate or Senior Engineer. The Sanitary Engineer will provide engineering and technical assistance in the development and delivery of wastewater capital improvement projects. The Sanitary Engineer performs a variety of professional sanitary engineering assignments of moderate difficulty at the San José-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility.

Combine your expertise with the on-the-job experience you’ll gain in CIP by working with multi-discipline engineering professionals, program management consultants, RWF operation and maintenance technicians, and San José Public Works staff. You will enjoy career development, new skills, mentoring, and the benefits of contributing to your community.

Typical duties may include but are not limited to:

• Coordinate and provide technical review of project submittals including feasibility studies, condition assessment reports, engineering calculations, conceptual design reports, 30-60-90-100% design documents, construction schedule, and construction estimates.
• Attend work meetings and record meeting minutes.
• File, store and organize consultant deliverables into project directories.
• Research and evaluate wastewater technology and equipment and make selection recommendations based on sound engineering analysis.
• Assist in the preparation of project bid packages (i.e. plans & specifications) and coordination of contractors’ bid processes.
• Evaluate, prepare, and/or coordinate responses to Requests for Information (RFI) and bid protests in a timely manner.
• Preparing technical reports, documents, and memoranda.
• Review design guidelines and evaluate their relevance to new design projects.
• Schedule, organize, prepare, and distribute meeting agendas, minutes, and/or presentation materials for meetings.
• Provide technical support during construction phase (i.e. review, prepare and coordinate responses to design related submittals, design change memos (DCM), RFIs and Potential Change Orders (PCO).
• Negotiating, preparing, and managing consultant agreements and/or construction contracts.
• Review and keep track of consultant invoices and Monthly Progress Reports.
• Participating in commissioning, post-construction process testing, and lesson learned.
• Providing technical assistance to the RWF operations and maintenance teams.
• Leading technician and intern staff in conducting field studies.

Education:
Completion of a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in an engineering science or environmental engineering.

Experience:
One (1) year of professional sanitary or closely related engineering experience.

Acceptable Substitution:
Possession of a valid Engineer-in-Training Certificate or a valid Professional Engineer Certificate issued by the State of California, or Master's reciprocal states, may be substituted for the required education. A degree with specialty in sanitary or environmental engineering may be substituted for the required experience.
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. Experience in design, bidding and/or construction of capital improvement program delivery. In addition:

• Knowledge of sanitary engineering principles and practices.
• Knowledge of wastewater treatment methods, processes and equipment, engineering mathematics and hydraulic principles.
• Knowledge of statistical software packages for data analysis, verification, and interpretation.
• Experience supporting the coordination of all phases of project delivery with contractors and consultants
• Ability to perform field inspections, engineering calculations, data analysis. Experience working with multiple stakeholders during design and delivery of capital improvement projects, including operations and maintenance staff, consultant staff, City planning and building code enforcement officials, etc.
• Experience with construction/document management systems.
• Experience with SharePoint, or other cloud-based collaboration systems.

Analytical Thinking: Approaches a problem or situation by using a logical, systematic, sequential approach.

Computer Skills: Experienced with common business computer applications including but not limited to: MS Outlook, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Access, and MS Excel, MS SharePoint, MS OneDrive.

Multi-Tasking: Can handle multiple projects and responsibilities simultaneously; has handled a wide variety of assignments in past and/or current position(s).

Planning: Acts to align own unit’s goal with the strategic direction of the organization; Defines tasks and milestones to achieve objectives, while ensuring the optimal use of resources to meet those objectives.

Teamwork & Interpersonal Skills: Develops effective relationships with co-workers and supervisors by helping others accomplish tasks and using collaboration and conflict resolution skills.

Flexibility: Makes effective decisions and achieves desired results in the midst of major changes in responsibilities, work processes, timeframes, performance expectations, organizational culture, or work environment.

Communication Skills: Effectively conveys information and expresses thoughts and facts clearly, orally and in writing; demonstrates effective use of listening skills; displays openness to other people's ideas and thoughts.

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. 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.

You must answer all job-specific questions in order to be considered for this vacancy or your application will be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration.

If you have questions about the duties of these positions, the selection or hiring processes, please contact Vaishali Vashistha at [email protected].