Senior Civil Engineer

THE CITY OF OCEANSIDE IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.

About Oceanside’s Water Utilities Department & Our Engineering Division

The Oceanside Water Utilities Department is an innovative and forward-looking organization whose goal is to ensure ongoing access to safe and affordable drinking water, reliable wastewater collection and treatment services, and environmental sustainability by maintaining top talent, resource resiliency, dependability, and system efficiency.

The Department is looking for a highly skilled and experienced Senior Civil Engineer – Development-focused with enthusiasm to also manage capital projects. If this is you, we want you to join our Water Utilities Department. This is a unique opportunity to play a critical role in shaping the community by ensuring development and capital projects meet the City’s high standards for infrastructure planning and sustainability. This division is responsible for overseeing development impacts to existing utility systems and capital infrastructure related to water, sewer, recycled water, and advanced treated water.

About Our System 

The Oceanside Water Utilities Department owns and operates:

• Two wastewater treatment plants
• One water treatment plant
• One recycled water treatment plant
• One advanced water purification facility – Pure Water Oceanside!
• One groundwater purification facility
• Twelve reservoirs
• Dozens of booster pump stations and 32 lift stations
• Hundreds of miles of water and wastewater pipelines

We take pride in delivering high-quality services to our residents and are committed to sustainable, forward-thinking development.

About the position 

In this pivotal role, you will oversee development projects from concept to completion, ensuring the City’s infrastructure is equipped to support proposed developments. Your work will span the entire project lifecycle—from evaluating feasibility during the early planning stages, to reviewing designs, to collaborating with inspectors during construction. This involves ensuring that entitlement submittals, engineering and improvement plans adhere to City, state and federal standards, codes, regulations, and policies. This position offers a unique opportunity to shape Oceanside’s growth while delivering projects that meet both community and developer needs.

Specific tasks for this role include supervising and mentoring two staff engineers, reviewing plans, maps, permits, legal descriptions, easements and encroachment agreements for water infrastructures; evaluating the impacts of development on the City’s water, sewer, and recycled water systems; preparing conditions of approval; participating in the preparation and update of standard engineering specifications, design standards, and master planning; preparing organized, clear, and concise correspondence, memoranda, conditions of approval, agreements, and technical reports; overseeing projects with respect to timelines, quality, compliance and documentation; and communicating and coordinating proposed development project infrastructure improvements with planned capital improvement projects.

While this position will primarily support development-related efforts, the Senior Civil Engineer will also be expected to lead or mentor staff on capital improvement projects. This includes serving as a project manager for the planning, design, or construction of water or sewer infrastructure projects. The ability to contribute to both development review and capital project delivery is essential, as the City values a well-rounded engineering team with diverse technical experience and a comprehensive understanding of public infrastructure development.

You should be excited about this opportunity because you will…

• Have a Meaningful Impact that shapes Oceanside’s infrastructure and enhances the quality of life for our customers.
• Work in a Collaborative Team of passionate and dedicated professionals.
• Grow Professionally by taking on diverse and challenging projects that expand your expertise.
• Ensure safe and compliant developments by reviewing development plans.
• Collaborate with developers, contractors, consultants, residents, utility staff, City Council Commissioners, other departments, and outside agencies.
• Be able to supervise, train, and mentor staff water engineers.
• Leverage your in-depth understanding of engineering regulations related to land development, water utilities, and environmental compliance.

Who we are looking for…

The ideal candidate is an innovative problem-solver with a knack for balancing developer needs and City goals. They must hold a Professional Engineer (PE) license in Civil Engineering and have excellent written and verbal communication skills. Experience with water and sewer infrastructure design, development, and public agencies is desirable, along with a background in design, hydraulic modeling, and infrastructure construction. The position requires a proactive, solutions-oriented professional who is committed to excellence, demonstrates exceptional leadership skills, and can effectively mentor and guide staff. The ability to collaborate with stakeholders and manage high-profile projects is also essential.

Apply Today!

Be a part of a city that values innovation, sustainability, and community engagement. Together, let’s build a thriving future for Oceanside!

Examples of Duties

Senior Civil Engineer reviews residential, commercial and industrial development projects for conformance with City, State and Federal requirements; supervises and coordinates City CIP projects including subdivision inspections and plan review and approval; participates in the development and implementation of goals, objectives, policies and priorities; recommends and implements resulting policies and procedures; coordinates design work and plan checking for subdivisions submitted by private engineers; writes specifications and prepares cost estimates; ensures project conformance with recognized City, State and Federal standards; represents Water Utilities at conferences, meetings, hearings and to regulatory agencies; resolves construction disputes between the City and developers, contractors and the public; attends Planning Commission meetings; coordinates CIP projects with Planning Commission; works with various outside agencies in the coordination and completion of projects; performs related duties and responsibilities as required. 

Minimum Qualifications

Knowledge of:

• Principles and practices of civil engineering including design, construction and maintenance requirements of subdivision development.
• Advanced engineering mathematics.
• Construction materials, methods and practices.
• Methods and techniques of conducting engineering inspections.
• Principles and practices of engineering project management.
• Methods and techniques of engineering plan review and approval.
• Principles of supervision.
• Pertinent Federal, State and local laws, codes and regulations.

Ability to:

• Supervise, direct and coordinate the work of professional engineering staff.
• Perform complex civil engineering duties including design work and the preparation of specifications and drawings.
• Review residential, commercial and industrial development projects for conformance with City, State and Federal requirements.
• Supervise and coordinate City CIP projects including subdivision inspections and plan review and approval.
• Read and interpret various engineering designs, plans and specifications.
• Ensure project conformance with recognized City, State and Federal standards.
• Resolve construction disputes between the City and developers, contractors and the public.
• Negotiate, prepare and administer contracts.
• Prepare clear and concise reports.
• Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
• Establish and maintain effective relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

Experience and Training

Experience: Six years of increasingly responsible civil engineering experience including two years of supervisory responsibility.

Training: Equivalent to a Bachelors degree from an accredited college or university in civil engineering or a related field.

License/Certificate: 

• A current, or ability to obtain, a valid, California driver’s license. 
• Possession of registration as a Professional Engineer (PE) in the State of California.

 

Working Conditions and Selection Process

Environmental Conditions:  Office environment; exposure to computer screens.

Physical Conditions: Essential functions may require maintaining physical condition necessary for sitting for prolonged periods of time; visual acuity to read and interpret engineering specifications and drawings.

Selection Process: All properly completed applications will be reviewed and the most appropriately qualified individuals will be invited to continue in the selection process. Failure to provide all required application materials will result in disqualification from the selection process. The process may include any combination of written exam, oral exam, and/or skills assessment to further evaluate job-related qualifications. Candidates who successfully complete the selection process will be placed on the Eligibility List for a minimum of six months.

Note: Prospective employees will undergo, and must successfully pass, a background reference check (including fingerprinting) and a medical examination. Drug screening may be required.

RESUMES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED IN LIEU OF COMPLETED APPLICATION FORMS, BUT MAY BE ATTACHED.

CANDIDATES WHO REQUIRE A REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION IN THE SELECTION PROCESS SHOULD STATE THEIR NEEDS IN WRITING WHEN SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION PACKAGE.

THE PROVISIONS IN THIS BULLETIN DO NOT CONSTITUTE AN EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED CONTRACT. ANY PROVISION CONTAINED IN THIS BULLETIN MAY BE MODIFIED OR REVOKED WITHOUT NOTICE.