Assistant Engineer Ii - Civil

A 2.5% PE differential will apply 
Overview:
Do you have experience as an engineer conducting hydraulic modeling, field investigations, and/or GIS mapping? Are you familiar with surveying, AutoCAD engineering design, and/or construction support? If yes, then check out this opportunity!
 
Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water) is the primary water resource agency for Santa Clara County, supplying wholesale water, providing flood protection, and serving as an environmental steward for clean, safe creeks and healthy ecosystems. Valley Water serves approximately two million people in 15 municipalities: the cities of Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, and Sunnyvale, and the towns of Los Altos Hills and Los Gatos, and manages 10 dams and surface water reservoirs, three water treatment plants, a state-of-the-art water quality laboratory, 400 acres of groundwater recharge ponds, and 294 miles of streams.
 
The Assistant Engineer II - Civil will perform a variety of professional civil engineering duties related to stream, levee, and infrastructure maintenance for the Watersheds Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Division. Working within the Watersheds O&M Engineering Support Unit, this position will assist with leading and coordinating instream vegetation management activities, and in particular, dedicate time to identifying, prioritizing, and guiding the instream vegetation management work necessary to ensure creeks’ design flow conveyance capacity is maintained and damage to infrastructure is minimized. The selected candidate will have a solid hydraulic modeling and analysis background, be active visiting and assessing sites with staff in the unit and throughout the division, and be an effective communicator. This position will also be the engineering technical lead for the Non-SMP Vegetation Removal for Flow Conveyance effort, which seeks to identify larger-scale vegetation compromising design flow conveyance capacities of streams, and develop solutions for removals of said vegetation, with the understanding that such activities are not covered by Valley Water’s Stream Maintenance Program (SMP) California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) documentation and regulatory permits. In addition, this position collaborates with cross-functional teams to ensure work quality and adherence to professional codes, levels of service, stream maintenance guidelines, SMP permit conditions, USACE levee rating criteria, and Valley Water specifications. Examples of assignments include assisting with preparing design documents for SMP projects (e.g., bank stabilization, sediment removal, levee maintenance), performing hydraulic analyses, fulfilling Valley Water’s levee maintenance obligations for USACE and NRCS, and/or reviewing and preparing annual reports. This position will also assist with O&M review of capital improvement plan (CIP) flood protection projects and Community Projects Review Unit (CPRU) submittals. This position will report to a Senior Engineer within the Watersheds O&M Engineering Support Unit.
Key Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Assist with leading and coordinating instream vegetation management activities
• Assist with identifying, prioritizing, and guiding the instream vegetation management work necessary to ensure creeks' design flow conveyance capacity is maintained and damage to infrastructure is minimized
• Serve as engineering technical lead for the Non-SMP Vegetation Removal for Flow Conveyance effort
• Identify larger-scale vegetation compromising design flow conveyance capacities of streams, develop solutions for removals of said vegetation
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure work quality and adherence to professional codes, levels of service, stream maintenance guidelines, SMP permit conditions, USACE levee rating criteria, and Valley Water specifications
• Prepare design documents for SMP projects (e.g., bank stabilization, sediment removal, levee maintenance)
• Provide construction support for SMP projects
• Assist with O&M review of capital improvement projects and Community Projects Review Unit submittals
• Assist with review and implementation of stream maintenance guidelines
• Review and prepare annual reports, compile data, and attend trainings

Ideal Candidate's Background Includes:
Applicants whose experience and background best match the ideal experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, and education are considered ideal candidates for the position. To determine the top candidates, each applicant will be assessed based on the ideal candidate criteria as listed below.
 
Ideal Experience:
Two years of full-time experience as an engineer working with hydraulic modeling, field investigations, surveying, AutoCAD engineering design, GIS mapping, and/or construction support
Ideal Skills and Abilities:

• Apply principles and practices of civil engineering in assigned maintenance projects 
• Apply engineering principles and computer programs to the solution of engineering problems 
• Prepare and interpret drawings, graphs, plans and specifications
• Prepare clear and concise reports, correspondence, and other written materials such as schedules and preparing budgets for assigned projects
• Conduct engineering research projects, evaluate alternatives, make sound recommendations, and prepare effective technical reports, and process large sets of data. 
• Utilize modern geographic information system (GIS) technology
• Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing
• Effectively represent the unit and Valley Water in meetings with contractors, biologists, planners, engineers, developers, a variety of outside agencies, and the general public
• Organize and prioritize multiple tasks in an effective and timely manner, set priorities, and meet critical time deadlines  
• Make sound, independent decisions within established policy and procedural guidelines, and best engineering practice
• Establish and maintain strong working relationships and effectively work with cross functional, and multidisciplinary teams. 
• Reading and understanding the law to ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local policies, procedures, laws, and regulations, and Valley Water engineering policies and procedures

Ideal Knowledge:

• Principles and practices of civil engineering with emphasis on flood protection, stream and levee maintenance, grading, and construction
• Principles of hydrology, hydraulics, and design related to flood protection
• Hydraulic modeling and analysis
• Computer programs and languages and their engineering applications such as HEC-RAS, AutoCAD, and GIS
• Construction methods, materials, specifications and codes 
• Principles and practices of mathematics for project budgeting, cost estimation, funding, project management, and contract administration

Ideal Training and Education:
Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering or related fields or possession of a valid California Engineer-in-Training (EIT) Certificate with two (2) years of associated paraprofessional engineering experience.