Associate Engineer / Associate Water Resources Specialist

Santa Clara Valley Water District • San Jose, CA

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

Valley Water is hiring one Associate Engineer or Associate Water Resources Specialist to support watershed and water utility projects by developing software tools for applications such as flood forecasting, emergency alerting, database management, data ingestion, front-end GUIs, and digital twins. The work involves geospatial and time-series data and combines water engineering with software development to create tools for real-time operations and research. Depending on the selected candidate’s background and experience, the classification will be determined at the time of hire.

The role may also involve hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, engineering, scientific data analysis, and field work near waterways. The position is in the Hydrology, Hydraulics and Geomorphology Unit (Position Code 402). It is eligible for a hybrid telework schedule, typically 40% remote and 60% onsite after the first month. Employees must live within 150 miles of their primary work location in San Jose, California, by their start date. The position and start date are subject to funding availability.

Valley Water’s mission is to provide Santa Clara County with safe, clean water for a healthy life, environment, and economy. Its work includes water supply, creek restoration and habitat protection, flood protection, and partnerships supporting trails and open space. The organization states a commitment to a respectful and valued workplace and to equitable service, environmental stewardship, and public safety.

Requirements

• Associate Engineer classification: four years of professional water resources engineering experience.
• Associate Water Resources Specialist classification: four years of professional-level experience with environmental data collection, water supply planning or distribution, groundwater management, or hydrogeology.
• Experience working with geospatial datasets and GIS software such as QGIS or ArcGIS.
• Experience analyzing complex water resources data and communicating findings and recommendations.
• Experience processing large environmental time-series datasets and integrating data from multiple sources.
• Experience conducting field investigations and collecting data for water resources projects.
• Understand the water resources industry and the needs of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting environmental data related to water supply, flood protection, and environmental stewardship.
• Understand computer coding, data structures, and algorithms.
• Be curious, self-motivated, eager to learn, punctual, responsible for deadlines and commitments, and able to work collaboratively as part of a team.
• Understand principles, practices, theories, and concepts of water resources engineering and science.
• Know data collection, telemetry, and calibration techniques for environmental datasets.
• Associate Engineer classification: graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with major coursework in civil engineering or a field related to the assigned functional area(s).
• Associate Water Resources Specialist classification: graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with major coursework in water resources management, natural resources management, planning, civil or other engineering, geology, physical sciences, earth sciences, natural sciences, or a field related to the assigned functional area(s).
• Possess or be able to obtain an appropriate, valid California driver's license. Applicants unable to meet this requirement due to a disability will be considered for reasonable accommodation on a case-by-case basis.
• Live within 150 miles of the primary physical work location in San Jose, California, by the start date.

Nice To Haves

• Experience developing production-quality software for water resources engineering and scientific applications, such as hydrologic modeling, water supply analysis, or environmental data analysis, using Python (including Pandas and NumPy), Java, or a similar programming language.
• Familiarity with software engineering principles, modular architecture, system design, and unit testing, as well as Git, AWS, and database systems.
• Knowledge of environmental data collection and management.

Responsibilities

• Develop software features and maintain existing water operations tools and systems.
• Develop software tools for large-scale hydrologic modeling and statistical analyses.
• Assist with holistic management, collection, and review of hydrologic data.
• Perform and review hydrologic and hydraulic modeling analyses.
• Perform stream restoration and geomorphic analyses.
• Conduct field work and collect data.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level