Duwamish Valley Water Resilience Engineer

City of Seattle•Seattle, WA

9d•Hybrid

About The Position

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is seeking a Senior Civil Engineer to help lead water management infrastructure delivery in the Duwamish Valley. The position is part of SPU’s newly created place-based water resilience section and will manage a multimillion-dollar capital portfolio, lead capital programs and individual projects, and advance infrastructure investment, climate adaptation, resilience, environmental stewardship, and environmental justice. The work covers drainage and wastewater conveyance, water treatment, flood mitigation, sea level rise adaptation, and related needs. The Engineer will coordinate closely with other City of Seattle departments and external partners to deliver community co-benefits, including open space, river access, community-supportive services, and livability improvements. The role also supports SPU’s broader commitment to service equity and dismantling systemic racism. Seattle Public Utilities provides drinking water, drainage and wastewater, and garbage, recycling, and compost services to Seattle residents and businesses. It also supplies drinking water to 1.5 million regional customers. More than 1,400 SPU employees maintain and improve utility systems and steward water and waste resources. The position allows a hybrid schedule, with the option to work remotely two days per week. Individual schedules are agreed upon by the employee and supervisor. The full salary range is $74.99–$87.31 per hour. Applicants must submit an online application, resume, and cover letter explaining how their knowledge, skills, and experience relate to the position. All qualified candidates may apply.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering or civil engineering technology, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience.
Five years of professional civil engineering experience.
Registration as a Professional Engineer in Washington State.
Current Washington State driver’s license or evidence of equivalent mobility.
Submit a completed online application, resume, and cover letter addressing how the applicant’s knowledge, skills, and experience relate to the position.

Nice To Haves

Experience designing and delivering water management infrastructure projects, such as drainage and wastewater conveyance, water treatment, flood mitigation, and sea level rise adaptation.
Demonstrated experience applying PMI project management practices, including scope, schedule, budget, risk, and stakeholder management, to complex capital projects throughout their lifecycle.
Skill navigating regulatory processes such as permitting, zoning, land use regulations, and interagency coordination to support infrastructure project design and delivery.
Ability to leverage infrastructure investments to advance equitable outcomes and deliver co-benefits such as salmon habitat, open space, river access, and jobs.
Experience designing and delivering infrastructure projects in highly regulated environments and across multiple regulatory contexts, such as CERCLA, NPDES, and consent decrees.
Proven ability to manage multimillion-dollar capital portfolios, including developing and tracking budgets and funding strategies and prioritizing and allocating portfolio resources.
Experience and proficiency in understanding utility system modeling concepts.
Ability to effectively lead complex projects with diverse teams of internal staff and consultants with minimal oversight.
Comfort shifting between detailed technical work and big-picture thinking.

Responsibilities

Lead project initiation and options analysis to define solutions for drainage and wastewater system problems, urban and riverine flood management, sea level rise adaptation, and water quality regulatory requirements.
Represent the drainage and wastewater line of business during later project delivery phases, including design and construction.
Troubleshoot water management infrastructure operational issues using record drawings, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, GIS data, and reports from staff and other agencies.
Lead or oversee civil engineering analyses, including cost, benefit, and risk evaluations, and serve as a technical resource within the DWW Planning & Program Management Division.
Manage a multimillion-dollar, place-based capital portfolio containing multiple moderately to highly complex projects.
Support the DVWR Section Manager with portfolio-scale prioritization and analyses based on engineering parameters and standards.
Support efforts to fund Duwamish Valley capital projects through grants, loans, financing, and other means.
Serve as the civil engineering subject matter expert for the DVWR team and guide and support other Duwamish Valley line-of-business representatives.
Interpret and apply policies, codes, and engineering standards to ensure projects, plans, designs, and engineering studies meet regulatory, environmental, and operational requirements.
Direct and review staff and consultant work to analyze and resolve complex civil engineering issues.
Participate in South Park flooding preparedness and response activities, including an active role in the Incident Command System during emergencies.
Help ensure public investments distribute benefits equitably.
Align, coordinate, and sequence SPU and partner projects and investments to minimize unintended impacts and maximize benefits for Duwamish Valley residents and businesses.