Water Utility Civil Engineer

Water Utility Civil Engineer

Type: Direct Hire, Temporary (W2 employee of our client)

Location: San Jose, CA (Onsite)

Salary: $119K – $172K per year, DOE

About the Role

This temporary Water Utility Civil Engineer role builds long- and short-term capital improvement plans for urban water infrastructure across multiple service districts, onsite in San Jose, CA.

We are partnered with California’s largest water utility to recruit a civil engineer for a one-year engagement supporting its 2027 General Rate Case (GRC) filing. Reporting to the Capital Planning Manager, you will evaluate district infrastructure and develop clear, well-supported project justifications covering need, alternatives analysis, final scope, schedule, life cycle analysis, and budgetary estimates.

The role calls for an engineer who can present and defend complex engineering concepts in plain language. The selected candidate will be hired as a full-time temporary employee directly with our client. Relocation required if not within commuting distance of San Jose.

Key Responsibilities

Capital Planning and Rate Case

• Develop long- and short-term capital improvement plans for urban water infrastructure and systems for the 2027 General Rate Case.

• Analyze district project needs, critical facilities, and life cycle costs to determine the best project selection.

• Gather and analyze supply, storage, water quality, and operations data to propose capital improvements.

• Perform preliminary design of water supply, distribution, and transmission facilities to define project scope, schedule, and budget.

• Prepare and evaluate project justifications, and perform quality control of justifications, estimates, and each district's capital program submittal.

• Work with the Rates Department on the rate case process, participate in filings, and facilitate rate impact discussions, including multi-disciplinary meeting coordination.

• Provide quality assurance and responses for California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) tours, data requests, rebuttals, and settlements.

Program Delivery and Stakeholders

• Oversee and manage the work of external consultants.

• Help develop processes and standardized approaches to capital planning and asset management, and analyze capital project completion results to recommend improvements.

• Present proposed capital projects to internal and external audiences, and train staff to create project justification documents.

• Travel periodically to districts to visit project sites and document future project needs; overnight stays may be required.

• Participate in the Continuous Improvement program and projects.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in civil engineering or a related field, and/or equivalent relevant experience.

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including writing clear and concise project justifications, procedures, and detailed instructions.

• Ability to maintain effective working relationships using both technical and non-technical language.

• Strong project management skills, including scheduling, prioritization, coordination, and managing multiple projects and tasks.

• Ability to make technical decisions and provide technical assistance when needed.

• Ability to estimate project costs to develop high-level budgets.

• Public presentation and speaking skills.

• High level of competency with Microsoft Office, particularly Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and SharePoint.

• Valid California Driver's License.

Preferred

• Two years of engineering experience in water system planning, design, construction, and cost estimating (highly desirable).

• California Engineer in Training (EIT) registration (strongly preferred); California Professional Engineer (PE) registration (preferred).

• Knowledge of public utility commission (PUC) and GRC rules, regulations, and rate case filings (highly preferred).

• Experience with GIS and hydraulic modeling (highly preferred).

• Experience with utility cost estimates and basis of estimate (highly preferred).

• Experience with water quality regulations, water treatment plant design, operation, and maintenance, and electrical equipment used in urban water systems (highly preferred).

• Knowledge of capital project planning and budgeting, asset management principles, and water systems modeling, design, engineering, and operations.

• Knowledge of Project Management Institute (PMI) principles; negotiation experience.

• Master's or Ph.D. degree.

Compensation & Employment

Employment Type: Direct hire, temporary. The selected candidate will be hired as a full-time temporary employee directly with our client.

Salary: $119K – $172K per year, DOE

Estimated Duration: Approximately one year

Work Model: Onsite at our client's San Jose office; not eligible for remote or hybrid work. Periodic travel to service districts, with occasional overnight stays.

Innovation Consulting LLC is an equal opportunity employer and recruiter. We review candidates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected characteristic.