Assistant Director of Engineering

Somerville is a city that upholds progressive principles for both employees and residents alike. If you are looking for a culture that embraces innovation, empowerment, and collaborative involvement, Somerville not only embraces these talents, but encourages them. Creative, hands on collaboration with passionate dedication are at the core of the City’s workplace culture.  Challenging and fast paced, Somerville also offers a generous benefits package that embodies a strong work life balance. Not only is it a “Model City”, as termed by The Boston Globe, but it is also a model employer.

Statement of Duties

The Assistant Director of Engineering is responsible for assisting the Director of Engineering in managing, maintaining, planning and improving the City’s basic infrastructure including roads, sidewalks, sewers, drainage and water systems. The employee is required to perform all similar or related duties.

Essential Functions:

• Communicate with engineers, contractors, developers, surveyors, planners, real estate representatives, local officials, utilities, general public, and others to answer questions about city policies, operations and/or procedures related to municipal infrastructure. 
• Review private development site plans to assure compliance with City ordinances, standards, and policies regarding connections to municipal infrastructure and management of stormwater.
• Assist the Director and consultants in design and bid document preparation for various capital improvement projects to assure alignment with City goals and standards.
• Provide technical and engineering guidance to other City departments and to the general public to develop solutions to infrastructure issues.
• Manage field operations of City crews, contractors, and utility companies to assure compliance with City ordinances, standards, and policies.  Provide technical assistance whenever required to support this work.
• Verify contractors’ work within the public right-of-way are following permit and traffic management plan requirements.
• Present and participate in evening meetings as requested by the Director.
• Draft City policies for various public infrastructure and issues related thereto.
• Develop and implement a digital archiving program of all engineering documents.
• Assist the Director in the day-to-day management and operation of the department.
• Mentor engineering staff.  Provide guidance for their work.
• Facilitate the reorganization of the Engineering Department office.  
• In the absence of the Director, be able to make decisions and communicate on behalf of the Engineering Department.
• In the absence of the Director, be able to stamp plans and specifications.

Recommended Minimum Qualifications                                      

Education and Experience: Bachelor’s degree (Master’s Degree preferred) in an Engineering discipline with five (5) to seven (7) years of experience in the engineering field, or related work experience; or any equivalent combination of education, training and experience which provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities to perform the essential functions of the job.

Special Requirements
Must have passed PE exam and have ability to obtain PE license in Massachusetts.

Other Requirements:

• Valid Class D driver’s license
• Employee may be required to work beyond normal business hours in response to attend evening meetings or complete work assignments. 

Knowledge, Abilities and Skill

Knowledge: Knowledge of civil engineering principles and practices such as roadway design and construction techniques, sewer design and construction, drainage design and construction, hydraulics and hydrology; knowledge of roadway, sidewalk, sewer, water and drainage maintenance and repair techniques.

Abilities: Ability to analyze water system flows and pressures and water main and water service design and construction.

Skill: Skill in coordinating various programs and projects simultaneously; and communicating effectively both verbally and in writing.

Work Environment                                                                                     

The work environment is an equal mix of office work and field work. The office work involves everyday discomforts typical of offices, with occasional exposure to outside elements.  Noise or physical surroundings may be distracting, but conditions are generally not unpleasant. The field work requires moderate intermittent physical strength and effort around navigating and assisting construction and repair sites.  Additionally, the employee may be required to work beyond normal business hours in response to attend evening meetings or complete work assignments.

Physical and Mental Requirements

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the position’s essential functions.

Physical Skills
Little or no physical demands are required to perform the work. Work effort principally involves sitting to perform work tasks, with intermittent periods of stooping, walking, and standing. There may also be some occasional lifting of objects such as books, office equipment and computer paper (up to 30 lbs.)

Motor Skills
Duties are largely mental rather than physical, but the job may occasionally require minimal motor skills for activities such as moving objects, operating a telephone system, computer and/or most other office equipment, typing and/or word processing, filing, and sorting.

Visual Skills
Visual demands include constantly reading documents for general understanding and for analytical purposes and routinely reviewing maps and blueprints with a need for color vision.

Send your resume and cover letter by April 12, 2018 to:

City Hall Personnel Office
93 Highland Avenue
Somerville MA 02143
Fax: 617-666-4426
TTY: 1-866-808-4851
Email: employment_opportunities@somervillema.gov

City of Somerville residents are especially encouraged to apply.

The City of Somerville is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, disability or any other protected category. Women, minorities, veterans, and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures will be provided to qualified individuals with disabilities free of charge, upon request.

Individuals with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication, written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures, in order to access the programs and activities of the City of Somerville or to attend meetings, should contact the City’s ADA Coordinator, Nency Salamoun, at 617-625-6600 x2323 or NSalamoun@somervillema.gov.