Hybrid Senior Engineering Specialist bei City of Durham, NC

About the Department

Work. Serve. Thrive. With the City of Durham
Advance in your career while making a real difference in the community you serve.

Hiring Range: $63,242 - $75,890
Hours: 8:00am - 5:00pm

A flexible work environment, top-notch management, highly qualified, competent staff and opportunities for career advancement and professional success make the Planning & Development Department a great place to work. We help plan and direct Durham’s growth to support a high quality of life, a robust economy, and a sustainable, equitable, and accessible Durham for generations to come. We work collaboratively with other agencies and the community in a fast- paced, innovative environment looking for solutions to today’s land-use, community planning, and infrastructure challenges. If you’re talented, creative and focused on serving the community, join our team!

Devoted to providing engineering support, inspection and professional civil engineering for a variety of public works, utilities, storm water, and transportation facilities/projects as well as review of public and private development projects.  Provide specialized and technical activities in support of an engineering function. Decision-making includes how and when tasks are carried out within an operational process and is limited by the selection of the process and establishment of deadlines and outcomes. Work involves specialized administrative and technical assistance in utility account management, contract administration, project management, design and permitting.

Responsible for producing engineering and construction drawings and documents, processing field survey data, participating in special projects, working with inspectors and survey crews to collect data and document findings, assisting with project and budget management, ensuring accuracy of databases and entering and updating data, producing reports and correspondence, calculating fees, interpreting policies and procedures, and providing customer service.

Position Duties

• Coordinates contract, project, and/or program operations and participates in special projects; compiles information to prepare and submit contracts, agreements, and work plans; prepares, submits, and tracks City Council agenda items; monitors, tracks, and investigates public requests, inquiries, and complaints; serves as a liaison to and coordinates with internal and external agencies to facilitate projects; and interprets and ensures compliance with contract, project, and applicable policies, procedures, and specifications.
• Assists higher-level staff by preparing engineering, construction, and other technical drawings, documents, and reports; researches information; conducts field investigations and inspections; collects, documents, and processes field survey data; troubleshoots issues or makes recommendations to resolve issues; and performs related duties.
• Assists with preparing and managing project, program, or other departmental budgets; performs billing duties; prepares and submits payments; prepares and submits budget transfers; prepares invoices and deposits; processes purchase orders; ensures project funds are appropriated and applicable accounts, set up; and prepares and submits reimbursement packets.
• Processes, reviews, updates, and/or maintains applications, files, records, reports, plans, maps, contracts, agreements, certificates, logs, and other documentation; prepares reports, work orders, and correspondence; reviews and issues permits; work involves compiling, reviewing, verifying, and/or reconciling information to facilitate departmental operations; making technical and regulatory-related recommendations; and documenting project, program, and other departmental operations.
• Maintains databases and websites; prepares and updates web content, guiding staff on using websites, troubleshooting issues, and performing basic database server maintenance duties.
• Fielding service requests from city residents and businesses, routing them and/or providing services directly as appropriate. 
• Performing technical reviews of utility excavation permits. Performing inspections of privately-owned utilities and facilities within the public way. 
• Creating reports, corresponding with applicants, operating tracking software (databases), assisting other group staff, interpreting and preparing maps and work plans, and special projects as assigned. 
• Performs field inspections to ensure requirements of permits, city code, state law, and federal regulations are met. Creates field reports of inspections findings. Communicates findings and reports to external contractors, engineers, business owners and residents and to other city staff as applicable.
• Observes problems in the field and makes recommendations for remedying field issues to supervisor. Executes problem solutions under the direction of supervisor.
• Optimizes field presence by formulating efficient routes for site visits.
• Assists other departmental programs with inspections and permitting tasks as assigned.
• Notes trends in work deficiencies and utility damage and reports them to group management.
• Identifies process inefficiencies, ideates improvements, and shares findings with group management.
• Eventually all of these tasks will need to be performed independently with minimal assistance.

Minimum Qualifications

• Associate’s degree in engineering or a directly related field OR equivalent experience.
• Three years of paraprofessional engineering support experience in the area of assignment.
• Some assignments may require a valid North Carolina Class C Driver’s License with a satisfactory driving record acquired within a time frame established by the City.

Other Qualifications

• Engineering inspections experience.
• Comfortable with interacting with the public and contractors (City residents and business owners).
• Willing and able to work in the office daily.