Civil Engineering Associate

OC PUBLIC WORKS
OC Public Works provides services on a regional basis to unincorporated areas, to cities, and to other County agencies and departments. The primary mission of the department is to protect and enrich the community through efficient delivery and maintenance of public works infrastructure, planning, and development services. OC Public Works core values are integrity, accountability, service, and trust.

OC CONSTRUCTION
OC Construction provides project management and construction management services for projects on OC Public Works' Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and Maintenance Improvement Program (MIP) as well as OC Parks and other County department projects. OC Construction focuses on horizontal projects such as roads, bridges, bikeways, and flood control channels.

OC INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAMS
OC Infrastructure Programs provides engineering services for roadways in unincorporated areas and regional flood control programs throughout Orange County. This includes programming, design, legislation tracking, project management, traffic safety, and development coordination services.

For more information on OC Public Works click here.
For more information on the County of Orange click here.

THE OPPORTUNITY
OC Construction and OC Infrastructure Programs are seeking an experienced, non-registered civil engineering professional to perform a variety of field and office civil engineering work as a Civil Engineering Associate. Positions at this level are responsible for journey-level assignments and will perform independent engineering analysis and recommendations. Incumbents generally work under the project leadership of Civil Engineers and are assigned complex or specialized assignments.

The OC Construction Civil Engineering Associate position is responsible for managing 3 – 5 projects per year from the Department’s 7-Year Capital Improvement Program valued at over $1B. This position participates in engineering studies, as well as reviewing, planning, designing, and/or managing capital improvement projects.

The primary job duties of the OC Construction Civil Engineering Associate include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Develop and manage requests for proposals to procure design consultant services
• Review and evaluate plans and proposals from design consultants and negotiate contracts
• Manage the design and preparation of plans, specifications, and estimates for public works projects
• Develop and manage requests for qualifications, requests for proposals, and notice inviting bids to procure construction contractors
• Provide engineering oversight and field inspections during construction of public works projects.
• Ensure deliverables meet client's preference, Engineering Department's standards, regulatory compliance, and permitting requirements
• Coordinate and communicate effectively with management, Orange County elected officials and representatives, external agencies, and with the public as necessary
• Ability to adapt when emergency or short turnaround projects arise as needed

The OC Infrastructure Programs Civil Engineering Associate position is dedicated to the review of encroachment permits for Road and Orange County Flood Control District (OCFCD) right of way. This position is also involved in processing 292 Flood Encroachment Permits.

The primary job duties of the OC Infrastructure Programs Civil Engineering Associate include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Perform County Property Permit (CPP) reviews relate to County roadways and Orange County Flood Control District (OCFCD) facilities for meeting County/OCFCD standards and requirements, ensuring the proposed designs would meet public safety and have no impact to private or public facilities
• Perform reviews for private developers and builders’ project submittals in possible future County right-of-way including street improvements, grading plans, drainage plans with other County departments or divisions including Watersheds, Flood Programs, Design/Bridge, Traffic, Operations and Maintenance
• Perform review of engineering technical reports for verification of design parameters and integrity.
• Review cooperation agreements with for conformance with required engineering features
• Research County road and flood record drawings and right-of-way
• Ability to adapt when emergency or short turnaround projects arise as needed

This recruitment may also be used to fill additional Civil Engineering Associate positions related to other civil engineering disciplines.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS AND CORE COMPETENCIES
The ideal candidate will possess a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering or a related degree, or an Engineer-In-Training (EIT) designation; and one (1) year of professional work experience in the principles of Civil Engineering post college graduation or post receipt of an EIT certificate. A Master’s degree can substitute for one year of practical experience. Recent experience with using computer modeling software for urban planning is highly desirable but not required.

In addition, the ideal candidate will possess the following knowledges and core competencies:

Technical Expertise and Knowledge

• Knowledge of the principles and practices of civil engineering
• Working knowledge of County of Orange regulations, standards, and details
• Preparing accurate engineering computations and performing moderate to complex mathematical calculations
• Computer literate with demonstrated knowledge of MS-Office applications and with other engineering software programs such as AES (Advanced Engineering Software) or WSPGW (Water Surface Pressure Gradient for Windows)

Problem Solving & Analytical Skills

• Experienced in identifying problems, solving them, acting decisively, and showing good judgment
• Isolating causes from symptoms, and compiling information and alternatives to evaluate problems or issues
• Involving others as appropriate and gathering information from a variety of sources
• Finding a balance between studying the problem and solving it

Communication & Interpersonal Skills

• Strong verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills
• Ability to clearly and concisely convey technical and/or complex information to a diverse workgroup
• Ability to draft and interpret technical reports and memos
• Demonstrate a high degree of motivation and willingness to learn
• Maintain a professional perspective and objective demeanor when varied situations occur
• Review and handle complex projects involving several functional groups
• Recognize and embrace the value of safety both in the field and in the office
• Coordinate and communicate effectively with management, Orange County elected officials and representatives, external agencies, and with the public as necessary

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Click here to view the complete classification description for Civil Engineering Associate, with examples of duties, physical and mental requirements, and environmental conditions.

NOTE: Foreign degrees require an evaluation of U.S. equivalency by an agency that is a member of the National Association of Credential Services (N.A.C.E.S.).

LICENSE REQUIREMENTS
The position requires possession of a valid California Driver License, Class C or higher.

Application Screening | (Refer/Non-Refer)
Applications and supplemental responses will be screened for qualifications that are highly desirable and most needed to successfully perform the duties of this job. Only those candidates meeting the qualifications as listed in the job bulletin will be referred to the next step.

Structured Oral Interview | SOI (Weighted 100%)
Candidates will be interviewed and rated by job knowledge experts. Each candidate's rating will be based on responses to a series of structured questions designed to elicit the candidate's qualifications for the job. Only the most successful candidates will be placed on the eligible list.

Based on the Department's needs, the selection procedures listed above may be modified. All candidates will be notified of any changes in the selection procedures.

Eligible List
Once the assessments have been completed, HRS will establish an eligible list of candidates. Candidates placed on the eligible list may be referred to a selection interview to be considered for present and future vacancies.

Veterans Employment Preference
The County is committed to providing a mechanism to give preferential consideration in the employment process to veterans and their eligible spouses and will provide eligible participants the opportunity to receive interviews in the selection process for employment and paid internship openings. Please click here (Download PDF reader) to review the policy.

For specific information pertaining to this recruitment, please contact Cherry Ward at (714) 667-9609 or cherry.ward@ocpw.ocgov.com.

Non-Management Benefits
In addition to the County's standard suite of benefits, such as a variety of health plan options, annual leave and paid holidays-we also offer an excellent array of benefits such as a Health Care Reimbursement Account, 457 Defined Contribution Plan and Annual Education and Professional Reimbursement. Employees are provided a Retirement Plan through the Orange County Employees Retirement System (OCERS).

Please go to the following link to find out more about Defined Benefit Pensions and OCERS Plan Types/Benefits.
http://www.ocers.org/active-member-information

Click here for information about benefits offered to County of Orange employees.