Wastewater Facility Principal Engineer - Environmental Services Department

Salary : $177,303.62 - $222,443.00 Annually

Location : San Jose - Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility

Job Type: Full-Time

Job Number: 202300853

Department: Environmental Services

Opening Date: 12/13/2024

Closing Date: 1/28/2025 11:59 PM Pacific

Our diverse and inclusive workforce of more than 7,000 employees play a key role in the success of San José, the heart of the Silicon Valley. All City of San José employees work together as one team to make San José a vibrant, innovative, and desirable place to live and work. Visit to learn more about our One Team Leadership Values and Expectations, including quality and excellent customer service and here to learn more about San José.
About the Department

The is a national leader in pollution prevention, watershed protection, utility service provision, and climate action. Together, ESD employees positively impact every resident and business in San Jose.

Our department is an exceptional place to start or grow your career. We have a supportive leadership team, numerous professional growth opportunities, and an inclusive workplace culture that is welcoming of your talents! We offer an array of meaningful career paths and value flexibility - offering hybrid work and alternative work schedules in select roles. Additionally, the City offers excellent health and pension , as well as 15 paid holidays!

To learn more about ESD, follow @sjenvironment on (formally Twitter), , , and San Jose Environmental Services on

About the Regional Wastewater Facility (RWF)

The San José-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility (RWF) is one of the largest advanced wastewater treatment facilities in the nation and treats water from homes and businesses in the cities of San José, Santa Clara, Milpitas, Campbell, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, and unincorporated areas within Santa Clara County. The RWF serves a population of over 1.4 million people and has the capacity to treat 167 million gallons of wastewater per day. The Operations and Maintenance division is in charge of managing daily activities related to operation and maintenance of all aspects of the facility.

For more information, visit our website at
Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Division
The San José - Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility (RWF) is one of the largest advanced wastewater treatment facilities in the nation and treats water from homes and businesses in the cities of San José, Santa Clara, Milpitas, Campbell, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, and unincorporated areas within Santa Clara County. The RWF serves a population of over 1.4 million people and has the capacity to treat 167 million gallons of wastewater per day. For more information visit our website at

The Capital Improvement Program (CIP) division is leading one of the largest public works programs in San José's history! The division is responsible for delivering a 10-year capital improvement program estimated at $1.4 billion and assuring the future of wastewater treatment services for 1.7 million residents and 17,000 businesses.

The CIP division performs the overall planning and project delivery for all aspects of the RWF treatment process, including program administration and budget planning. The division is also supported by a co-located team of consultant staff and staff from the Department of Public Works, who provide program management and construction management services.
Position Duties

The Environmental Services Department is currently seeking to fill two (2) full-time Wastewater Facility Principal engineer vacancies, one (1) in the Regional Wastewater facility and one (1) in the Capital Improvement Program. This is an electrical engineering discipline specific position.

The Principal Engineer provides subject matter technical expertise in the areas of electrical design, construction, and operations. He/she will participate in the development, review, and/or approval of engineering studies, design guidelines and standards, design criteria, equipment specifications, technology selection, process control strategies, operational strategies, plans & specifications development, etc. Strong working knowledge of the practices and principles with hands-on design experience in the areas of cogeneration, advanced automation, and controls, relay coordination.

Communications

The Principal Engineer represents the division(s) at key meetings including but not limited to executive leadership meetings, stakeholder group meetings, professional association meetings, and other meetings as required. The level of participation may involve the preparation and delivery of staff reports and responding to questions from executive leadership. The Principal Engineer provides regular updates to the ESD leadership team on activities and progress related to specific Projects and stays current with the latest developments in the facility to identify opportunities and challenges.

Regional Wastewater Facility (RWF)

The position will be responsible for providing technical leadership on issues related to Electrical, Power Distribution, long-term Energy Management planning along with Relay coordination. This position requires a responsible individual with a strong design and maintenance background and experience in managing complex electrical design projects. Facility's electrical infrastructure consists of Primary Volts 115KV to 4160-volts distribution system, 4160-volt switchgear, 480-volt switchgear/MCC, 4160-volt generators working in parallel with the emergency generators, and PG&E utility grid. The individual will also participate in coordinating engineering, construction, and maintenance projects with engineers, consultants, operations, and maintenance personnel.

This position reports to a Chief Plant Operator and works closely with the various trades and maintenance engineering group. The principal engineer will participate and provide guidance on projects within the current adopted CIP to minimize disruption to daily operations.

Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Division

This position will provide technical direction and leadership through all phases of project planning and implementation from preliminary engineering/conceptual planning through start-up and commissioning for specific electrical projects. Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, developing project work plans, scopes of work, project schedules and budgets, selecting project delivery methods, analyzing project alternatives, providing technical direction to staff and designers, reviewing technical documents, plans, specifications, and estimates, developing recommendations and council memos, etc.

The Principal Engineer could also lead and/or participates in consultant procurements, including but not limited to the preparation of Requests for Qualifications/Request for Proposals, evaluation of Statement of Qualifications (SOQ), contract negotiations, preparation of award recommendation memos/reports, and contract administration. He/she will oversee and manage all aspects of the consultant(s) performance including but not limited to providing technical direction, reviewing project deliverables, ensuring schedule and budget performance, reviewing and approving invoices, etc. Experience with different types of contracts (i.e., purchase orders, professional services, construction, design-build) and working knowledge of both traditional design-bid-build and alternative project delivery methods (i.e., design-build, progressive design-build) is highly desirable.

Minimum Qualifications

Education: A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Electrical, Civil, Mechanical, Chemical, or related engineering discipline.

Experience: Eight (8) years of progressively responsible professional engineering experience in the wastewater treatment industry, including at least three (3) years of experience at a level equivalent to Wastewater Facility Senior Engineer.

Acceptable Substitutions: A Master's Degree in Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering or other related discipline can be substituted for one year of professional engineering experience.

License: Possession of a valid State of California's Driver license.

Certifications: California P.E. certification in Electrical Engineering. If the candidate has P.E. certification from another state, California P.E. certification must be obtained within one year of the date of hire.

Other Qualifications

A master's degree is highly desirable, with emphasis in Environmental or Electrical Engineering,

Competencies

The ideal candidate will possess the following competencies, as demonstrated in past and current employment history.

Job Expertise - Demonstrates knowledge of and experience with applicable professional/technical principles and practices, Citywide and departmental procedures/policies and federal and state rules and regulations.

Communication Skills - Effectively conveys information and expresses thoughts and facts clearly, orally and in writing; demonstrates effective use of listening skills and displays openness to other people's ideas and thoughts.

Computer Skills - Experienced with common business computer applications including but not limited to: MS Outlook, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Access, and MS Excel.

Leadership - Leads by example; demonstrates high ethical standards; remains visible and approachable and interacts with others on a regular basis; promotes a cooperative work environment, allowing others to learn from mistakes; provides motivational supports and direction.

Decision Making - Identifies and understands issues, problems, and opportunities; uses effective approaches for choosing a course of action or developing appropriate solutions.

Initiative - Exhibits resourceful behaviors toward meeting job objectives; anticipates problems, is proactive, and avoids difficulties by planning ahead; displays willingness to assume extra responsibility and challenges; pursues continuing education opportunities that promotes job performance.

Planning - Acts to align own unit's goals with the strategic direction of the organization; Defines tasks and milestones to achieve objectives, while ensuring the optimal use of resources to meet those objectives.

Political Skill - In taking action, demonstrates an understanding and consideration of how it will impact stakeholders and affected areas in the organization.

Project Management - Ensures support for projects and implements agency goals and strategic objectives.

Supervision - Sets effective long and short-term goals based on a good understanding of management practices; establishes realistic priorities within available resources; provides motivational support; empowers others; assigns decision-making and work functions to others in an appropriate manner to maximize organizational and individual effectiveness.

Selection Process:

The selection process will consist of an evaluation of the applicant's training and experience based on the application and responses to all the job specific questions. You must answer all questions to be considered or your application may be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Only those candidates whose backgrounds best match the position will be invited to proceed in the selection process. Additional phases of the selection process will consist of one or more interviews.

If you have questions about the duties of these positions, the selection or hiring processes, please contact Anthony Vu at

Additional Information:

Employment Eligibility: Federal law requires all employees to provide verification of their eligibility to work in this country. Please be informed that the City of San Jose will NOT sponsor, represent or sign any documents related to visa applications/transfers for H1-B or any other type of visa which requires an employer application.

You must answer all job-specific questions to be considered for this vacancy or your application will be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Applicants are expected to write their own essays/responses. Please be advised that use of AI content in your responses may result in your removal from the hiring process.

Please note that applications are currently not accepted through CalOpps or any other third party job board application system.

This recruitment may be used to fill multiple positions in this, or other divisions or departments. If you are interested in employment in this classification, you should apply to ensure you are considered for additional opportunities that may utilize the applicants from this recruitment.

Please allow adequate time to complete the application and submit before the deadline or the system may not save your application. If your online application was successfully submitted, you will receive an automatic confirmation email to the email address you provided. IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE THE CONFIRMATION, please email and we will research the status of your application.

The City of San Jose offers a wide range of core health benefits including Medical, Dental, Vision, Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance, Disability, and Savings Plans. Please visit the City's for detailed information on coverage, cost, and dependent coverage.

For information on the City's Retirement Plan(pension for full-time employees), please visit the Office of Retirement Services You will be able to view information based on different Sworn/Federated job classification.

In additional to the benefits above, there is an to explore further benefits of working for the City of San Jose like paid leave, educational reimbursements, and holiday pay are specific to the job classification and union membership.

01

What is the highest level of education you have completed?

• High School Diploma or the equivalent (GED)
• College (1 to 29 semester units/ 1 to 44 quarter units)
• College (30 to 59 semester units/ 45 to 89 quarter units)
• College (60 to 89 semester units/ 90 to 134 quarter units)
• College (90 to 119 semester units/ 135 to 179 quarter units)
• College (120 or more semester units/ 180 or more quarter units)
• Associate's Degree
• Bachelor's Degree
• Master's Degree
• Doctoral Degree
• Other
• None of the above

02

If you have a bachelor's degree or higher from an accredited college or university in a related field, please state the field of study and the issuing accredited college or university.

03

How many years of experience do you have in progressively responsible professional engineering experience in the wastewater treatment industry?Please note: One year of Full-Time experience = 2080 hours.

• Fewer than eight (8) years
• Eight (8) years or more

04

Out of the experience in the above question, how many years of experience do you have at a level equivalent to Wastewater Facility Senior Engineer?

• Fewer than three (3) years
• Three (3) years or more

05

An acceptable experience substitution is a Master's Degree in Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or other related disciplines. If you meet the acceptable substitution, please describe your experience in the area/areas listed above.

06

The Wastewater Facility Principal Engineer position requires possession of a California P.E. certification in Electrical Engineering. Do you possess the required certification?

• I do possess a California P.E. certification in Electrical Engineering
• I do possess a PP.E. Electrical Certification in Electrical Engineering from another state, but acknowledge that I must obtain a California P.E. certification in Electrical Engineering within one year from the date of hire.
• I do not possess a California P.E. certification in Electrical Engineering

07

This position requires a State of California Driver's License. Please select the applicable option that best describes your driver's license, or your ability to possess a valid driver's license.

• State of CA, Class A Driver's License
• State of CA, Class B Driver's License
• State of CA, Class C Driver's License
• I do not possess a State of California Driver's License but, I can obtain one.
• I do not possess a State of California Driver's License and I cannot obtain one

08

Please describe your 8 years of progressively responsible, directly related professional experience including at least 3 years of experience at a level equivalent to Senior Wastewater Engineer. In your response, please specify the job title(s), dates of employment, and name of employer(s) and your main duties and responsibilities.

09

Please describe your experience with managing and implementing major electrical projects at an active/operational water, wastewater, or industrial-type facility. Describe up to 3 projects that you worked on and your specific role and responsibilities on the project.

10

Please describe your experience with resource planning and supervision of employees. In your response, discuss your approach for developing staff and managing performance.

Required Question