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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Civil Engineer (Government)

💰 $65,000 - $110,000

EngineeringGovernmentInfrastructurePublic Works

🎯 Role Definition

The Civil Engineer (Government) is responsible for planning, designing, and overseeing the construction and maintenance of public infrastructure projects—such as roads, bridges, drainage systems, utilities, and parks—while ensuring compliance with federal, state and local regulations, managing budgets and contractors, and delivering projects that meet community needs. This role requires a blend of technical engineering expertise, public-sector procurement and permitting knowledge, strong stakeholder engagement skills, and experience with asset management and lifecycle planning for municipal and regional infrastructure.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Engineering Intern / Student Trainee (Civil)
  • Engineering Technician / CAD Technician
  • Entry-Level Civil Engineer / EIT (Engineer-in-Training)

Advancement To:

  • Senior Civil Engineer / Project Engineer
  • Project Manager / Capital Projects Manager
  • Public Works Division Manager / City Engineer
  • Director of Public Works / Chief Engineer

Lateral Moves:

  • Transportation Planner / Traffic Engineer
  • Environmental or Water Resources Engineer
  • Construction Manager / Contract Administrator

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead full lifecycle project delivery for municipal and regional infrastructure projects—from preliminary feasibility and conceptual design through detailed design, bidding, construction oversight, closeout, and warranty periods—ensuring scope, schedule, and budget adherence.
  • Prepare and review technical engineering deliverables including plans, specifications, engineering reports, calculations, cost estimates, and bid packages in accordance with agency standards and public procurement rules.
  • Develop and apply hydraulic and hydrologic analyses (H&H), stormwater management and detention designs, and erosion/sediment control plans to comply with NPDES/MS4 requirements and local stormwater ordinances.
  • Produce roadway, intersection and pedestrian facility designs, including horizontal and vertical alignment, cross-sections, pavement design, signing and pavement marking plans, ADA-compliant curb ramps, and traffic control during construction.
  • Use and validate Civil 3D, MicroStation, HEC-RAS, HEC-HMS, StormCAD, or similar modeling and CAD tools to generate design drawings, 3D models, and construction quantities.
  • Prepare and coordinate environmental permitting, agency consultations, and NEPA/Categorical Exclusion documentation where applicable, and manage submittals for federal, state and local environmental approvals.
  • Oversee contractor selection, procurement documentation, bid evaluation, and contract administration for capital improvement projects, ensuring compliance with public bidding laws and grant funding requirements.
  • Monitor construction activities in the field, conduct regular inspections, review contractor pay applications, RFI responses and change orders, and enforce contract quality control and safety requirements.
  • Manage multi-disciplinary consultant teams and internal staff resources, define scopes of work, negotiate fees, and review technical work products for quality and compliance with agency standards.
  • Coordinate utility relocation and coordination with utility companies, franchise utilities and private stakeholders to minimize conflicts and schedule impacts during construction.
  • Conduct life-cycle cost analysis and asset management assessments to prioritize repairs, rehabilitation, and replacement of infrastructure while optimizing limited public funds.
  • Prepare and present regular project status reports, technical briefings and recommendations for elected officials, public agencies, and community stakeholders in accessible, non-technical language.
  • Lead public engagement efforts including public meetings, open houses, stakeholder interviews and public comment response to incorporate community input into design decisions and to mitigate stakeholder risks.
  • Ensure compliance with safety regulations, local building codes, ADA accessibility standards, and applicable technical standards (AASHTO, ASTM, MUTCD, local agency standards) across all design and construction activities.
  • Implement quality assurance / quality control (QA/QC) procedures, including technical reviews, constructability reviews and punchlist verification prior to acceptance of completed work.
  • Develop capital improvement program (CIP) scopes, prioritize projects, prepare budget forecasts, and support grant application writing and administration for state and federal infrastructure funding.
  • Conduct geotechnical review and coordinate subsurface investigations, pavement coring, soil testing and interpretation of boring logs to inform foundation, slope stability, and earthwork design.
  • Perform traffic analysis and modeling (synchro, VISSIM, or similar), evaluate safety improvements, and design traffic calming, signal modifications and intersection improvements to support multimodal mobility goals.
  • Maintain and update GIS-based infrastructure inventories, maps and asset databases, integrating design and as-built data for long-term asset condition tracking and capital planning.
  • Review private development plans and permit applications for conformance with local roadway, drainage, sewer and utility standards, and provide technical comments or approval conditions as a government reviewer.
  • Advise on resilience and climate adaptation requirements—such as floodplain management, sea level rise considerations, and extreme weather design criteria—to ensure long-term infrastructure reliability.
  • Serve as subject matter expert for emergency response planning related to infrastructure failures, coordinating temporary repairs and rapid procurement within declared emergency protocols.
  • Mentor junior engineers, interns and technicians, provide on-the-job training in government processes, and contribute to team skills development and succession planning.

Secondary Functions

  • Support grant writing and funding strategy development, preparing technical justifications, cost estimates and schedules for grant-funded capital projects.
  • Respond to constituent inquiries, investigate reported infrastructure issues, and coordinate corrective actions with field operations and maintenance crews.
  • Participate in interdepartmental committees for environmental review, land development, traffic safety and utility coordination to align infrastructure strategies across agencies.
  • Maintain, update and publish standard construction details, design guidelines and engineering manuals for consistent application across municipal projects.
  • Assist in procurement policy development, contract template review and evaluation process improvements to increase transparency and cost-effectiveness.
  • Collect and analyze field data (surveys, traffic counts, CCTV inspections) to support condition assessments, rehabilitation prioritization and data-driven decision making.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Professional experience preparing construction plans, specifications and engineer’s estimates for public works projects with proficiency in AutoCAD Civil 3D or Bentley MicroStation.
  • Ability to perform hydrologic and hydraulic modeling using HEC-RAS, HEC-HMS, StormCAD, EPA SWMM or equivalent tools for floodplain and stormwater design.
  • Roadway and transportation design skills including horizontal/vertical alignment, cross-sections, superelevation, signing and pavement marking standards (AASHTO, MUTCD).
  • Strong understanding of stormwater best management practices (BMPs), low-impact development (LID) strategies, and MS4 / NPDES compliance.
  • Construction administration expertise: review of shop drawings, RFI responses, change orders, contract claims, and progress payment verification.
  • Experience with geotechnical report interpretation, slope stability assessment, foundation design basics and soil improvement recommendations.
  • Proficiency in GIS (ArcGIS / QGIS) for mapping, asset inventory management and spatial analysis.
  • Cost estimating and budgeting for capital projects, life-cycle cost analysis and grant budget preparation.
  • Knowledge of public procurement, contracting, and public-sector grant administration, including federal/state funding compliance.
  • Traffic analysis and modeling experience (Synchro, VISSIM, or traffic volume analysis) and familiarity with traffic safety audit practices.
  • Familiarity with regulatory frameworks: NEPA, Section 404/401 permitting, local floodplain management, ADA standards and environmental permitting processes.
  • Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office suite (Excel for spreadsheets, scheduling, and data analysis; Word and PowerPoint for reports and presentations).
  • Licenses & certifications: Professional Engineer (PE) licensure or EIT certification; additional certifications (PMP, DBIA, ICC) are advantageous.

Soft Skills

  • Clear and persuasive communication skills for preparing technical reports, memos and public presentations to elected officials and community stakeholders.
  • Strong stakeholder engagement and conflict-resolution skills to balance community expectations, political considerations and technical constraints.
  • Project management discipline including scheduling, resource allocation, risk identification and mitigation in a public-sector context.
  • Team leadership and mentoring capability to lead cross-functional project teams and develop junior staff.
  • Problem-solving and critical thinking to evaluate multiple design alternatives and select cost-effective, resilient solutions.
  • High ethical standards, transparency, and adherence to public procurement and record-keeping requirements.
  • Time management and organizational skills for handling multiple concurrent projects and deadlines.
  • Adaptability and resilience working within changing political priorities, regulatory updates and emergency response situations.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (BSCE) or equivalent ABET-accredited degree.

Preferred Education:

  • Master’s degree in Civil Engineering, Transportation, Water Resources, Environmental Engineering or related discipline.
  • Professional licensure: Professional Engineer (PE) preferred; Engineer-in-Training (EIT) acceptable for junior roles.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Civil Engineering
  • Environmental / Water Resources Engineering
  • Transportation Engineering
  • Structural Engineering
  • Construction Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2–10+ years depending on level (Entry: 0–3 years, Mid-level: 3–7 years, Senior: 7+ years)

Preferred:

  • 3–7+ years of direct experience on public sector infrastructure projects (municipal, county, state or federal).
  • Demonstrated experience with capital improvement programs (CIP), public bidding and contract administration, and environmental permitting.
  • Experience with grant-funded projects, FEMA hazard mitigation, or DOT-funded transportation projects is highly desirable.
  • Prior experience coordinating with construction inspectors, operations/maintenance crews, and multiple government agencies.
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