$126,348 - $153,576
Plus excellent benefits!
Apply by July 14, 2025. Applications reviewed on a rolling basis.
THE CITY
San Rafael is the economic and cultural heart of Marin County, and its high quality of life is centered on its commercial districts, engaged neighborhoods, active lifestyle, and natural environment.
With a population of approximately 60,000, San Rafael is a full-service city with a City Council/City Manager form of government with 12 departments, more than 400 employees, and an annual budget in fiscal year 2024-2025 of approximately $180 million. The City’s vision is to be a vibrant economic and cultural center reflective of its diversity.
San Rafael’s Organizational culture framework is an initiative called “Together San Rafael.” City employees are our greatest asset, and we seek talented individuals with diverse backgrounds who are creative, curious, and excited about a challenge. We are a results-driven team focused on the needs of community members. The Together San Rafael initiative is focused on modernizing City services and increasing the engagement of employees. This initiative recognizes the interconnectedness of the customer and employee experience.
THE DEPARTMENT
The Department of Public Works (DPW) is committed to providing the highest standards of service delivery to the community as it works to build, maintain, and update the City’s assets and infrastructure. Public Works is comprised of over 50 employees with an operating budget of over $33 million and annual Capital Improvement Program (CIP) budget that ranges between $15–$30 million depending on the City’s annual infrastructure needs.
The Department of Public Works’ mission is to ensure San Rafael’s infrastructure meets the needs of a vibrant and growing city through careful management of major improvements and the maintenance of the City’s assets. By hiring highly trained, dedicated, responsive, and service-oriented personnel, the PW department is actively making its mission a reality.
All engineering divisions are managed under the leadership of the Assistant Director/City Engineer, a structure designed to enhance oversight, streamline communication, and optimize workflow across engineering functions.
The City and DPW are committed to fostering professional growth and career development. We proudly support the Dean Allison Award Internship Program, which guides promising graduates or soon-to-be graduates into careers in local government and promotes meaningful engagement with the City of San Rafael.
Our Engineering team also takes initiative in nurturing a strong internal culture. Team members organize quarterly workshops that focus on enhancing technical expertise, strengthening collaboration, and improving internal communication—further supporting a workplace environment that values continuous learning and shared success.
Public Works is currently advancing several exciting initiatives focused on infrastructure transformation, accessibility, and maintenance while also adding recreation spaces for the public to enjoy. For an overview of the City of San Rafael’s upcoming Capital Improvement Program projects, see the Public Works Projects website.
IDEAL CANDIDATE
The City of San Rafael Public Works Department is seeking a full-time Associate Civil Engineer to lead a variety of Capital Improvement Program (CIP) projects related to Buildings/Facilities, Parks, Storm Drain, and Transportation.
The Ideal Candidate will possess expertise in municipal engineering and have strong critical thinking, communication and organizational skills that allow them to effectively manage all phases of multiple capital programs and/or projects. They will have a strong sense of customer service and the ability to provide recommended solutions to complex engineering and service challenges. They may serve as a supervisor to a small group of engineers and/or paraprofessional engineering staff. The successful candidate will support the CIP Division by effectively and efficiently delivering the design and construction of various capital improvements while collaborating with other DPW divisions and City departments. Prior experience in traffic engineering is also desirable as there will be an opportunity to directly support the department’s Traffic Division.
CORE COMPETNCIES
- Detail-oriented and organized
- Strong time management skills
- Collaborative
- Flexibility
- Communication skills
- Relationship building
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES (including but not limited to - view the full job spec HERE)
- Develops Requests for Qualifications (RFQs) and participate with other department staff in the selection of consulting engineers.
- Prepares and/or assists in the preparation of plans, specifications and estimates pertaining to construction projects.
- Makes engineering calculations, completes design drawings, makes and revises maps, charts and diagrams.
- Conducts pre-construction meetings with contractors to establish job requirements, i.e., timing, noise level, traffic impact.
- Performs field inspections of various municipal construction projects, in progress and upon completion.
- Prepares written reports on civil engineering issues/projects for the department.
- Meets with a variety of public and private officials, individually and/or in a group setting, on civil engineering matters.
- Research and make recommendations on civil engineering issues/problems.
- Performs project management on Capital Projects during the design, environmental, bidding, and construction phases of the project.
- Performs Resident Engineer duties on Capital Projects during construction.
- Performs inspection and enforcement duties to ensure compliance with applicable design standards, specifications, contracts and legal documents, codes and ordinances.
- Meets with State, Federal, Local Districts, Agencies, consultants, and engineers to discuss project guidelines, design parameters, policies and procedures.
- Performs work in accordance with local, State, and Federal standards and regulations.
- Designs and prepares plans and specifications and cost estimates for a variety of public works projects, including but not limited to streets, storm drains, bridges, parks, traffic signals, parking lots, water facilities, infrastructure improvements and other public facilities. Researches project design requirements, performs calculations, prepares estimates of time and materials costs and determines sequencing and detour requirements.
- Serves as Project Engineer (size and complexity based on classification), including serving as design team leader, handling contract administration and providing design support for the inspector during construction.
- Review plans and maps submitted by private developers for conformity with laws, ordinances, City imposed requirements and accepted professional standards with the goal of protecting the health, safety, and welfare of the community. Performs certain administrative duties associated with private development approvals such as preparing agreements, collecting fees, obtaining dedications, and coordinating with other agencies and City departments.
- Investigates field problems affecting the public, property owners, contractors and maintenance operations; collects the necessary data or assigns the collection of data to technical personnel; develops recommendations and meets with the appropriate parties to discuss and implement recommendations.
- Provides engineering information, including City requirements related to property improvements, to the public and other City departments. Arranges and participates in conferences with other engineers, developers and the general public on engineering problems.
- Assigns investigation, design and drafting tasks to subordinates, reviews completed work and assists in the developing solutions to difficult problems.
EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE
The Associate Civil Engineer is the journey level classification in the engineering job class series. This job class requires:
- Registration as a licensed Civil Engineer in the state of California and 4 years of responsible post degree engineering experience (a master’s degree shall count for 1 year of post degree engineering experience).
- A valid drivers’ license
Under direction, an Associate Civil Engineer performs difficult and complex engineering work and may serve as a supervisor to a small group of engineers and/or paraprofessional engineering staff. The position calls for a high degree of initiative, technical proficiency, and judgement.
UPCOMING PROJECTS
- Annual Bridge Maintenance Program
- Albert J. Boro Community Center: Settlement Assessment (planning)
- Electric Vehicle Charging Installations (design and construction)
- Freitas Park and Peacock Gap Park Tennis Courts Resurfacing (design and construction)
- Los Ranchitos Park Sewer Line Replacement (design-build)
- Redwood Hwy Trash Capture (in design)
- Rossi Pump Station Trash Capture (in design)
- San Rafael Canal Crossing (feasibility study/planning/environmental - $1.5M)
- San Rafael North-South Greenway Gap Closure & Multi-modal Improvements (planning/environmental - ATP Cycle 7 grant for $4.4M)
BENEFITS
This position is a regular position of the City’s Western Council of Engineers (WCE) employee group and is eligible to receive benefits including but not limited to:
- MEDICAL | City group health coverage, with the City paying a fixed dollar amount toward the cost of the monthly insurance premium. Employee only: $950.00; Employee plus one: $1,900.00; Family: $2,400.00
- DENTAL | Premium fully paid for employee plus eligible dependents.
- VISION | Premium fully paid for employee.
- VACATION LEAVE | 10 days annually, increases after 3 years of service
- SICK LEAVE | 12 days annually
- HOLIDAYS | 12 paid City holidays plus 1 floating holiday per year
- COMPENSATORY TIME option
- BEREAVEMENT LEAVE | Up to 5 days paid leave
- END OF LIFE CARE LEAVE | Up to 80 hours paid leave
- PAID PARENTAL LEAVE (if eligible) | Up to 300 hours paid leave. WCE employees also contribute to State Disability Insurance (SDI)
- LIFE INSURANCE & AD&D | $5,000 Life Insurance and a $5,000 AD&D benefit
- LONG TERM DISABILITY | 66.67% of salary, up to $1,000 per month
- RETIREMENT | Enrollment in the Marin County Retirement System (MCERA) pension plan, a defined benefit retirement program
- Tier 2 - hired on or after 7/1/2011: 2% @ 55, Average of 3 highest years
- Tier 3 PEPRA - hired on or after 1/1/2013: 2% @ 62, Average of 3 highest years
- DEFERRED COMPENSATION | City will contribute one percent (1.06%) of base pay into a City-provided deferred compensation plan
- GYM MEMBERSHIP REIMBURSEMENT | Up to $198 per year
- BILINGUAL PAY (if eligible) | Up to $250 per month
