Assistant Public Works Director - Engineering

City of Menlo Park; Menlo Park (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

City of Menlo Park is seeking an Assistant Public Works Director – Engineering to lead the Engineering Division and guide the capital improvement program. You will review development projects for compliance and ensure timely, high-quality service to the community.

The ideal candidate combines strategic thinking with strong leadership, communication, and problem‑solving skills, and must be able to respond to emergencies within one hour of call.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in civil engineering or related field.
• Six years of professional civil engineering experience, including three years in management or supervisory role.
• Registered Professional Civil Engineer license in California.
• Valid California class C driver's license by time of appointment.

Responsibilities

• Oversee the Engineering Division and capital improvements program.
• Review development projects for compliance with city standards, ordinances, permits, regulations, and statutes.
• Lead with a value-driven, collaborative approach and respond to emergencies within one hour when needed.
• Support the city in protecting assets and delivering high-quality public services.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Leadership

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's in Civil Engineering

Master's degree desirable

Job description

THE DEPARTMENT

The Public Works Department consists of approximately 73 full-time employees and is responsible for maintaining and improving the city’s streets, parks, water and stormwater systems, traffic signals, trees, fleet and public buildings. The Department’s organizational structure includes four divisions: Engineering, Transportation, Maintenance and Business Services.

The Department provides many of the basic services affecting the daily lives of everyone living, working, visiting, and commuting within the City of Menlo Park and manages the following:

• 26 City-owned buildings/facilities and their grounds
• A fleet of over 250 vehicles and pieces of equipment
• 97 miles of streets
• Drinking water delivery for 16,000 customers
• Flood protection and stormwater management programs particularly along the San Francisco Bay, San Francisquito Creek and Atherton Channel
• 14 parks, 2 open spaces, 14 playgrounds, 2 dog parks, 9 sports fields, and 14 tennis/pickleball courts
• Efforts to preserve and expand the urban canopy, including 20,000 public trees
• Multimodal transportation services including 42 traffic signals, safe routes to schools and citywide shuttle programs.

The Department has a $40 million operating budget supported by over 25 different special/dedicated funding sources for the varied programs and services provided to the community. In addition, the City has an approximately $100 million capital program, in part due to a successful track record in pursuing grants from a variety of local, state and federal sources.

Some of the exciting efforts on the horizon include efforts to protect the San Francisco Bay shoreline and adjacent community from sea level rise; efforts to eliminate the City’s reliance on fossil fuels through building and fleet electrification; making investments in transportation safety through strategic quick-build projects and large infrastructure changes like a pedestrian/bicycle undercrossing at Caltrain; and ensuring the equitable delivery of services throughout the entire city in alignment with the goals and programs developed as part of the city’s first environmental justice element underway.

THE POSITION

The Assistant Public Works Director – Engineering is one of three Assistant Director classifications in the Public Works Department and reports directly to the Public Works Director. This position has oversight of the Engineering Division, which plans and executes the City’s capital improvement program and is responsible for the review of development projects for compliance with city standards, ordinances, permits, regulations, and statutes.

Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate will be a strategic, big picture thinker and creative problem solver, as well as a highly trained and detail-oriented technical specialist with the proven ability to deliver excellent and innovative results to an organization and a community with high service expectations. The person in this role is expected to have an excellent rapport with the general public, with the ability to respond to, and resolve, difficult and sensitive citizen inquiries and complaints. Internally, the Assistant Public Works Director - Engineering will lead by example, creating a value-driven organization emphasizing communication and collaboration. In addition, this position will respond to emergency situations as necessary within one hour of initial call, including natural disasters, such as flooding, storms, and earthquakes.

QUALIFICATIONS

Any combination of training and experience that would provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the required qualifications would be:

• Equivalent to graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with major coursework incivil engineering, construction management, public administration or policy, or a related field.
• Six (6) years of increasingly responsible and varied professional experience in civil engineering, including three (3) years in a management or supervisory role, supervising professional or sub-professional personnel in civil engineering.
• A master’s degree in engineering, business administration, or a related field is highly desirable.
• Possession of a Registered Professional Civil Engineer license issued by the State of California.
• Possession of, or ability to obtain, a valid California class C driver's license by time of appointment.