Assistant Public Works Director - Engineering (20775249)

Menlo Park; Menlo Park, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 230,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work arrangement

Educational reimbursement

CalPERS retirement

Medical/Dental/Vision coverage

Job summary

The City of Menlo Park seeks an Assistant Public Works Director – Engineering to lead the Engineering Division and advance the city’s capital improvement program.

The ideal candidate will bring a strong civil engineering background, a California PE license, strategic leadership, and the ability to respond to emergencies within one hour. This full-time, hybrid role offers a comprehensive benefits package and a path to shaping Bay Area infrastructure.

Qualifications

• Equivalent to graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with civil engineering-based coursework.
• Six years of civil engineering experience, including three in a supervisory role.
• California Professional Engineer license and a valid CA driver's license.

Responsibilities

• Oversee Engineering Division and the city’s capital improvement program.
• Review development projects for conformance with standards and permits.
• Lead a value-driven, collaborative department with strong public service focus.
• Respond to emergencies within one hour when required.

Skills

Civil engineering

Leadership

Public administration

Policy

Education

Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering

Master's degree in Engineering or related field

Tools

Professional Engineer license (CA)

Driver's license

Job description

• Assistant Public Works Director - Engineering

Assistant Public Works Director - Engineering (20775249)

Category Engineering

Region San Francisco/Peninsula

Job Type Full-Time

Close Date 10/13/2026 at 11:59pm

$170,271.00-$229,866.00 Annually

None

About Menlo Park

Menlo Park is a city of beautiful, tree-lined neighborhoods and active commercial districts. Located conveniently between the major metropolitan areas of San Francisco and San Jose, Menlo Park is home to just approximately 32,000 residents in its 19 square miles. The stunning natural surroundings of the city afford views of the San Francisco Bay to the east and the Pacific Coastal Range to the west. Menlo Park’s climate is moderate to warm, with an average of 265 sunny days a year.

Menlo Park’s residents reflect a range of backgrounds and interests who tend to be well educated and actively engaged in community life. Excellent public and private schools serve its many young families, while residents of all ages enjoy the City’s numerous parks and recreational facilities. The City’s close proximity to Stanford University and Menlo College provide a multitude of academic, cultural and athletic event opportunities. The arts and leisure activities of the major urban areas of San Francisco and San Jose are close by. These and many other amenities contribute to Menlo Park’s outstanding quality of life.

Located in the heart of Menlo Park is a downtown featuring unique and upscale shops, restaurants and entertainment, including the Guild Theatre. Set in a pleasant, pedestrian-oriented atmosphere, Menlo Park’s downtown area attracts locals and visitors alike. Known worldwide as the “Capital of Venture Capital,” Menlo Park hosts many venture capital firms and is well situated to benefit from and help shape new technologies and markets originating from the Silicon Valley. Additionally, the city is host to numerous technology and healthcare related companies, including such major employers as Meta (formerly Facebook), SRI International, Pacific Biosciences, Exponent, Grail and Personalis.

Menlo Park is a General Law city operatingunder the Council-Manager form of government. The City Council appoints the City Manager and City Attorney, as well as members of a variety of advisory commissions and committees. The municipal government is organized into six operating departments, including Administrative Services, City Manager's Office, Community Development, Library and Community Services, Police, and Public Works. The City is comprised ofapproximately 300 employees.

In addition to its many attributes, Menlo Park has one of the most beautiful civic center campuses in the Bay Area. Heritage trees, a running fountain, and a duck pond surround City Hall. The campus also includes a nine-acre park, recreation facilities, and the Menlo Park Library. These civic amenities make the campus a noted destination for residents, local employees, and visitors. Conveniently located, the campus is a short walk to our downtownarea with food and shopping destinations, as well theMenlo Park Caltrain Station.

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.

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.

The City provides a generous benefits package for unrepresented management positions designed to achieve total compensation above the market median among comparable agencies and promote employee health, wellness, and work-life balance, including:

• CalPERS Retirement – Classic members 2% at 60 and 2% at 62 for PEPRA members. Employees pay the full member contribution. The City does not participate in Social Security, except for the 1.45% Medicare contribution by both the City and employee.
• Medical Plans – City pays 100% medical, dental, and vision insurance for employee and eligible dependents.
• Educational Reimbursement – City reimburses up to $3,600 per year for tuition expenses.
• Life Insurance – City provided policy equal to 1.5 times the employee’s annual salary up to $350,000.
• Deferred Compensation – City matches employee contribution up to 4% of salary or to the IRS maximum, whichever is less.
• Paid Time Off – Includes 338 hours of General Leave, 80 hours of Management Leave, and 11 official paid holidays per year. Up to 120 hours may be cashed out annually. Accrued General Leave is fully paid out upon separation from the City.
• Health Reimbursement – City contribution of $2,500 per year for health reimbursement arrangement.
• Auto Allowance – Employees who are not assigned a City vehicle receive an auto allowance of $285per pay period.
• City is also enrolled in Caltrain GoPass and BayPass pilot program for free access to all bus, rail, and ferry services in the nine-county Bay Area. The Menlo Park Caltrain station is a five-minute walk from City Hall.
• Annual Bonus – City Manager may award a bonus of up to $20,000 per fiscal year.
• Additional Benefits – City paid long-term disability and AD&D insurance. Counseling and referral services provided through the Employee Assistance Program. Access to on-site gym.
• We offer hybrid and flexible work arrangements, including a 9/80 schedule with the option to work remotely up to one day per week.

For more detailedbenefit information, visit www.menlopark.gov and review the City of Menlo Park Management Compensation Plan forUnrepresented Appointees.

The City of Menlo Park is an Equal Opportunity Employer. It is the policy of the City of Menlo Park not to discriminate against all qualified applicants or employees. We will make reasonable efforts in the selection process to accommodate persons with disabilities. Please contact Human Resources at [phone] or [e-mail] prior to the closing date for accommodation requests.

Before receiving an offer of employment, the candidate will be required to successfully complete a criminal conviction history questionnaire, DOJ fingerprinting, and an Occuscreen background check.

In accordance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act, all potential employees are required to verify identity and authorization to work in the United States.