CITY ENGINEER

City of Urbana; Urbana (IL); On-site; USD 116,000 - 192,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fringe benefits package

Relocation assistance may be negotiat

Job summary

City of Urbana seeks a dynamic leader for City Engineer to direct the Urbana Public Works Engineering Division, oversee infrastructure projects, and serve as a technical advisor to city leadership. This executive role focuses on CIP implementation, design standards, and cross-department collaboration to improve public infrastructure.

The candidate will manage multiple projects, provide leadership to professional staff, and engage with external partners to advance Urbana's capital programs while

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in civil engineering required with eight+ years of managerial experience.
• Master's degree and PE license preferred for advancement and leadership.
• Must possess and maintain a valid Illinois Professional Engineering license and driver's license.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Engineering Division within Urbana Public Works.
• Provide direction for infrastructure engineering, construction management, and development review.
• Serve as City Traffic Engineer and oversee CIP development and design standards.
• Coordinate with City Council, departments, agencies, and community stakeholders.

Education

Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering

Master's degree (preferred)

Professional Engineer (PE) license in Illinois

Valid Illinois driver's license

Job description

• Position Type: Administration/Management
• Date Posted: 10/6/2026
• Location: Urbana Public Works Department
• Date Available: When filled
• Closing Date: 10/30/2026
• Title: City Engineer
• Job ID: 546

The City of Urbana is pleased to offer an exceptional opportunity for its next City Engineer to support engineering initiatives for one of downstate Illinois' most innovative and progressive cities. We are looking for an experienced and adaptable leaders to support our dedicated and talented Engineering Division staff, as well as positive internal and external trends of collaboration and cooperation among the division, the department, the City, external partner agencies, and the Urbana community.

As the Engineering Division lead in the Urbana Public Works Department, this position offers the opportunity to provide effective direction, control, and management over key engineering functions, such as infrastructure engineering, construction management, and development review. This position serves as a technical advisor to the Public Works Director, City Administrator, Mayor, and City Council. The successful candidate will also be responsible for activities such as development and implementation of the Capital Improvement Plan, updating and enforcing City design standards, performing a full range of project management activities for multiple construction projects; serving as City Traffic Engineer; and providing effective leadership of the division by creating and promoting a positive, inclusive work environment. As an executive level position within the City, this position is subject to a biennial appointment recommendation by the Mayor with confirmation by the City Council.

Successful performance in this position requires effective and supportive leadership and management skills and the ability to foster collaboration; support staff development; and model superior internal and external customer service, ethical standards, and integrity. This position is responsible for direct and indirect supervision of management, professional, and technical support staff. The incumbent has considerable interface with all City departments, the City Council, and other elected officials, and community stakeholders.

About Urbana

The City of Urbana, IL (40,795) is located in Champaign County in east central Illinois. It is home to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, one of the preeminent research institutions in the world. Boasting a richly diverse population, a Big Ten University, two regional medical centers, and a flourishing arts and entertainment scene, Urbana offers its residents and visitors a wide range of exciting and unique urban amenities in a small, charming, and friendly package.

Urbana was founded in 1833 and is the County Seat of Champaign County. Along with its neighboring municipalities, Urbana is part of the Urbana-Champaign MSA consisting of over 310,000 people. Urbana is known for its beautiful neighborhoods, excellent educational opportunities, high quality of life, recreational amenities, and responsive local government. It is a hub for shopping, dining, and recreation in east central Illinois. The community is also home to world-class healthcare provided by two major medical centers: Carle Foundation Hospital and OSF Medical Center. Major regional employers include the University of Illinois and several Fortune 500 companies such as Kraft/HeinzFedEx, State Farm Insurance, Caterpillar, John Deere, Yahoo!, and Intel.

Urbana also enjoys a beautiful array of historic commercial and residential buildings whose history and architecture illustrate the evolution of the community. Urbana residents and visitors also enjoy a vibrant and eclectic downtown, home to the popular Urbana Market at the Square and a variety of local businesses and venues; a host of parks and recreation resources maintained and supported by the Urbana Park District; and the historic Urbana Free Library, which houses the Champaign County Historical Archives.

Urbana Municipal Government

The City of Urbana is governed by Mayor DeShawn B. Williams and a seven-member City Council, each elected by wards to four-year overlapping terms. The Mayor is elected at-large to a four-year term. The Mayor is a full-time position and functions as the City's Chief Executive Officer. With the advice and consent of the Urbana City Council, the Mayor appoints (among other appointees) the City Administrator and the department directors, including the Finance Director/CFO, while the City Administrator oversees the day-to-day functions of each operating department.

The City has an annual budget of $93 million and employs 290 full- and part-time employees. The municipality provides a full complement of services to the residents via the following operating departments: Police, Fire, Public Works, Community Development, Finance, and an Executive Department that houses City Administration, Human Resources, Legal, Human Rights & Equity, and Information Technology.

Public Works Department

The Urbana Public Works Department is the City's largest department, housing operating divisions comprised of the Administrative Division, the Engineering Division, and the Operations Division. These functions collaborate closely to plan, build, and maintain Urbana's public infrastructure and provide critical public safety and service to Urbana's residents, businesses, and visitors.

Engineering Division

The Engineering Division of the Urbana Public Works Department conducts detailed studies, evaluates the performance and condition of the City's infrastructure systems, and develops strategic plans for future improvements. This broad scope of infrastructure asset management includes responsibility for civil design and construction management, land development review, utility and right-of-way licensing and permitting, and overseeing the development and implementation of the City's five-year Capital Improvement Plan.

The City Engineer leads, manages and diects the activities of the Engineering Division. The incumbent is a member of the City's executive management team and functions under the general direction of the Public Works Director. The major responsibilities of the position include the following:

• Provides effective direction, control, and management over key engineering functions including: infrastructure engineering, construction management, and development review. Manages, supervises and assists subordinate staff in the planning, design, construction and maintenance of street, sidewalks, drainage structures, transportation facilities, and other public works. Prepares and oversees the preparation of engineering designs, specifications and cost estimates for a wide variety of capital improvement projects. Meets and confers with developers, contractors, engineers and the general public relative to City policies, regulations, and procedures; coordinate discrepancies and problem situations with outside parties. Ensures the effective coordination of work and project development between engineering/design components and the operations/maintenance components. Also ensures effective coordination with the other divisions and departments.
• Performs a full range of project management activities for multiple construction projects: prepares project bid documents and advertises request for proposals; prepares correspondence; represents the City at construction meetings; coordinates and reviews inspection work of others; evaluates condition and conflicts of pertinent utilities; interacts extensively with affected stakeholders; inspects construction while work is in progress for adherence to plans, specifications, and other agency standards and regulatory requirements; interprets specifications and interact with contractors; obtains appropriate permits from regulatory agencies; effectively manages project costs; maintains clear and concise project records; and prepares final project reports and evaluations.
• Serves as City Traffic Engineer.
• Attends Council meetings to present requests and provide information. Makes presentations to other boards, commissions and committees as needed. Prepares reports and recommendations for Traffic Commission. Provides technical engineering advice and assistance to other departments, elected and appointed officials, other governmental jurisdictions, and consultants in the planning and execution of public works system improvements, programs, projects, and other engineering matters. Serves on the Traffic Commission and Champaign-Urbana Urbanized Area Transportation Study (CUUATS) Technical Subcommittee.
• Pursues federal, state, and county funding for engineering-related projects.
• Assists the Public Works Director with project & budget planning; development of design standards updates for streets, sidewalks, water and sewer lines, pump stations, storm drains, retaining walls, culverts, and other public works and utility projects; and develop project estimates and schedules.
• Acts as a liaison with appropriate municipal, county, state, and federal agencies regarding joint projects and regulations.
• Oversees activities relating to construction of new and replacement sanitary and storm sewers, alleys, streets, sidewalks, bridges, traffic signals and streetlights.
• Oversees activities relating to approval of new subdivision plats and plans; manages activities relating to the review of the service impact of annexations
• Reviews and recommends approval of inspection reports regarding the condition of streets, sidewalks, sewers, bridges, and alleys for work planning purposes.
• Assigns personnel to oversee contractors' progress, periodically personally reviewing progress and quality.
• Maintains and recommends changes to City special assessment policies.
• Establishes multi-year projections to plan the interrelated use of Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), Motor Fuel Tax (MFT), Sewer Benefit Tax (SBT) fund, and other related funds.
• Certifies subdivision performance bond releases and Illinois Environmental Protection Agency's sanitary sewer permits, construction plans and specifications.
• Reviews and approves right-or-way excavations and driveway construction; private sewage disposal systems; the extension, alteration of and connection to any storm drain or sanitary sewer; industrial discharges of cooling water and unpolluted process waters into storm sewers and natural outlets.
• Reviews and recommends action in response to requests for traffic signs and controls, including emergency pre-emption.
• Approves street names and addresses and organizes systems to assure consistency and coordination.
• Implements design and construction of special fund projects; acquires field data; researches property histories and old project plans; design improvements; implements bid process.
• Coordinates projects with external agencies including, but not limited to Illinois Department of Transportation, Champaign County, the City of Champaign, the University of Illinois, and Urbana Township and Somer Township.
• Reviews and recommends grant-writing strategies to leverage city dollars for system improvements in coordination with other governmental agencies and/or private partners.
• Initiates and maintains extensive contacts with key engineers and officials.

Required and Desirable Qualifications

The City welcomes applicants with any combination of education and experience that will provide the required knowledge and abilities to perform the duties of the City Engineer as outlined above. Applicants are generally expected to have graduated from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and have at least eight (8) years of progressively responsible managerial, supervisory, and administrative experience, which includes planning and directing difficult projects and supervising the work of professional engineering staff. A master's degree and/or municipal civil engineering are preferred. The successful candidate must possess and maintain a current Professional Engineering license in the State of Illinois as well as a valid Illinois driver's license and a safe driving record.

For a complete list of responsibilities and required knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies, please refer to the job description.

Compensation

The full annual salary range for this position is $116,371.04 to $192,012.22. The starting annual salary (hiring range) for the position is $116,371.04 to $154,191.63 DOQ/E, with the opportunity to move through the full pay range based on performance. The City of Urbana provides its employees with a highly competitive package of fringe benefits. Relocation assistance may be negotiated with the successful candidate.

• highly competitive package of fringe benefits
• Relocation assistance may be negotiated with the successful candidate

The City of Urbana Welcomes Diversity!

We foster an environment that values and encourages mutual respect, inclusion of all people, and utilizing differences and similarities as an organizational asset. EOE.