PRINCIPAL TRANSPORTATION ENGINEER, CALTRANS

State of California; California; Hybrid; USD 170,000 - 193,000; Full time

Job summary

The State of California is seeking a DES Program Manager in the Department of Transportation. Based in Sacramento, this role leads the Integrated Project Office for the DES and oversees QA for major projects like Last Chance Grade and the Tunnel Project.

Required qualifications include professional engineer registration and multi-year transportation engineering or managerial experience within California state service, with telework options stated as hybrid where applicable.

Qualifications

• Possession of a valid certificate of registration as a civil, electrical, or mechanical engineer issued by the California State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers.
• Experience as Supervising-level civil/transportation engineer in state service (1 year) or four years at Senior level.
• Managerial experience at Supervising or Senior level in the California state service.
• Two years of civil engineering work at the Associate engineer level or higher in the California state service.
• Broad and extensive transportation engineering experience equivalent to Senior level or higher.

Responsibilities

• Lead and direct the Integrated Project Office activities for the DES.
• Oversee Independent Quality Assurance for the Last Chance Grade and Tunnel Project.
• Collaborate with District 1, North Region and contractors to expedite the review.

Job description

Job Posting: DES Program Manager

Department of Transportation

JC-534860 - DES Program Manager

PRINCIPAL TRANSPORTATION ENGINEER, CALTRANS

$15,263.00 - $17,336.00 per Month

New to State candidates will be hired into the minimum salary of the classification or minimum of alternate range when applicable.

Final Filing Date: 10/19/2026

Job Description and Duties

Pending DOF Approval Under the general direction of the Chief, Division of Engineering Services, the incumbent is responsible for leading, directing, coordinating and the execution of all activities involved in the Integrated Project Office for District 1 Headquarters located in Eureka, Ca. The incumbent manages a Division of Engineering Services (DES) program oversight team responsible for Independent Quality Assurance for the Last Chance Grade, Tunnel Project. The incumbent commits to partner with District 1, North Region and their contractors to expedite the review from a dedicated DES team.

You will find additional information about the job in the Duty Statement.

Working Conditions

This position may be eligible for telework. The amount of telework is at the discretion of the Department and based on Caltrans’s evolving telework policy. Caltrans supports telework, recognizing that in-person attendance may be required based on operational needs. Employees are expected to be able to report to their worksites with minimum notification if an urgent need arises. The selected candidate will be required to commute to the headquartered location as needed to meet operational needs. Business travel may be required and reimbursement considers an employee’s designated headquartered location, primary residence, and may be subject to CalHR regulations or applicable bargaining unit contract provisions. All commute expenses to the headquartered location will be the responsibility of the selected candidate.

Minimum Requirements

You will find the Minimum Requirements in the Class Specification.

• PRINCIPAL TRANSPORTATION ENGINEER, CALTRANS

Additional Documents

• Job Application Package Checklist
• Duty Statement

Position Details

Job Code #: JC-534860

Position #(s): 559-001-3152-XXX

Working Title: DES Program Manager

Classification: PRINCIPAL TRANSPORTATION ENGINEER, CALTRANS

$15,263.00 - $17,336.00

New to State candidates will be hired into the minimum salary of the classification or minimum of alternate range when applicable.

# of Positions: 1

Work Location: Sacramento County

Telework: Hybrid

Job Type: Permanent, Full Time

Department Information

Caltrans Mission: Improving lives and communities through transportation.

Caltrans Vision: A thriving and connected California.

The Caltrans workforce is made up of diverse and unique individuals who contribute to our organizational success.

Caltrans Director’s EEO Policy and EEO Policy Statement:

https://dot.ca.gov/programs/equal-employment-opportunity

Email will be the primary form of communication for this position. Please ensure you have a valid email address on your application.

Special Requirements

Pursuant to California Code of Regulations § 549.90, this position will be filled via the California Department of Transportation Managerial Selection Program (MSP) process.

This process provides for examination and job-selection specific to each position and consistent with the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the classification.

Please read the entire job posting before applying for this position.

This is a Caltrans Open examination.

All applicants must meet the minimum qualifications by the final filing date to participate in the examination.

Minimum Qualifications:

Possession of a valid certificate of registration as a civil, electrical, or mechanical engineer issued by the California State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and

Either I

Experience: One year of transportation engineering experience as a Supervising level engineer in the California state service; or four years of transportation engineering experience as a Senior level engineer.

Or II

Experience: One year of managerial experience in the California state service equivalent in level to a Supervising Transportation Planner, or four years of supervisory or managerial experience equivalent in level to a Senior Transportation Planner.

and

Experience: Two years of civil engineering work at the Associate engineer level or higher in the California state service.

Or III

Experience: Broad and extensive (more than five years) transportation engineering experience equivalent in responsibility to a Senior or higher level engineer in the California state service.

Examination Information:

This examination will utilize an evaluation of each candidate’s experience and education (E&E) compared to a standard developed from the Class Specification. For this reason, it is especially important that each candidate take special care in accurately and completely filling out his or her State application (STD. 678). List all experience relevant to the “Minimum Qualifications”.

This examination will not establish a civil service list; therefore, candidates will not have the ability to transfer their eligibility to other departments. Candidates will be notified of their examination results.

Note: If using Out of Class (OOC) experience, you must submit a copy of your signed and approved OOC documentation. Failure to do so may result in your OOC experience not being considered during the evaluation process of this examination.

Benefits

Benefit information can be found on the CalHR website and the CalPERS website.

Statement of Qualifications

A Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) is required and must be submitted along with your State application. The SOQ is a discussion of how an applicant’s education and experience meet the evaluation criteria below and qualify them for the position.

Responses to the SOQ must be submitted on the Department of Transportation's MSP Statement of Qualifications Form (PM-0504). Any SOQ responses that are not submitted on the PM-0504 will not be scored. Each box provided for your response has been limited to 2000 characters.

Each question will be scored individually, therefore, candidates must provide detailed and specific examples, from their professional experience, education, and training, that directly answer each of the SOQ questions. The SOQ will be utilized as screening criteria for the hiring interview only and will not be used for the purposes of examination. Additional documents to supplement the PM-0504 will not be reviewed during the SOQ scoring. To learn about the Statement of Qualifications form (PM-0504) and screening process, click here: https://youtu.be/Wi1RbhBY0Ao

The PM-0504 SOQ Form can be found in the Required Application Package Documents section of this advertisement. If you have difficulty opening the form, please try using Mozilla Firefox. Please make sure the number of SOQs on the Form are the same as the number of SOQs below.

The Statement of Qualifications must address the applicant’s qualifications relative to the following:

• 1. Describe your experience with alternative project delivery methods and leading multidisciplinary engineering teams, including key success factors, challenges, and coordination across technical disciplines to keep complex projects on schedule and within budget.
• 2. Provide an example of a significant risk, geotechnical issue, or constructability challenge you encountered on a complex infrastructure project. What steps did you take to address it, and what was the outcome?
• 3. Large projects often require coordination with internal and external stakeholders (e.g., local agencies, utilities, environmental groups, contractors). Describe a situation where you effectively communicated complex technical information to diverse audiences.

Additional Information

Please include MSP#26MSP097 and the title of the position you are applying for on the STD. 678 application form.

Please take this 1-minute Caltrans Recruitment Survey to tell us how you found out about this job! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HMQ7LDR

Veterans’ Preference will be granted for this examination. In accordance with Government Codes 18973.1 and 18973.5, whenever any veteran, or widow or widower of a veteran achieves a passing score on an open examination, he or she shall be ranked in the top rank of the resulting eligible list. Veteran status is verified by the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR). Instructions on how to apply for Veterans' Preference are on the Veterans' Preference for Examinations form (CalHR 1093).

Equal Opportunity Employer

The State of California is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.

It is an objective of the State of California to achieve a drug-free work place. Any applicant for state employment will be expected to behave in accordance with this objective because the use of illegal drugs is inconsistent with the law of the State, the rules governing Civil Service, and the special trust placed in public servants.