Senior Civil Infrastructure Engineer (Facilities Engineer 3)

Stanford University; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Stanford University’s Land, Buildings & Real Estate (LBRE) seeks a Senior Civil Infrastructure Engineer to join the Water Resources and Civil Infrastructure Group. Based in Palo Alto, the role focuses on engineering, operation, and maintenance of urban-scale civil systems, including roads, water, sewer, drainage, and related facilities.

The candidate will lead and collaborate on capital projects, system assessments, and master plans, leveraging field inspections, GIS/CAD, and modeling tools,

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering required; CA PE preferred.
• Ten years of progressively responsible engineering experience in roads, drainage, water and sewer systems.
• Professional engineering license in California preferred.
• Strong communication and presentation skills; collaborative teamwork.
• Experience with infrastructure design, modeling, and field inspections.

Responsibilities

• Serve as an expert, providing design and technical recommendations in area(s) of specialization.
• Identify and resolve complex technical systems issues which may have high visibility and/or high risk/consequences of failure.
• Serve on major, ongoing, technically complex projects requiring substantial coordination and interface with senior management.
• Prepare, review, and analyze projects’ technical plans and specifications for sound design, conformance with guidelines.
• Represent department or lead project teams and review committees.
• Conduct risk assessments and develop contingency plans.
• Serve as a technical lead on projects across multiple disciplines, and/or contractor activities.

Skills

Civil engineering

Project management

Team collaboration

Communication

Field inspections

Regulatory compliance

Education

Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering

California PE license preferred

Tools

AutoCAD

InfoWater

HEC-HMS

HEC-RAS

PowerPoint

Excel

Job description

Land, Buildings & Real Estate (LBRE) is the operational core of Stanford University’s physical campus. LBRE constructs and maintains the Stanford campus, where advancements across the academic spectrum are made possible. Our work is founded upon the collective values of dedication, innovation, expertise, teamwork, and continuous improvement. We are committed to serving the university’s academic mission, as well as preserving and enhancing Stanford’s 8,180 acres, and pride ourselves on supporting the teaching and research of the university as “Caretakers of a Legacy.”

The Senior Civil Infrastructure Engineer position is on the Engineering Team within the Water Resources and Civil Infrastructure Group in Sustainability, Utilities and Infrastructure Division within the Land, Buildings and Real Estate Department. Besides the engineering team of four engineers and an inspector, the group consists of a water planning and stewardship team, water business systems and data management team, and a water shop consisting of a supervisor and eight technicians.

The WR & CI Group is responsible for the engineering, operation and maintenance of the water distribution, storm drainage and sanitary sewer systems, and roads, bridges, and dams, with an institutional long-term perspective and focus on sustainability. The water systems include domestic (potable), lake (for irrigation) and recycled water, as well as sanitary sewer and storm drainage; components include wells, reservoirs, pump stations, and creek diversion facilities, in addition to pipe networks The Stanford civil infrastructure systems are comparable in size and complexity to those of a medium-size city or district.

Given the breadth of the group’s purview of water systems and other civil infrastructure, general civil engineering experience such as land development and public works consulting will be more valuable/applicable and preferred over experience that focused on specialized areas such as water/wastewater treatment, structural engineering, or water utility administration. In addition, extensive field experience and familiarity with construction documents and processes and familiarity with surveying/land encumbrances besides just in-office analytical/design experience will be essential; and GIS/CAD proficiency will be valuable capabilities for this position.

Preservation of reliability and service capacity adequacy of the civil infrastructure systems necessitates continuous assessment and analyses, along with identification, scoping and prioritization of infrastructure renewal, upgrade, and expansion projects. The engineer works collaboratively within a team setting not only within the group but also with campus operations and development colleagues in various departments, to maximize cost-effectiveness and facilitate operational efficiency. Two major aspects of the group’s focus currently are: (1) upgrading and expansion of the water systems’ SCADA, metering & instrumentation, and asset management systems; and (2) comprehensive condition & capacity assessments and development of master plans and capital improvement programs for each category of civil infrastructure.

The effort also involves systems evaluations and engineering support efforts such as hydrologic/hydraulic modeling, field inspections and condition assessments, engineering analyses, data management, field reconnaissance, preparation/review of design drawings and specifications, managing consultants and contractors, and field inspection of construction and installations. Balancing productivity with attention to detail is crucial for this role.

The engineer in this position works closely with and supports the other engineers in the group to address the various areas of civil infrastructure, and works collaboratively with the water quality/efficiency group members and the business/data management and operations staff to constantly improve the systems’ operations, reliability, and regulatory compliance. The engineer will support a variety of in-house engineering efforts, producing analyses/reports, computer-aided drafting of construction drawings, and preparation of figures/exhibits and PowerPoint presentations.

The position requires a degreed, and preferably California-licensed, civil engineer with engineering experience in general civil infrastructure, including roads, water, sewer, and storm drainage systems, and preferably dams and bridges, and familiarity with their operation. Professional approach, technical competence, initiative/creativity, excellent oral and written communication and presentation skills, and desire to work as a collaborative team player are all general attributes necessary for successfully working in this position and in the Stanford facilities environment. In addition to these general attributes, specific qualifications for this position are described below.

What you will do in this role:

• Manage and execute the engineering aspects of civil infrastructure systems, including: reliability and capacity assurance; capital program development; capital project identification, scoping, planning, prioritizing, and implementation; and quality control and assurance. The design, permitting, and construction management of capital projects are managed by the Department of Project Management (DPM) within the Land, Building, and Real Estate (LBRE) department.
• Conduct/manage systems evaluations and engineering efforts such as hydrologic/hydraulic modeling, field inspections and condition assessments, engineering analyses, data management, field reconnaissance, preparation of engineering studies/reports, managing consultants and contractors, and field inspection of construction and installations.
• Review analyses and project design documents for clarity, completeness, and constructability; balancing productivity with attention to detail is crucial for this role.
• Work collaboratively within a team setting in the group to facilitate comprehensive and efficient engineering and operational efficiency and assure regulatory compliance; and will also directly manage some of the group’s more complex studies/analysis.
• Collaborate with other utilities managers (e.g., energy and communication systems) and land use planning and development colleagues in various departments to coordinate logistics to minimize campus disruption and facilitate contained project execution.
• Work collaboratively with the water planning/stewardship and business systems/data management teams and the operations staff to constantly improve the systems’ operations, reliability, and regulatory compliance.
• Work closely with the group director to thoroughly understand the background, significance, and direction for the team’s efforts, and the priorities and processes to execute them collaboratively and successfully.

Note: Not all unique aspects of the job are covered by this job description

The successful candidate will embrace the following:

LBRE’s core values of Leadership, Exploration, Gratitude, Accountability, Community and You (LEGACY) within a culture of excellence, and a management style that helps to build an organization where these qualities serve as the foundation for successful and rewarding careers for all employees.

To be successful in this role you must bring:

• Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering is required. Master’s degree preferred.
• 10 years of progressively responsible engineering that includes experience in roads, drainage, water systems, and sewer systems; and that includes planning, design, hydraulic calculations, plans and specifications preparation, project management, and construction inspection.
• Professional engineering license in California preferred, with extensive analytical, design and field experience in general civil infrastructure, including roads, water, sewer, and storm drainage systems, and preferably dams and bridges, and familiarity with their operation.
• Professional approach, technical competence, initiative/creativity, excellent spoken and written communication and presentation skills, and desire to work as a collaborative team player are all general attributes necessary for successfully working in this position and in the Stanford facilities environment.
• Demonstrated experience in advanced analysis, problem-solving, logistics planning, financial planning & budgeting, and customer service skills.
• Working knowledge of instrumentation & controls systems, databases for inventory/asset management and operational/regulatory compliance reporting is preferred.
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills, and experience preparing (Power Point) presentations.
• Highly motivated, with a collaborative professional approach and communication style.
• Experience preparing and giving presentations.
• Experience leading large meetings of project teams and stakeholder groups.
• Experience with conventional permitting processes and working with governmental agencies.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office software (e.g., Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• Experience working with infrastructure design and modeling software (InfoWater, HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, AutoCAD, etc.), along with a willingness to learn and master these and other innovative technological tools and software.

Responsibilities

Core Duties:

• Serve as an expert, providing design and technical recommendations in area(s) of specialization. May include development and implementation of programs and systems, and interfacing and coordination with/across specialties and disciplines.
• Identify and resolve complex technical systems issues which may have high visibility and/or high risk/consequences of failure.
• Serve on major, ongoing, technically complex projects requiring substantial coordination and interface with senior management.
• Prepare, review, and analyze projects’ technical plans and specifications for sound design, conformance with design guidelines and other related criteria, and pertinent codes or standards.
• Represent department or lead specific project teams and review committees.
• Conduct risk assessments and develop contingency plans.
• Serve as a technical lead on projects in area(s) of expertise across multiple disciplines, and/or contractor activities, through all project phases.

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in relevant engineering discipline.

Minimum Experience:

Ten years of directly related experience. Experience leading technical or cross-functional teams. Experience managing complex projects or groups of projects.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to cultivate strong and collaborative relationships inside and outside the organization.
• Proficiency with standard desktop applications for word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations.
• Knowledge of scheduling, project management tools and resources.
• Knowledge and proficiency with engineering software related to assignment.
• Understanding and ability to perform/evaluate lifecycle cost analysis.
• Deep technical knowledge in area of expertise.
• Excellent project management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to monitor and control scope, schedule, and budget.
• Ability to identify and mitigate potential project risk components.