Salary: $151,049.60 - $193,377.60 Annually
Location : 5750 Almaden Expressway, San Jose, CA, CA
Job Type: Full-Time
Job Number: 02001-LT
Division: Watersheds Design and Construction
Opening Date: 07/14/2026
Closing Date: 7/27/2026 11:59 PM Pacific

Description
Overview :

The Associate Engineer positions (two positions) will provide project management and engineering support for flood protection and environmental stewardship projects in the Watershed Design and Construction Division. The positions are responsible for providing technical expertise and overall project management through planning, design, construction, and project closeout. The selected candidate will be a key member of the project teams, supporting project planning, development of engineering plans, specifications and cost estimates, technical analysis, and project construction phase engineering services. The Associate Engineer will support the successful execution of projects from planning through completion and closeout.

The position will work collaboratively with multidisciplinary teams and serve as a key liaison among internal and external stakeholders, regulatory agencies, consultants, and partner organizations to facilitate collaboration, resolve project issues, and support the timely delivery of project milestones.
Key Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Support or lead project team responsible for planning, design, execution, and implementation of assigned projects.
• Direct and work on daily project management activities, ensuring effective coordination, timely delivery, adherence to project objectives, and successful completion of project milestones.
• Review and preparation of planning study reports, engineering plans, specifications, cost estimates, and other technical documents.
• Coordinate and facilitate meetings with project teams and cross-functional valley water units and divisions to support project planning, execution, and stakeholder alignment.
• Coordinate and facilitate meetings with external agencies such as cities, permitting agencies or USACE, consultants and contractors as needed to progress project work efficiently.
• Manage project-related agreements including cost-sharing, operations and maintenance, and other project-related agreements.
• Ensure plan document compliance and contractors perform work in accordance with contract requirements, specifications, and project standards.
• Construction support and contract administration by reviewing requests for information (RFIs), submittals, and potential change order items.

Ideal Candidate's Background Includes:

Applicants whose experience and background best match the ideal experience, knowledge, skills, abilities, and education are considered ideal candidates for the position. To determine the top candidates, each applicant will be assessed based on the ideal candidate criteria as listed below.

Ideal Experience:

• Four (4) years of professional engineering experience.
• Experience supporting or managing flood protection, environmental stewardship, water resources, or other civil engineering projects

Ideal Skills and Abilities:

• Plan, organize, schedule, assign, train, review, and evaluate the work of staff.
• Recommend and implement work plans and effectively manage engineering projects and project teams.
• Apply engineering principles, practices, concepts, and standards to engineering problems.
• Analyze, interpret, summarize, and present technical engineering information and data.
• Perform engineering calculations and statistics.
• Prepare, understand, and interpret construction plans, specifications, drawings, and other engineering documents.
• Independently conduct comprehensive engineering studies, investigations, and analyses.
• Prepare clear and concise reports, correspondence, and other written materials.
• Interpret, apply, explain, and ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local policies, procedures, laws, and regulations, and Valley Water engineering policies and procedures.
• Conduct engineering research projects, evaluate alternatives, make sound recommendations, and prepare effective technical reports.
• Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships.

Ideal Knowledge:

• Principles and practices of employee supervision, including work planning, assignment, review and evaluation, and the training of staff in work procedures.
• Principles, practices, concepts, and standards of civil engineering as applied to assigned field/specialty of engineering, water resources management, natural resource management and planning, engineering, hydrogeology, geology, hydrology, hydraulics, and/or environmental sciences.
• Principles and practices of numerical modeling and analysis, natural resource modeling, forecasting and risk analysis, and statistical analysis.
• Principles of advanced mathematics and its application to civil engineering work.
• Principles and practices of project budgeting, cost estimation, funding, project management, and contract administration.
• Practices of researching engineering and design issues, evaluating alternatives, making sound recommendations, and preparing and presenting effective and technical reports.
• Recent and on-going engineering related developments, including information technology, current literature, and sources of information related to the operations of assigned area of responsibility.
• Applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulatory codes, ordinances, and procedures relevant to assigned area of responsibility.
• Office practices, methods, and computer equipment and applications related to the work.
• English usage, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and punctuation.
• Principles and techniques for providing customer service by effectively dealing with the public, vendors, contractors, and Valley Water staff.
• Each employee shall possess a reasonable understanding of their roles and responsibilities as defined in the Valley Water's Injury and Illness Prevention Program.

Ideal Training and Education:
Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with major coursework in civil engineering or a field related to assigned functional area(s).

LIMITED TERM POSITION:
The assignment period will be up to 2 years and such time period may be adjusted as needed by Valley Water management.

• If the limited-term appointee is internally hired and released from the position prior to the end of the time period, the appointee will be subject to Valley Water's reassignment process and/or appropriate Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) layoff provisions.
• An internally hired limited-term appointee will be covered by the applicable MOU and eligible for all pay and benefits described in the MOU.
• An externally hired limited-term appointee will be considered "at-will" and may be terminated at any time with or without cause.

An externally hired limited-term appointee will be covered by the applicable MOU and eligible for all pay and benefits described in the MOU with the exception of the following articles/sections:

1. Article 3, Section 10:Temporary Assignment - Temporary Upgrade Pay
2. Article 3, Section 11: Temporary Assignment - Special Assignment Pay
3. Article 6, Section 4(D): Deferred Compensation (Limited-term appointees may participate in Valley Water's 457 deferred compensation program however they will be ineligible for Valley Water matching funds and participation in Valley Water's 401(a) plan)
4. Article 8: Leaves of Absence (Valley Water will provide a leave of absence as required by law under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), California Family Rights Act (CFRA) and Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL))
5. Article 11: Workforce Development
6. Article 12: Special Programs
7. Article 13: Employee Performance/Evaluation
8. Article 14: Classification
9. Article 15: Discipline Process
10. Article 17: Layoff

Required License or Certificate

Possession of, or ability to obtain, an appropriate, valid California driver's license. Individuals who do not meet the driver's license requirement due to a disability will be considered for a reasonable accommodation on a case-by-case basis.
Possession of a valid California Professional Engineering License (PE).
To review the Classification Specification, please click

Design & Construction Unit #5 & #6 (Position Code LT022 & LT023)Valley Water Telework Program: Eligibility for telework will depend on the type of work performed, operational needs, and the ability for the employee to perform the essential functions of their job duties while teleworking. Employment with Valley Water requires employees to live within 150 miles of their primary physical work location located in San Jose, California by their start date.

This position is eligible for a hybrid telework schedule, typically working 40% remote and 60% onsite.
Selection Process
(1) The selection process may include one or more of the following: application review, application assessment, performance exercise, written exercise and/or interview.
(2) The Employment Application, Qualifying Information Questions and/or Supplemental Questions will be evaluated based on the ideal candidate criteria listed above. Resumes are highly recommended.

NOTE: Position and start date is subject to availability of funds. Valley Water retains the right to repost this position as deemed necessary.
Consideration may be given to existing applicant pools within the same classification.