Environmental Engineer VI - Water Investment Division

at State of Vermont in Montpelier, Vermont, United States

Job Description

The Water Investment Division is seeking a highly organized individual with engineering experience in the planning and construction of municipal wastewater and stormwater improvements, strong people skills, and interest in helping municipalities improve their water infrastructure. This position will afford the right individual the opportunity to make a major contribution to help protect the environment through water quality and public health related projects. The position is part of a growing engineering team that includes Professional Engineers with many years of experience in water infrastructure.  

The position will primarily provide engineering peer review for publicly funded municipal and private sector projects to plan, design, and construct wastewater, stormwater, and other water infrastructure improvements. Additionally, new eligible borrowers and projects may be awarded to non-profit and for-profit private entities, and may be used for a wide range of clean water projects such as brownfield development, contaminated site cleanup, dam removal, and flood mitigation. It is our hope that the person hired will possess the knowledge, skills, and interest in and has familiarity with managing publicly funded construction or implementation projects.  

The primary role of the design engineer is to ensure projects meet accepted design standards and regulatory requirements, will comply with applicable permit requirements and limitations, comply with federal and state funding requirements, and will function as intended. The job duties will consist of reviewing and approving engineering reports, consultant agreements, construction contract documents, progress payments, and project related certifications. This position will interact with federal and state funding partners, municipal officials, project owners, engineering consultants, and regulatory officials, and will provide technical advice to other Department programs.  

In this role, design engineers have significant influence on the scope and design of wastewater, stormwater, and other clean water projects in Vermont. Participating in site visits and other field work is a necessary and important part of the design engineer's responsibilities. Design engineers also assist other programs in DEC and other State Agencies with engineering related questions or issues.  

Due to the need to implement projects that achieve statewide clean water goals, this is a dynamic position in a busy program. This position requires strong interpersonal, communication, and organization skills to manage numerous projects concurrently and work with a wide array of local, municipal, regional, federal, and state officials, private sector project owners, private sector consultants, contractors and related organizations. The engineer is expected to perform the work exercising significant independent judgement. The ideal candidate will have experience with the design of wastewater and stormwater collection and treatment infrastructure and be able to adapt their engineering and project management capabilities to a wide range of clean water projects being implemented by various public- and private-sector entities.  

Preference will be given to candidates with strong written and verbal communication skills, a demonstrated ability to manage publicly funded projects, and experience working with federal funds. Vermont Professional Engineers license is preferred, but not required.   

Duties are largely performed in an office setting; however, some field travel may be necessary for which private means of transportation must be available. Fieldwork may involve exposure to chemicals, gases, hazardous liquid and solid waste, and construction sites during all weather conditions; and may involve traversing rough terrain and bodies of water. Some work outside of regular working hours, including attendance at public meetings, may be required. Strong differences of opinion may be encountered on a regular basis.