Civil Engineer, Principal - Water Distribution and Capital Projects

Salary : $88,546.00 - $146,101.00 Annually

Location : MD 20850, MD

Job Type : Full-Time

Job Number : 202400083

Department : Department of Public Works

Division : Engineering

Opening Date : 10 / 30 / 2025

Closing Date : 11 / 15 / 2025 10 : 00 PM Eastern

Job Summary

Due to an internal promotion, we are hiring a Civil Engineer to manage capital projects involving Rockville's water treatment plant. The Principal Civil engineer joins the Department of Public works and reports to an Engineering Supervisor. The successful candidate will have significant responsibility managing major capital improvement program (CIP) initiatives for our water treatment plant (WTP) and distribution system. This includes various WTP process and equipment upgrades, water main rehabilitation, lead and copper rule regulation compliance, and advanced metering infrastructure implementation. Responsibilities in this role are broad and cover every aspect of work related to the Water Fund such short and long-term planning, budget preparation, system modeling, community outreach, determination of development requirements, bidding and contract administration, construction support, and public presentation.

Whether you already have local government engineering experience o coming from an Engineering Consulting (billable) environment, this could be a welcome career change. The position will offer a hybrid and flexible work schedule. Employment with the city presents an exceptional and unique work environment in which you will play a critical part in supporting the lives of our 70,000 residents, businesses, and countless visitors. Our generous benefits package includes significant retirement programs, ample annual and sick leave, membership at the city's Swim and Fitness Center, tuition reimbursement and training. We also offer a family friendly work / life balance, and various opportunities for employees to participate in Health and Wellness programming.

Essential Job Functions

Functions of all Principal Civil Engineers

• Supervises and coordinates the preparation and review of construction plans, specifications, computations, and contract documents for the Public Works Capital Improvement Projects and development permits prepared by consulting engineers and City staff.
• Performs reviews of complex engineering plans, reports, and computations for compliance with engineering principles and applicable city, county, state, and federal codes, regulations, policies, and procedures.
• Assists reviewing laws, regulations, requirements, and standards of the federal government, the state, and non-governmental bodies (such as AWWA or LEED) to identify and assesses changes and recommend changes to the Rockville City Code.
• Reviews the impact of development projects on City water and wastewater infrastructure for conformance with the Adequate Public Facility Standards and recommends improvement to the water and wastewater systems to ensure system integrity.
• Conducts studies; recommends policies, regulations, and procedures; and analyzes fees and rates to achieve division goals.
• Interprets designs and advises on intent issues as they arise, refines or revises designs or adds designs, as necessary, and may resolve design / construction conflicts during the construction phase.
• Prepares and reviews complex construction plans, studies, plats, easements, specifications, and estimates for projects ranging from new construction to repair / modification of existing infrastructure.
• Schedules, mentors and reviews the work of other engineers to ensure design quality and compliance with City standards, specifications, and good engineering practice, and maintains a status report on all projects.
• Coordinates projects and obtains permits from appropriate City departments, outside agencies, and private utility companies.
• Reviews standards, specifications, ordinance requirements, and regulations within the City to recommend modifications and advise on their probable impact.
• Assists and provides advice to inspection personnel to resolve field problems and respond to contract administration inquiries.
• Answers public inquiries regarding projects and other engineering matters; attends and acts as City representative at citizen and community meetings.
• Evaluates proposed development and establishes water, wastewater, and SWM requirements through the Water and Sewer Authorization and the Stormwater Concept approval process to ensure development complies with the City, State, and federal codes, including the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance.
• Drafts proposed legislation for the City Code to stay current with modern standards and practices, and local, state, and federal regulations.
• Receives and resolves inquiries regarding complex complaints from interested parties involving issues that are the purview of the department's codes.
• Assists division chief in the preparation of the operating and CIP budgets and other administrative and personnel duties.
• Manages individual engineering projects and provides estimates for CIP planning, budgeting, and design purposes.
• Supervises engineers and consulting engineers in project execution for the Engineering Division.
• May be required to attend meetings after hours and respond to emergencies.

Functions of CIP Construction

Qualifications

Education and Experience :

BS or MS in civil or environmental engineering from an accredited university or college, seven (7) or more years of progressively responsible experience in civil engineering, or any combination of substantially equivalent education and experience. Candidates ideally will have direct experience in the project management of water distribution or water treatment plant engineering.

Special Qualifications :

Licensed Professional Engineer and be registered with the State of Maryland within one year of employment. Possession of (or ability to obtain) certification from the Project Management Institute as a Project Management Professional (PMP), is desirable. Must possess or have the ability to obtain a valid Maryland state driver's license.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Summary of Employee Benefits

The following is a brief summary of the major benefits provided to new full-time, regular employees. Part-time, regular employees working more than 20 hours per week may be entitled to these benefits on a pro-rated basis in accordance with Rockville City Laws and personnel policies and procedures. Benefits are not available to temporary employees. Details about benefits and costs for full-time and part-time employees are available by calling the Human Resources Department at 240-314-8470.

Group Insurance Plans

Health Insurance

Participation is available in one of a number of types of health plans. The City contributes toward each plan. Participation is optional. Detailed information about each plan and the associated cost is available through the Human Resources Department.

Employees may participate in one of the following plans : Aetna HMO $30 / $40, Aetna HMO $30 / 40 Deductible, Aetna HMO Health Reimbursement Account, Aetna Point of Service, Kaiser Permanente HMO, or Kaiser Permanente Point of Service. Start date of coverage is the date of hire or the first of the following month.

Rockville Group : 118583-011

Member Services : (800) 445-5299 or (888) 792-3862 (Rx Services)

Web Site : Kaiser Permanente

Rockville Group : 4205-4 (HMO)

Member Services : (301) 468-6000 or (800) 777-7902

TTY : (301) 816-6344

Web Site : Kaiser Permanente

Employees may join the City's dental program and receive dental benefits in addition to any such benefits provided by the group health plans. The City contributes a portion of the cost of each employee's dental coverage. If dental coverage is waived, the City's contribution is reallocated toward the employee's health plan cost. Start date of coverage is the first of the month following date of hire. Guardian Dental

Customer Service : (800) 541-7846

Web Site : Kaiser Permanente

City of Rockville is offers a vision plan with VSP. Members will have a $130 allowance (in-network) for lenses / frames or contacts. Go to www.vsp.com to locate a participating provider. VSP members get a 20% savings on additional glasses and sunglasses, including lens enhancements, from any VSP provider within 12 months of your last WellVision Exam. Ask your provider about Laser Vision Correction discounts as well.

Group Life Insurance

The City provides life insurance equal to one and one-half times an employee's base salary. There is no cost to the employee for this benefit. Employees have the option of purchasing additional supplemental life insurance coverage for self, spouse and dependent child(ren). New employees joining within their first 30 days will not be required to provide evidence of insurability.

Leave

Annual Leave

Annual leave ranges from 16 to 23 days per year depending upon the length of service with the City. Leave may be used as it is accrued with the permission of the employee's supervisor. Annual leave is paid at termination after completing six (6) months of service. An employee normally accrues annual leave in the following manner :

Months of Service

Monthly Vacation Accrual in Hours

(37.5 hrs / wk) / (40 hrs / wk)

1-24 Months

10.00 / 10.40

25-60 Months

11.53 / 12.40

61-96 Months

13.08 / 14.00

97+ Months

14.23 / 15.20

Holidays

Administrative and Police employees generally receive the following eleven (11) holidays per year.

New Year's Day

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Presidents' Day

Memorial Day

Juneteenth Day

Independence Day

Labor Day

Veterans' Day

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Friday

Christmas Day

The City also observes all days of general and congressional elections throughout the State of Maryland. This holiday falls on even numbered years. Union employees and certain other employees may receive different holidays in accordance with the terms of a contractual agreement.

Sick Leave

Sick leave is earned monthly at the rate of 1.25 days per completed month of service. There is no waiting period for using earned sick leave nor is there a limit to the amount of earned sick leave that may be used in connection with any legitimate illness.

Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)

Dependent Care FSA

The Dependent Care FSA allows employees to set aside up to $5,000 on a pre-tax basis for eligible dependent care expenses. Prior to the beginning of each calendar year, employees estimate the amount of these eligible expenses and agree to have this amount deducted from their annual salary on a bi-weekly basis. Employees avoid paying federal, state, and Social Security taxes on the total amount of their deferral. When expenses are incurred, employees submit a receipt and are reimbursed from their account. A detailed description of the plan is available in the Human Resources Department.

Medical FSA

The Medical Care FSA allows employees to set aside up to $3,200 on a pre-tax basis for eligible health care expenses. Prior to the beginning of each calendar year, employees estimate the amount of these expenses and agree to have that amount deducted from their annual salary on a bi-weekly basis. Employees avoid paying federal, state, and Social Security taxes on the total amount of their deferral. An employee may use a FSA debit card to pay for eligible expenses, or may submit receipts when expenses are incurred in order to be reimbursed from their account. A detailed description of the plan is available in the Human Resources Department.

Pre-tax Deductions for Health Insurance

Through Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code, pre-tax payroll deductions may be made for the City's health and dental insurance premiums. Pre-tax deductions allow employees to avoid paying Federal, State, and F.I.C.A. taxes on the amounts of these payroll deducted premiums.

Wex Benefits

Customer Service : (866) 451-3399

Web Site : Kaiser Permanente

Retirement Plan

The City's retirement plans consist of a Defined Benefit and a Defined Contribution portion. Administrative and Union employees may contribute between one (1) and five (5) percent of their base salary, on a pre-tax basis, to the defined contribution portion. The deferral election is made at the time of employment and may not be changed. Therefore, employees are advised to give considerable thought to their decision of what percent to contribute. The City will make a matching contribution of 50 cents for each dollar contributed. A minimum of one (1) percent participation is mandatory.

Employees have different investment fund options in which to direct contributions. The investment direction may be changed biweekly. Vesting in the Defined Contribution portion occurs at the beginning of the 3rd year. Normal retirement is age 60 or 65 depending on date of hire.

The Defined Benefit portion of the retirement plan is based on a percentage of average annual salary multiplied by length of credited service. Administrative employees are required to make a mandatory one (1) percent contribution to the Defined Benefit portion of the plan. Vesting occurs after ten (10) years.

Police Officers contribute 8.5 percent of their earnings on a pre-tax basis to a defined benefit pension plan. Normal retirement for police officers is permitted at the earlier of age 60 or after 25 years of service, regardless of age. Benefits at retirement are based on a percentage of final average earnings multiplied by length of credited service.

Retirement Plan Administrator :

Lincoln Financial

Retirement Plan

Member Services : (800) 234-3500

Website :

Deferred Compensation (457) Plan

The deferred compensation plan is designed specifically for City employees, and makes it possible to defer income and the payment of income taxes on the deferred investment. The plan is not meant for short-term savings or investment purposes as monies deferred are generally not available until termination or retirement.

Employees may defer the lesser of 25 percent of base salary or a minimum of $10.00 per pay up to the current IRS limit on a pre-tax basis.

Roth 457

The Roth 457 is a supplemental retirement plan which is funded through employee contributions only. Employees are eligible to enroll from the date of hire. Contributions are taxed but earnings grow tax free.

Lincoln Financial

Member Services : (877) 234-3500

Social Security

Regular employees receive employer contributions to Social Security (also known as FICA). Social Security benefits are available in accordance with Federal law.

For more information about benefits, contact the Human Resources Department at 240-314-8470.

Credit Union

Employees may participate in the Sky Point Federal Credit Union, conveniently located at Courthouse Square in Rockville. This credit union also participates in Family Service Center with shared branches available throughout the metropolitan area. Services include savings and checking accounts, loans, payroll deduction, and direct deposit.

Sky Point Federal Credit Union

Member Services : (301) 279-1964

Legal Resources

Through Legal Resources, participating employees and their eligible family members can get free advice, consultation, and courtroom representation for common legal services.

Member Services : 1-800-728-5768

Web Site : Kaiser Permanente

The City provides free, confidential counseling, assessment, and referral services to help employees deal with personal problems. Trained, certified employee assistance counselors are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is also available for family members who are eligible health insurance plan dependents.

BHS EAP

24 hour Assistance Line (800) 327-2251

Web Site : Kaiser Permanente

The City's Income Protection Plan provides long-term disability benefits for both on and off the job injuries or illnesses. Coverage for off the job injuries or illnesses is provided after one year of employment with the City. Details are available from the Human Resources Department.

College Savings Plans

College America is a 529 college savings plan that can help you build a nest egg for college. These plans, named after a section of the tax code, were created by Congress to offer significant tax advantages to those who invest for higher education. Details are available from the Human Resources Department.