Civil Engineer - Capital Planning

Civil Engineer - Capital Planning

Type: Direct Hire | Full-Time

Location: San Jose, CA | Los Angeles, CA | Bakersfield, CA | Chico, CA

Salary: $119K-$172K DOE

About the Role

We are partnered with California's largest investor-owned water utility to recruit a Civil Engineer for its Capital Planning group. The team is mid-cycle on the company's 2027 General Rate Case (GRC) filing with the California Public Utilities Commission - an active, deadline-driven regulatory process that runs on iterative document development, CPUC data request cycles, and close coordination across engineering, operations, and rates.

The engineer in this role owns capital improvement planning for assigned service districts: evaluating infrastructure conditions, defining project scope and budget, and producing the written project justifications that go before regulators. Work product directly shapes how millions of dollars in infrastructure investment are prioritized and defended.

The right candidate has done this before. We are specifically looking for engineers who have supported a California water utility GRC filing - either from inside a regulated utility or as an external consultant - and who can step into a high-velocity regulatory workflow without a significant learning curve. Familiarity with the CPUC capital justification process, iterative technical document workflows, and enterprise asset management platforms (the team uses Maximo) will determine how quickly a candidate integrates.

Key Responsibilities

Capital Planning & Project Development
• Develop short- and long-term capital improvement plans for assigned urban water districts in support of the 2027 GRC filing.
• Evaluate infrastructure conditions and critical facilities; perform life cycle cost analyses to determine project selection.
• Perform preliminary engineering on water supply, distribution, and transmission facilities to define project scope, schedule, and budget.
• Gather and analyze supply, storage, water quality, and operations data to inform capital improvement proposals.

Project Justification & Rate Case Support
• Prepare clear, well-structured project justification documents for CPUC GRC filings: need identification, alternatives analysis, final scope, schedule, and budget.
• Perform quality control on written justifications, project estimates, and capital program submittals.
• Support CPUC data requests, rebuttals, and settlements; participate in CPUC site tours.
• Coordinate multi-disciplinary meetings in support of rate case activities and filings.

Stakeholder Coordination
• Manage and oversee the work of external consultants on assigned capital projects.
• Participate in internal and external presentations on proposed capital projects.

Program Improvement
• Contribute to the development of standardized capital planning and asset management approaches.
• Analyze capital project completion results and identify process improvement recommendations.
• Support the company's Continuous Improvement program.

Qualifications

Required
• Bachelor's degree in civil engineering. Experience does not substitute for the degree requirement.
• Direct experience supporting a California regulated water utility GRC filing - as internal staff or as an external consultant. Candidates without this background will not advance.
• Engineering experience in water system planning, design, construction, or cost estimating.
• Working knowledge of the CPUC capital justification process: project need documentation, data requests, rebuttals, and settlements.
• Proficiency with Maximo or a comparable enterprise asset management platform.
• Strong technical writing skills: ability to produce clear, defensible justification documents under active regulatory deadlines.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office - Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and SharePoint.
• Valid California Driver's License.

Preferred
• California Professional Engineer (PE) license or active EIT registration strongly preferred.
• Experience with water systems hydraulic modeling software (e.g., InfoWater, WaterGEMS, InfoWorks, or equivalent).
• GIS proficiency (ArcGIS or equivalent).
• Capital project budgeting and life cycle cost analysis experience.
• Experience with utility cost estimating and basis-of-estimate documentation.
• Knowledge of water quality regulations and water treatment facility design, operations, or maintenance.
• Asset management principles and PMI project management background.
• Public presentation and negotiation experience; CPUC proceeding participation preferred.

Compensation & Employment

Employment Type: The selected candidate will be hired as a full-time employee directly with our client.

Salary: $119,000-$178,000 per year, DOE

Benefits: Comprehensive benefits package offered by the client, including medical, dental, vision, retirement, and paid time off. Details provided during the interview process.

Equal Opportunity

Innovation Consulting LLC is an equal opportunity employer and recruiter. We review candidates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other protected characteristic.