Civil Engineer - Municipal Infrastructure Planning and Design

Job Location:  Grand Forks, ND

We are seeking a motivated Civil Engineer to join our growing municipal infrastructure team in Grand Forks, North Dakota. In this role, you will work on a wide range of projects that serve municipal and rural clients, including utility master planning, capital improvements programming, funding-related planning, and traditional water and sewer infrastructure design.

This position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to both long-range infrastructure decisions and the engineering projects that bring those decisions to life. One day you may be helping a community develop a 20-year capital improvement strategy, and the next you may be designing watermain, sanitary sewer, lift station, or rural utility improvements.

Job Description

• Infrastructure Planning & Capital Improvements Programming

• Assist with the development of water, wastewater, stormwater, and utility master plans.
• Evaluate existing infrastructure systems and identify long-term improvement needs.
• Support capital improvement planning, project prioritization, and infrastructure investment strategies.
• Perform data analysis, asset management evaluations, service area reviews, and system performance assessments.
• Develop planning-level opinions of probable construction cost and support funding-related project documentation.
• Help communities connect infrastructure condition, growth, regulatory requirements, and available funding with implementable projects.

• Engineering & Design

• Prepare or assist with technical memorandums, facility plans, reports, specifications, construction schedules, and design documents.
• Assist with planning and design for water distribution systems, sanitary sewer collection systems, lift stations, water storage facilities, utility extensions, replacement projects, and rural water infrastructure.
• Perform hydraulic analyses, engineering calculations, feasibility evaluations, and alternatives analyses.
• Prepare plans, specifications, bidding documents, and construction cost estimates.
• Support bidding, construction administration, field observation coordination, change orders, pay applications, and project closeout activities.

• Client & Community Engagement

• Collaborate with city staff, public works departments, utility operators, rural utility boards, elected officials, and internal project teams.
• Participate in client meetings, workshops, planning discussions, and public engagement efforts.
• Help communicate technical concepts in a clear and practical way for both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Build trusted client relationships from project conception through planning, design, construction, and implementation.

• What Makes This Role Unique

  Unlike many engineering positions that focus primarily on design production, this role provides exposure to the full lifecycle of municipal infrastructure projects. You will help communities define their needs, evaluate alternatives, plan responsible investments, secure funding, and implement improvements that support public health, resiliency, and growth.

• Work on large-scale master planning and capital improvement programming projects.
• Influence funding, project sequencing, and long-term infrastructure decisions.
• Gain experience at the intersection of engineering, asset management, finance, and public policy.
• Develop client-facing, technical writing, project management, and leadership skills early in your career.
• See projects progress from initial planning through final design and construction.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering or related Engineering field.
• Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in municipal, water, wastewater, rural utility, or infrastructure engineering.
• Professional Engineer license or ability to obtain within 6 months.
• Excellent leadership and project management skills.
• Working knowledge of applicable federal, state, and local codes.
• Ability to communicate effectively and appropriately with groups both internally and externally.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office.
• Experience with ArcGIS, AutoCAD, and discipline specific software.
• Strong written, verbal communication, problem solving and analytical skills.
• Valid driver’s license with good driving record.
• Ability to work collaboratively with project teams and communicate effectively with clients and stakeholders.

Additional Information

As part of our talented staff, you will enjoy competitive pay, significant annual bonuses, paid health, dental, vision, life insurance, short and long-term disability, PTO, paid holidays, parental leave, generous 401(k) match, access to HSA & FSAs, flexible schedules, annual HEI logo wear, plus more.

Additionally, view our careers page to read about HEI being selected as one of the ENR top 500 design firms and as one of the PB 50 best places to work for several years in a row!

EOE AA M/F/Vet/Disability