Principal Civil Engineer

Minimum Requirements

Candidates must meet the following requirements by the application deadline.

1. Two years of full-time paid professional engineering experience at the level of Senior Civil Engineer or in a position in the City of Los Angeles designated as a Project Manager II or III receiving the appropriate salary bonus; and
2. Registration as a Civil Engineer with the California State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers is required at the time of filing. This information must be listed in the special licenses box on the application.

Summary of Duties

The Street Improvement Division within the Bureau of Engineering (BOE) consists of approximately 50 full-time employees including engineers and administrative staff. The program consists of an inventory of approximately 130 active projects in various project phases with a construction cost estimated at over $850 million. The scope of work includes street improvements, bicycle and pedestrian facility improvements, curb ramp upgrades, traffic signal modifications, signage, striping, street trees, and street lighting.

This position is the administrative and technical head of the Street Improvement Division responsible for successful project delivery by ensuring high-quality construction documents, accurate assessment of resource capacity, establishing realistic project scopes and timelines with client agencies and stakeholders, and managing complex program funding, including local, state and federal sources. The position is also responsible for staff development, morale, and implementing process improvements within the division.

The following are the summary of duties:

• Provides oversight for transportation infrastructure projects and will supervise and train professional civil engineers, technical and administrative City staff, as well as outside consultants.
• Oversees and approves the preparation of bid documents, including design plans, specifications, cost estimates, permits conforming to the most recent Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG), and Measure HLA compliance, as well as recommends solutions to complex design issues.
• Attends and represents BOE before the Board of Public Works, Oversight Committees, City Council, various City Departments, clients, contractors, and the community regarding a multitude of project related items.
• Manages division resourcing and capacity to deliver new project requests and prepares funding requests for new projects through the City's annual budget process.
• Prepares and oversees the preparation of all appropriate documentation pertinent to this program, including but not limited to, Board reports/motions, Council reports/motions, project budget summaries, project schedules, and other correspondence that may be necessary to facilitate the delivery of the projects.

Skills, Knowledge and Abilities

The BOE is looking for candidates who possess the following skills, knowledge and abilities including but not limited to:

• Excellent working knowledge of street design and construction management procedures, including a strong understanding of City Standards ADA, and PROWAG requirements, and initiatives such as Vision Zero, Complete Streets, Measure HLA, and other pedestrian friendly policies.
• Excellent ability to make decisions regarding difficult and complex street design issues.
• Excellent knowledge of project management, constructability reviews, critical path scheduling, estimating, BOE specifications, City codes and technical reports, quality control and quality assurance, utility relocation processes and the street tree replacement process, and interacting with elected officials, other agencies and the public. Proven ability to deliver projects on time and on budget.
• Excellent knowledge of supervisory and modern management principles.
• Excellent knowledge of City and department core policies such as the Business Inclusion Program, Equal Employment Opportunity principles, racial equity, sustainability, and how to apply them.
• Excellent knowledge of how projects are funded and how project finances are managed at the City, department and project levels.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills. Ability to communicate and coordinate well with staff, consultants and vendors, and City colleagues.
• Strong proficiency with Bluebeam, AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Excel, Word, Google Meet, Uniform Project Reporting System (UPRS) and other native BOE platforms.
• Demonstrated proficiency in optimizing systems and procedures.

How to apply

How to Apply


Candidates interested in applying for this position must submit a resume and City application by completing the Application Form at the following link by the application deadline:


If you have any issues accessing the Application Form, you may email your resume and application to View email address on click.appcast.io with the subject line " Principal Civil Engineer Emergency ".


(Note: Should you be granted an interview and require special accommodation for the interview, please so indicate when you respond to this Notice.)



Emergency Appointment

An emergency appointment is not a regular appointment. It is a temporary appointment which does not require that you successfully compete in the Civil Service examination process. The appointment may not exceed one year and must be terminated immediately when a regular appointment can be made from an eligible list. No emergency appointment can exceed one year. (City Charter Section 1013).