The County Engineer applies professional standards to plan, oversee, and manage County engineering projects and to administer, coordinate, research, and implement County large capital building and infrastructure plans. Additional responsibilities include validating 3rd party designed road and utility infrastructure systems, support development of plans, specifications, bid documents and cost estimates, evaluating traffic analyses and recommendations, and reviewing engineer design plans, reports, and specifications to ensure compliance with County, State and Federal requirements, plan adherence, design revision, quality assurance, on-site inspection, EEO accordance, materials testing and safe working conditions. Handles the collection and dissemination of civil engineering and land survey project data, and coordinates data exchanges between consulting engineering firms, County departments, and governmental agencies.
Essential Functions (Major Duties or Responsibilities): These duties are the essential functions and are not all-inclusive of all duties that the incumbent performs.
Collaborates with the County Project Manager and other stakeholders with pre-construction planning. Facilitates project-specific meetings, calculates bid estimates and cost analyses for department engineering projects, and performs on-site calculations, inspections, and plan review and revisions. Provide recommendations on project plan adjustments, change directives and change orders.
Assists the County Project Manager with administering professional service contracts, including managing professional services and construction contract documents, contract amendments and additional work claims, and providing overall project administration for various county projects.
Reviews submittals for compliance with the project requirements and applicable engineering standards.
Assists the County Project Manager to project construction progress and associated costs to achieve completion of projects on time and within allocated funds.
Reviews Rural Special Improvement/Maintenance District (RSID/RMD) petitions received for completeness and accuracy. Serves as the County point of contact for residents working through the RSID process and manages RSIDs and RMDs through project completion.
Facilitate and write Preliminary Engineering Reports for the County to assist with grant applications and project funding procurement.
Reviews 3rd party project engineering, mapping of proposed and existing project sites including infrastructure and utility facilities, CAD maps, drawings, comprehensive plan sets, three dimensional models, construction documents, designs, and project cost estimates for accuracy.
Reviews proposed development plans for the County Planning and Zoning department.
Processes progress payments and change orders.
Prepares quantity and cost estimates of proposed projects.
Assists with value engineering to identify opportunities for project cost savings and improved functionality.
Ensures that all relevant permits associated with projects are procured.
Handles the collection and dissemination of civil engineering and land survey project data, and coordinates data exchanges between consulting engineering firms, county and municipal departments, and governmental agencies. Reviews and evaluates data to ensure validity, reliability, and relevance.
Ensures compliance with County, State and Federal requirements for plan adherence, design revision, quality assurance, on-site inspection, EEO accordance, materials testing and safe working conditions.
Non-Essential Functions:
Perform other duties as assigned including but not limited to attending staff or safety meetings, providing backup for other staff, participating in training, etc.
Physical Demands and Working Conditions:
Requires work in an office setting using a computer workstation and work in the field, occasionally in extreme weather conditions.
Work may be performed in heavy traffic areas and in proximity to heavy construction equipment.
Work may be in mountainous terrain. May involve traversing steep slopes; standing and walking on uneven terrain; kneeling, stooping, and bending.
Requires occasional heavy lifting and carrying of equipment weighing more than 25 pounds.
Field work requires use of protective clothing, safety vest and hard hat in designated areas.
Work requires attendance at meetings or conferences and may require travel out of town.
Requires driving county vehicles, a valid Montana driver’s license and clean driving record.
Supervision Exercised: Provides leadership to project-specific teams including oversight of third-party contractors and subcontractors employed on departmental engineering projects.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Knowledge: General understanding of specialized engineering software utilized for the processing of topographic survey data and development of engineering drawings, plan sets and construction documents. Thorough knowledge of planning, computer-aided design principles and civil infrastructure design standards; construction practices, requirements, inspection methods, and materials testing. Thorough knowledge of GNSS application and robotic survey equipment. Working knowledge of mathematics including geometric and trigonometric functions, calculation of construction limits and establishment of survey control points. Knowledge of construction materials and construction methods. Working knowledge of County, State and Federal reference documents including Montana Public Works standards and specifications; State of Montana construction manual; working knowledge of requirements of OSHA, Davis-Bacon, DBE and state and federal civil rights laws as they relate to contracts used for infrastructure planning and construction.
Skills: Critical thinking and innovative problem-solving skills. Attention to detail and a commitment to ensuring accuracy in engineering designs and plans. Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Ability to effectively communicate technical information to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Budgeting and cost estimation skills. Risk assessment and management capabilities. Time management and the ability to meet project deadlines. Strong teamwork skills to work effectively with multidisciplinary teams. Collaboration with architects, contractors, and other professionals on projects
Abilities: Ability to review complex, in-field topographical mapping, construction, and survey staking. Ability to review advanced computer-aided design of three-dimensional infrastructure projects including design and development of corridors, bike and pedestrian pathways, open-pit mining volume calculations and site reclamation. Proficiency in using project management software and tools. Ability to perform physical labor in all weather conditions. Ability to communicate effectively in the English language, orally and in writing and to make effective presentations. Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with diverse individuals and groups. Ability to analyze information and make responsible recommendations affecting expensive projects. Ability to perform detailed work with a high degree of accuracy. Ability to enforce standards, rules and regulations while maintaining a productive working relationship.
Education and Experience: Bachelor’s degree required in civil engineering, or a closely related engineering field, and four years of engineering experience in public works projects, supplemented with work experience in construction design/inspection, drafting and surveying. A Montana Professional Engineer License (PE) is required.
Located in Northwest Montana, Flathead County encompasses 3,262,720 acres or 5,098 square miles. Approximately 94% of the land mass is National or State Forest Land, Wilderness, Agricultural, and Corporate Timber Land, thus confining development to the remaining 6% of the area.
A short distance from any developed area is Glacier National Park, designated hiking areas, 2 ski resorts, 8 golf courses, Flathead Lake, and Hungry Horse Reservoir. With the abundance of recreational opportunities and aesthetic values, it is not hard to see why Flathead County is the among the fastest growing, and the 3rd most populated county in Montana.
There are 3 incorporated cities in the County. Kalispell, which is the largest, has a population of approximately 19,927. Two additional major municipalities include Whitefish, with a population of 6,357, and Columbia Falls, with a population of 4,688. There are also several small full service communities in Flathead County, which have been designated as Census Designated Places, which will also have population and housing info. Countywide, the population has increased from 74,471 in 2000, to an estimated 90,928 in 2010, according to the U.S. Census ...Bureau. This represents a 22.1% increase in 10 years. Native residents are now greatly out numbered by new residents. A large percentage of new residents are retirees and middle aged professionals.
Attraction development has greatly increased in recent years contributing to the influx of tourists and tourism based services, and moving the economic base towards Recreation and Tourism, and creating new jobs in the service industry. Flathead County's population increases by 40%, during the months of June through August.