Assistant Public Works Director - Engineering (20775249)

Job Description

THE DEPARTMENT

The Public Works Department consists of approximately 73 full-time employees and is responsible for maintaining and improving the city’s streets, parks, water and stormwater systems, traffic signals, trees, fleet and public buildings. The Department’s organizational structure includes four divisions: Engineering, Transportation, Maintenance and Business Services.

The Department provides many of the basic services affecting the daily lives of everyone living, working, visiting, and commuting within the City of Menlo Park and manages the following:

• 26 City-owned buildings/facilities and their grounds
• A fleet of over 250 vehicles and pieces of equipment
• 97 miles of streets
• Drinking water delivery for 16,000 customers
• Flood protection and stormwater management programs particularly along the San Francisco Bay, San Francisquito Creek and Atherton Channel
• 14 parks, 2 open spaces, 14 playgrounds, 2 dog parks, 9 sports fields, and 14 tennis/pickleball courts
• Efforts to preserve and expand the urban canopy, including 20,000 public trees
• Multimodal transportation services including 42 traffic signals, safe routes to schools and citywide shuttle programs.

The Department has a $40 million operating budget supported by over 25 different special/dedicated funding sources for the varied programs and services provided to the community. In addition, the City has an approximately $100 million capital program, in part due to a successful track record in pursuing grants from a variety of local, state and federal sources.

Some of the exciting efforts on the horizon include efforts to protect the San Francisco Bay shoreline and adjacent community from sea level rise; efforts to eliminate the City’s reliance on fossil fuels through building and fleet electrification; making investments in transportation safety through strategic quick-build projects and large infrastructure changes like a pedestrian/bicycle undercrossing at Caltrain; and ensuring the equitable delivery of services throughout the entire city in alignment with the goals and programs developed as part of the city’s first environmental justice element underway.

THE POSITION

The Assistant Public Works Director - Engineering is one of three Assistant Director classifications in the Public Works Department and reports directly to the Public Works Director. This position has oversight of the Engineering Division, which plans and executes the City’s capital improvement program and is responsible for the review of development projects for compliance with city standards, ordinances, permits, regulations, and statutes.

Job PDF:

https://www.calopps.org/sites/default/files/Assistant%20Public%20Works%20Director%20-%20Engineering.pdf

Ideal Candidate

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

The ideal candidate will be a strategic, big picture thinker and creative problem solver, as well as a highly trained and detail-oriented technical specialist with the proven ability to deliver excellent and innovative results to an organization and a community with high service expectations. The person in this role is expected to have an excellent rapport with the general public, with the ability to respond to, and resolve, difficult and sensitive citizen inquiries and complaints. Internally, the Assistant Public Works Director - Engineering will lead by example, creating a value-driven organization emphasizing communication and collaboration. In addition, this position will respond to emergency situations as necessary within one hour of initial call, including natural disasters, such as flooding, storms, and earthquakes.

QUALIFICATIONS

Any combination of training and experience that would provide the required knowledge, skills, and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the required qualifications would be:

• Equivalent to graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with major coursework in civil engineering, construction management, public administration or policy, or a related field.
• Six (6) years of increasingly responsible and varied professional experience in civil engineering, including three (3) years in a management or supervisory role, supervising professional or sub-professional personnel in civil engineering.
• A master’s degree in engineering, business administration, or a related field is highly desirable.
• Possession of a Registered Professional Civil Engineer license issued by the State of California.
• Possession of, or ability to obtain, a valid California class C driver's license by time of appointment.

Benefits

The City provides a generous benefits package for unrepresented management positions designed to achieve total compensation above the market median among comparable agencies and promote employee health, wellness, and work-life balance, including:

• CalPERS Retirement - Classic members 2% at 60 and 2% at 62 for PEPRA members. Employees pay the full member contribution. The City does not participate in Social Security, except for the 1.45% Medicare contribution by both the City and employee.
• Medical Plans - City pays 100% medical, dental, and vision insurance for employee and eligible dependents.
• Educational Reimbursement - City reimburses up to $3,600 per year for tuition expenses.
• Life Insurance - City provided policy equal to 1.5 times the employee’s annual salary up to $350,000.
• Deferred Compensation - City matches employee contribution up to 4% of salary or to the IRS maximum, whichever is less.
• Paid Time Off - Includes 338 hours of General Leave, 80 hours of Management Leave, and 11 official paid holidays per year. Up to 120 hours may be cashed out annually. Accrued General Leave is fully paid out upon separation from the City.
• Health Reimbursement - City contribution of $2,500 per year for health reimbursement arrangement.
• Auto Allowance - Employees who are not assigned a City vehicle receive an auto allowance of $285 per pay period.
• City is also enrolled in Caltrain GoPass and BayPass pilot program for free access to all bus, rail, and ferry services in the nine-county Bay Area. The Menlo Park Caltrain station is a five-minute walk from City Hall.
• Annual Bonus - City Manager may award a bonus of up to $20,000 per fiscal year.
• Additional Benefits - City paid long-term disability and AD&D insurance. Counseling and referral services provided through the Employee Assistance Program. Access to on-site gym.
• We offer hybrid and flexible work arrangements, including a 9/80 schedule with the option to work remotely up to one day per week.

For more detailed benefit information, visit
www.menlopark.gov
and review the City of Menlo Park Management Compensation Plan for Unrepresented Appointees.

Special Instructions

IMPORTANT: Please be sure to fill out the required City application completely, including all relevant work experience. Applications with “See Resume” as a substitution for the work experience description and/or unclear past employment information will not be considered.

Applications will be screened according to the qualifications outlined in this announcement. Not all applications which may meet the minimum requirements will proceed to the next phase of the recruitment process. All applicants will be notified by email as to whether or not they are invited to participate further in the selection process.

Interviews

• Oral Board/Department Interviews are tentatively scheduled for the week of November 2, 2026.
• Final Interviews are tentatively scheduled for the week of November 2, 2026, as well.

The City of Menlo Park is an Equal Opportunity Employer. It is the policy of the City of Menlo Park not to discriminate against all qualified applicants or employees. We will make reasonable efforts in the selection process to accommodate persons with disabilities. Please contact Human Resources at (650) 330-6670 or
jobs@menlopark.gov
prior to the closing date for accommodation requests.

Before receiving an offer of employment, the candidate will be required to successfully complete a criminal conviction history questionnaire, DOJ fingerprinting, and an Occuscreen background check.

In accordance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act, all potential employees are required to verify identity and authorization to work in the United States.

Closing Date/Time: 10/13/2026 at 11:59pm