SENIOR DIRECTOR - ENGINEERING

DESCRIPTION

THE COMMUNITY
Ideally located on the Pacific Ocean south of Los Angeles, adjacent to Orange County, the City of Long Beach, California (population 470,000) is frequently described as a series of strong, diverse interwoven smaller communities within a large city. Enjoying an ideal Southern California climate, Long Beach is home to an abundance of cultural and recreational options. The Long Beach Convention Center, Aquarium of the Pacific, Queen Mary, and the annual Penske Grand Prix of Long Beach, plus a wide variety of other attractions (two historic ranchos, three marinas, and five golf courses), serve to draw 6.5 million visitors a year. The City is also home to California State University, Long Beach, and Long Beach City College. Cal State Long Beach is the second largest university in the state and was recently ranked the No. 3 best-value public college in the nation. Covering approximately 50 square miles, Long Beach is supported by a wide mix of industries with education, health and social services, manufacturing, retail trade, and professional services comprising the highest representation. Known for its livable and desirable neighborhoods, Long Beach was named by America’s Promise Alliance as one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People two years in a row. While it offers all the amenities of a large metropolis, many say Long Beach offers the added benefit of having maintained a strong sense of community and cohesiveness despite its growth. A superb climate, quality schools, a vibrant downtown, and a wide variety of neighborhoods help make Long Beach one of the most livable communities in the country.

CITY GOVERNMENT
Long Beach, a charter city formed in 1897, is governed by nine City Council members elected by district and a city-wide elected Mayor. Other elected officials include the City Attorney, City Auditor, and City Prosecutor. The elected officials are elected to staggered four-year terms. The City Council appoints the City Manager, City Clerk, and Director of Police Oversight. The City Manager is responsible for the efficient administration of all City departments, excluding those under direction of a separately elected official, Board, or Commission. Long Beach is one of only three cities in California with its own Health Department and one of the very few municipalities with its own Utilities (Water and Gas) and Energy Resources Departments. The City is supported by a FY 2025 total budget of $3.6 billion with a General Fund budget of $752 million. More than 6,000 full- and part-time employees support municipal operations with the majority being represented by eleven recognized employee associations. To learn more about the City of Long Beach, go to: www.longbeach.gov .

THE DEPARTMENT
Long Beach Utilities provides safe, clean, reliable and affordable water, gas, and sewer services to the Long Beach community. The service area supports 500,000 customers, represented by 90,000 water accounts, 145,000 gas accounts and 90,000 sewer accounts in 52 square miles. This service area includes Long Beach’s downtown core, waterfront accounts, suburban areas and dense multifamily portions of the region. The department also provides natural gas service to residents and businesses in the City of Signal Hill.

Water. Every day, Long Beach Utilities treats 32 million gallons of drinking water at the Long Beach Groundwater Treatment Plant (GWTP) and distributes this water after blending with imported water, to 90,000 households and businesses throughout the City of Long Beach. The GWTP also hosts a California Environmental Laboratory Accreditation as a Certified Water Quality Laboratory, which performs 60,000 to 70,000 water quality testing to ensure the high quality of the drinking water.

Gas. As a municipal utility, Long Beach Utilities’ natural gas rates and policies are established by the Board of Utilities Commission, consisting of five residents of Long Beach. The City Charter requires Long Beach rates to be comparable to the rates charged by surrounding gas utilities for similar types of service. In the region, the Southern California Gas Company is the only other natural gas utility providing similar service and serves as the market benchmark. The City of Long Beach natural gas service territory includes the cities of Long Beach and Signal Hill, and sections of surrounding communities including Lakewood, Bellflower, Compton, Seal Beach, Paramount, and Los Alamitos.

Sewer. Long Beach Utilities owns, operates and maintains over 700 miles of sanitary sewer lines, safely collecting and delivering over 40 million gallons of wastewater per day to the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County for treatment.
To learn more, visit LBUtilities.org .

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES

THE POSITION
The Department has an opening for a Senior Director of Engineering to oversee the Gas and Water Engineering Divisions which include Gas Compliance, Pipeline Infrastructure, Development Services, Project Planning & Delivery, Water/Sewer Systems Infrastructure, and Construction Services. Reporting to the General Manager, the Senior Director will oversee two Directors of Engineering who provide support to their respective divisions. The Senior Director will be responsible for advocating on behalf of the Engineering Divisions, clearly articulating objectives and highlighting their contributions to the organization’s overall goals. This role involves consulting with management to address their short- and long-term needs. They will provide Engineering expertise to senior management, formulate policies and procedures, and plan effectively for future Engineering needs.
The position is working in-person at 1800 E Wardlow Rd, Long Beach, CA 90807.
EXAMPLES OF DUTIES

• Develops and implements goals, objectives, policies, and priorities for engineering programs, plans and services; identifies resource needs; recommends and implements policies and procedures; ensures alignment with the Department's strategic and operational plans.
• Provides day-to-day leadership and works with staff to ensure a high-performance, customer service-oriented work environment; supports and leads in achieving the Engineering Division’s and the Department’s mission, strategic plan, objectives, and values.
• Provides day-to-day leadership and directs overall administrative activities for the Engineering Divisions; establishes goals and objectives, measures performance, and ensures an effective, customer-oriented service level is attained; assists in recruiting, hiring and training staff to meet ongoing challenges and to strengthen the Divisions.
• Assists in providing strategic direction for the Engineering Divisions to align its services and operations with the overall mission of the organization.
• Consults with executive management to determine the department’s short and long-term needs and assist in designing processes that will be responsive to those needs; provides direction, resources, and information to the Engineering Divisions as needed.
• Exercises broad independent engineering judgment and acts to resolve technical and administrative conflicts that may arise between the Divisions.
• Reviews Board correspondence for the Engineering Bureau and makes presentations to the Board of Utilities Commissioners.
• Acts as the focal point for outside correspondence to agencies, tenants , and permitting authorities.
• Plans and allocates resources in consultation with two Director’s of Engineering of Water/Sewer and Gas Engineering.
• Identifies emerging technologies that are potentially applicable to the Utilities and analyzes current technological tends.
• Supplies expert assistance on engineering related issues for the Utilities Department.
• Responds to and handles inquiries of the Utilities management team.
• Make prudent decisions regarding budgets in order to control costs; make efficient staffing decisions to control costs.
• Interacts with the Board of Utilities Commissioners, managers and supervisors, and employees at all levels.
• Performs other duties as required.

IDEAL CANDIDATE
The ideal candidate will demonstrate the following knowledge, skills, and abilities:

Knowledge of:

• Project management, construction management, projects controls and land surveying.
• Current engineering technology best practices and applications.
• Computerized engineering programs.
• Engineering analysis and design techniques.
• Basic rules, regulations, and requirements of the Utilities industry.
• Broad working knowledge of management principles.
• Broad multi-disciplinary engineering knowledge.
• Strong technical knowledge, business writing and presentation skills.
• High level of proficiency in the use of MS Office, including Word and Excel, Outlook, and other related applications.
• High-level organizational and planning skills so that workflow is managed efficiently and accurately; set priorities, take initiative and exercise sound independent judgment.
• Speaking and making presentations in both small and large group settings.
• Demonstrating success in leading change.
• Principles and practices of sound business communication; correct English usage, including spelling, grammar and punctuation.

Ability to:

• Manage numerous diverse projects and priorities simultaneously.
• Work independently without extensive direction or oversight.
• Creative, strategic thinker dedicated to quality service.
• Work under pressure and tight deadlines.
• Handle frequent interruptions, and to prioritize tasks to complete multiple assignments with competing deadlines.
• Establish, build and maintain effective working relationships with other City Departments, outside agencies, the public, and all levels of employees, including top, middle and supervisory levels of management.
• Collaborative work style that fosters teamwork and high motivation and commitment.
• Represent the Department effectively in meetings, including making presentations.
• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Implement new programs or practices designed to enhance services and values.
• Be a hands-on director with strong technical knowledge, business writing and presentation skills.
• Exercise broad independent engineering judgment and act to resolve technical and administrative conflicts that may arise between design and construction.
• Manage highly complex issues in the context of an overall team environment while ensuring action and results.
• Be a strong manager of people; capable of motivating and energizing staff.
• Display enthusiasm and optimism regarding work.
• Demonstrated leadership skills that include maturity, vision, and an ability to articulate the organization’s vision and mission to others.
• Be a direct communicator with superior interpersonal skills.
• Create and maintain effective partnerships with people from diverse backgrounds and areas of technical expertise.
• Have impeccable integrity with a high commitment to the code of business ethics.
• Be an exceptional leader within the engineering field capable of organizing and directing the services and functions of the Divisions while coordinating efforts with other Bureaus/Divisions in a sophisticated and fast-paced business environment.
• Handle progressively challenging engineering projects, supervising designs, reviewing construction and survey work and resolving issues between teams of professional and technical managers.

REQUIREMENTS TO FILE

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• Graduation from an accredited university or college with a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related field. Proof required at time of application. Applicants who possess degrees from colleges or universities from outside the United States must attach proof of educational equivalency.
• Registration as a Professional Engineer in the State of California. Proof required at time of application.
• Seven to ten years of increasingly responsible experience in engineering management with a strong emphasis on project planning, design, bidding, and construction, with three years of supervisory experience.
• Strong leadership background, with experience as a number one or number two management professional in a complex, similarly situated organization with comparable challenges and structure.
• A valid California driver license.
  

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

• A Master's Degree or advanced coursework in a discipline related to Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or Management is desirable.
• Professional certifications are desirable.
• Experience in utilities environments is desirable.

SELECTION PROCEDURE

APPLICATION PROCESS
This recruitment will close at 11:59PM PST, on Sunday, May 18, 2025 . To be considered for this opportunity, applicants must submit a cover letter, resume, proof of education, and Professional Engineer registration in PDF format. Applications will be reviewed for depth and breadth of experience, and for level and relevance of education. The most qualified candidates will be invited to participate in further selection procedures which will include a multi-phase selection process. The selected candidate may be required to complete a background check and a physical examination prior to appointment. Applicants who do not meet the minimum requirements, including submission of all required attachments, will not be considered. For questions regarding this recruitment, please contact (562) 570-2410.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

The City of Long Beach is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value and encourage diversity in our workforce. The City of Long Beach is committed to creating a workplace where every employee is valued for who they are. Having our workforce reflect the diversity of our community at various levels of the organization is a continuous goal embraced by our departments, management staff, and policymakers. To support efforts of fairness and diversity, City Leadership is committed to incorporating equity and inclusion into our work by supporting staff and community partners. We are committed to promoting transparency by publishing updated demographic information for employees, including workforce diversity data and pay by race and gender.

The City of Long Beach will consider qualified applicants with a criminal history pursuant to the California Fair Chance Act. You are not required to disclose your criminal history or participate in a background check until you receive a conditional job offer. If the City of Long Beach has concerns about a conviction that is directly related to the job after making a conditional job offer and conducting a background check, you will have the opportunity to explain the circumstances surrounding the conviction, provide evidence to mitigate concerns, or challenge the accuracy of the background report. Find out more about the Fair Chance Act by visiting https://calcivilrights.ca.gov/fair-chance-act

The City of Long Beach intends to provide reasonable accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. If a special accommodation is desired, or if you would like to request this information in an alternative format, please call (562) 570-2410.

For technical support with your governmentjobs.com application, please contact (855) 524-5627.

The City of Long Beach offers its employees opportunities to grow personally and professionally.As a permanent employee, you are eligible to receive fringe benefits that include:

Retirement:California Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) defined benefit retirement plan, which is coordinated with Social Security. The benefit is 2.5% or 2.7% (depending on hire date) @55 for "Classic" members and 2% @62 for new members as defined by PEPRA, subject to the compensation limitations set by PERS. Both the City and the employee contributes toward CalPERS retirement contributions. The city also participates in Social Security.

Health and Dental Insurance:The City offers the choice of HMO and PPO plans. The city pays major portion of the premium for employee and dependents depending on the health/ dental plan selected.

Life Insurance:City-paid term life insurance policy equal to three (3) times annual salary to a maximum of $500,000.

Disability Insurance:City-paid short-term and long-term disability insurance.

Management Physical:Annual City-paid physical examination.

Vacation:Twelve (12) vacation days after the first year of service; 15 days after four years, six months of service; 20 days after 19 years, six months of service.

Executive Leave:Forty (40) hours Executive Leave per year. The City Manager has discretion to grant an additional 40 hours each year.

Sick Leave: One day earned per month; unlimited accumulation; conversion upon retirement to cash credit toward health and/or dental insurance premiums, or to pension credits.

Holidays:Eleven (11) designated holidays per year, plus four personal holidays to be used at the employee's discretion.

Transportation Allowance:Monthly allowance is allocated by classifications below;

• Department Head $650.00
• Deputy Director/Manager/Director (Harbor/Utilities) $550.00
• Division Officer/Superintendent/ Chief of Staff / Administrator / Principal DCA $450.00
• Assistant to Executive / Executive Assistant / Executive Secretary/ Executive Support Staff $300.00

Deferred Compensation Plan:Optional for employee contribution to a supplementary retirement savings program available through Mission Square Retirement formerly ICMA-RC Retirement Corporation).

• Classic CalPERS Members: The City will contribute a maximum of up to two percent (2%) of base salary* for all qualified Classic CalPERS members.
• Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act (PEPRA) CalPERS Members: Effective the second full pay period following City Council adoption, the City contribution will increase from two percent (2%) to three percent (3%) of base salary* for all qualified PEPRA CalPERS members.

Flexible Spending Account (FSA):Optional election for employees to reduce taxable income for payment of allowable childcare or medical expenses.

Flexible/Hybrid Work Schedule:Available (subject to City Manager approval).

Paid Parental Leave: The City provides one hundred and sixty (160) hours of Paid Parental Leave at 100% of salary, for the birth, adoption or foster placement of a child, regardless of the gender, marital status or sexual orientation of the parent.

• 

• City of Long Beach

• 5625707057

Show more