Local Assistance Area Engineer

Under the general supervision of a Senior Transportation Engineer, the Transportation Engineer (Civil) serves the Office of Local Assistance in the capacity of a Local Assistance Area Engineer (LAAE). The LAAE is responsible for assisting cities, counties, County Transportation Authorities/Agencies, Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and other local agencies in the administration of State and Federal aid transportation programs. The LAAE maintains thorough up to date knowledge of the federal aid process and the various federal and state programs to assist and guide local agencies in obtaining funding and implementing transportation projects in compliance with federal and state laws and regulations., Most of the positions within the Office of Local Assistance require interaction with many people. It is important that employees work with others in a cooperative manner. The incumbent works in front of a computer system with long periods of working in a sitting or standing position. The headquartered location is in a climate-controlled office with artificial lighting.

This position may be eligible for telework. The amount of telework is at the discretion of the Department and based on Caltrans’s evolving telework policy. Caltrans supports telework, recognizing that in-person attendance may be required based on operational needs. Employees are expected to be able to report to their worksites with minimum notification if an urgent need arises. The selected candidate will be required to commute to the headquartered location as needed to meet operational needs. Business travel may be required, and reimbursement considers an employee’s designated headquartered location, primary residence, and may be subject to CalHR regulations or applicable bargaining unit contract provisions. All commute expenses to the headquartered location will be the responsibility of the selected candidate. The Caltrans Transportation Engineer (Civil) Rotation Program is a mandatory 24 month to 33 months rotation assignment for all permanent, full-time Transportation Engineer (Civil) employees that have completed their probationary period hired by Caltrans Districts after June 22, 2018, or an earlier date as determined by the Districts. The purpose of Rotation Program is to provide opportunities for employees and Caltrans to benefit by participating in a standardized process that systematically engages newly hired engineers. Participants will develop well-rounded project delivery knowledge, skills, and abilities by rotating through diverse project delivery functional units. The Rotation Program includes mandatory core assignments in Design and Construction units, as well as a mandatory elective assignment. Each rotation assignment is typically between 6 to 12 months and will be based on workload needs and the employee’s goals. Assignments may involve long term travel and can be located throughout the state.

In addition to the Caltrans Transportation Engineer (Civil) Rotation Program, an incumbent may be required to go on loan to another project delivery function when there are temporary or peak staffing needs in those areas.

Candidates are required to review the Minimum Qualifications (MQs) for this classification. If you meet MQs under Pattern II and require the TE Civil in-person written hurdle exam, DO NOT TAKE the TE Civil online exam prior to passing the written hurdle. Candidates who take the TE Civil online exam prior to passing the written hurdle may negatively impact their hiring eligibility. Please contact the exam unit at askexams@dot.ca.gov for additional information prior to taking the online examination., * Possession of a valid driver’s license is required when operating a state owned or leased vehicle.

• Appointment to Range D requires a valid Professional Engineering License (Civil) issued by the California Board of Registration for Professional Engineers. For all other ranges, a PE license is not required.
• The Statement of Qualifications (SOQ) serves as documentation of each applicant’s ability to present information clearly and concisely in writing. Please follow the instructions below; failure to include and complete the SOQ as instructed may result in the SOQ not being considered and in disqualification from the interview. Each question must be numbered and addressed in the same order as the questions below. The SOQ must be typed, no more than two pages in length, and 12-point Arial font.

1. Describe your ability to work cooperatively with and build partnerships among internal divisions as well as with Caltrans’ external customers, including city and county staff.
2. Describe your most challenging experience in dealing with issues on project deliveries. What was the situation and how did you handle it?
3. Describe your teamwork experiences. How will you improve teamwork within your new office? Describe your knowledge and experience of multitasking, working independently, and meeting tight timelines. Provide examples.
4. Describe your computer and communication skills to perform the duties for this position as outlined in the Duty Statement. through oral presentations and clear, concise correspondence and reports. Possession of Minimum Qualifications will be verified prior to interview and/or appointment. If you are basing your eligibility on education, you must include your unofficial transcript(s)/diploma for verification. Unofficial, original, or official sealed transcripts will be accepted and may be required upon appointment. Applicants with foreign transcripts/degrees must provide a transcript/degree U.S. equivalency report evaluation that indicates the number of units and degree to which the foreign coursework is equivalent. Here is a list of evaluation agencies: https://www.naces.org/members. Please redact birthdates and social security numbers., Individuals who are currently in the classification, eligible for lateral transfer, eligible for reinstatement, have list or LEAP eligibility, are in the process of obtaining list eligibility, or have SROA and/or Surplus eligibility (please attach your letter, if available). SROA and Surplus candidates are given priority; therefore, individuals with other eligibility may be considered in the event no SROA or Surplus candidates apply. Individuals who are eligible for a Training and Development assignment may also be considered for this position(s)., In addition to evaluating each candidate’s relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate:

• The incumbent must have education or experience equivalent to graduation from college with major work in Civil Engineering.
• The incumbent must have knowledge of transportation facilities, design principles, computer applications to transportation engineering, processes of project development and basic accounting practices.
• The incumbent must have the ability to evaluate and analyze projects for compliance with federal and state requirements. This requires creativity in developing strategies to
• advise local agencies on efficiently implementing and processing their projects.
• The incumbent must be practical and flexible in the application of continually evolving federal and state regulations.
• The incumbent must have good oral and written communication skills.
• The incumbent must be able to understand the LAPM and LAPG and apply information from the manuals in processing local State and Federal transportation projects.
• The incumbent is required to provide training to and exercise indirect supervision of local agency representatives.
• The incumbent must be able to recognize and process time-sensitive documents in a courteous and expeditious manner.
• The incumbent must be able to manage many projects and priorities simultaneously.
• The incumbent must possess skill in performing increasingly responsible and varied assignments under decreasing degrees of supervision.
• The ability to use a computer and necessary software programs and tools., Candidates that meet the minimum qualifications based on possession of EDUCATION, LICENSE, OR CERTIFICATE must include a copy of your DEGREE/TRANSCRIPTS, LICENSE, or CERTIFICATE, along with your State application (STD. 678), to be considered for this position.