City engineer

City Engineer City of Box Elder, South Dakota

Salary: $118,642 - $134,232

Box Elder, known as the "Gateway to the Black Hills", is located along Interstate 90 in southwestern South Dakota. The city is rapidly growing and home to more than 15,000 residents. Box Elder is home to Ellsworth Air Force Base, which houses over eight thousand military members and their families. Located just east of Rapid City, Box Elder is proud to be developing its own unique identity with brand new developments and new businesses coming to town to support the region’s trade area of over 230,000 people due to its convenient location.

As the region’s population continues to grow, the city is focused on building new infrastructure to support the community, including hotels, restaurants, medical centers, and retail stores.

The City of Box Elder operates under a Mayor-Council form of government. The City Council consists of the Mayor and six Council members. The City Administrator oversees the day-to-day tasks of the city operations and provides leadership support for each department head. The City operates on a 2026 budget of over $33 million with 96 FTEs. City departments include Administration, Finance, Human Resources, Police, Public Works, Planning and Zoning, Economic Development, Engineering, and Government Affairs.

Reporting directly to the City Administrator, the City Engineer directs the operations of the Engineering Department, including planning, directing, coordinating, managing public infrastructure planning, design, and construction activities. The City Engineer plans, administers, and manages Box Elder's capital improvement plan and budget, developing and maintaining the City's infrastructure design and construction standards. This position coordinates procurement for public infrastructure and maintenance projects and oversees the contractors, engineers, and architects who plan, design, and build them by administering their contracts and tracking pay applications, schedules, change orders, and budgets.

The City Engineer also directs engineering review of private development plans for compliance with federal, state, and local ordinances and standards. As a department head, this position hires, trains, supervises, evaluates, and disciplines staff; sets departmental goals, policies, procedures, and work standards; and prepares and administers the department budget. The City Engineer also advises elected officials, city management, and staff on engineering matters, represents Box Elder with other jurisdictions, developers, and the public, and presents to the Finance, Legal, and Public Safety Committee, Planning and Zoning Committee, and City Council.

Education & Experience:

Knowledge and level of competency commonly associated with a bachelor’s degree in a course of study related to the occupational field. Experience sufficient to understand the diverse objectives and functions of the subunits in the department in order to direct and coordinate work within the department, usually interpreted to require seven (7) to eight (8) years of related experience. Candidates with at least five (5) years of related experience are highly encouraged to apply.

Certification as a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) is required. If licensed in another state, the selected candidate must obtain a State of South Dakota PE license within one (1) year of date of employment.

For questions, call . The City of Box Elder is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Apply by September 27, 2026. (First review, open until filled.)