Senior Civil Engineer​/Principal Civil Engineer

Overview

The City of Petaluma is seeking experienced professionals for the Senior Civil Engineer and Principal Civil Engineer positions to join its expanding Public Works Department. These positions present an opportunity to lead high-impact capital improvement projects in a Bay Area municipality dedicated to sustainability, innovation, and public safety. The City seeks accomplished professionals who are committed to engineering excellence, mentorship, and public service.

This recruitment will remain open until filled and may close at any time. Qualified candidates are encouraged to apply early for first consideration. Interviews will be conducted on a rolling basis.

For a full detailed Senior Civil Engineer job description, . For a full detailed Principal Civil Engineer job description, .

• SALARY RANGE
  :
  • Senior Civil Engineer: $ - $ annually
  • Principal Civil Engineer: $ - $ annually
• FOR YOUR HEALTH AND WELL BEING:
  • MEDICAL INSURANCE:
    Choice of CalPERS Health Plans. City pays ~95% of the Bay Area Kaiser premium for employee and eligible dependents; or option to receive Medical Cash Back if you have medical coverage elsewhere. See the 2026 Health Plan Contribution Memo.
  • DENTAL & VISION INSURANCE:
    Coverage for employees and eligible family members, paid by the City.
  • LIFE INSURANCE: 1.5x annual compensation up to $200,000. Optional additional coverage. Long-Term Disability up to 60% of current monthly salary after eligibility requirements are met.
  • EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM:
    Support and benefits for you and eligible family members, paid by the City.
  • WELLNESS BENEFIT: $500 annual allowance (subject to annual budget approval).
• FOR YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE:
  • CALPERS RETIREMENT PACKAGE: 2% at 60 for classic CalPERS members; 2% at 62 for PEPRA CalPERS members
  • DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN:
    Voluntary participation in one of three plans
• FOR YOUR WORK / LIFE BALANCE (annual amounts):
  • Vacation: 80 hours, increasing with years of service
  • Sick Leave: 96 hours
  • Administrative Leave: 80 hours per fiscal year
  • Holidays: 12 fixed and 1 floating
• Other Exceptional Benefits:
  • Paid Parental Leave – up to 8 weeks of paid time for qualifying family bonding
  • Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program Employer

For more information regarding the benefits associated with this position, visit the Memorandum of Understanding and Employee Benefits pages on the City website.

Senior Civil Engineer

The Senior Civil Engineer performs the most complex professional engineering work requiring substantial professional training and experience. Incumbents exercise discretion and independent judgment in supervising, coordinating, and prioritizing projects within the area of responsibility, and provide direction and technical expertise on complex engineering tasks.

Principal Civil Engineer

This class has supervisory responsibility for administration and direction of professional engineering activities, provides direction to assigned staff, and performs professional engineering work. It includes policy development, budget administration, and high-level supervision of a section. It is distinguished from the Senior Civil Engineer by broader supervisory responsibilities and overall management scope.

• Supervise and participate in plan review, permit programs, and private development review and inspection.
• Make public presentations to the City Council, Planning Commission, other boards and at community meetings.
• Plan, design, and construct capital improvement projects for water, sewer, storm, streets, and related City facilities.
• Manage construction contract administration.
• Supervise, train, and evaluate professional and technical staff.
• Prepare and administer the section budget.
• Review plans and estimates for construction and review technical reports and studies.
• Check computations and conformance with regulations; inspect project sites and City infrastructure.
• Coordinate with other City departments, divisions, external agencies, and environmental permitting requirements.
• Research and apply City codes and state/federal laws related to public works, subdivisions, and building projects.
• Interpret…