Public Works Senior Civil Engineer

Position Description

As a Public Works Senior Civil Engineer at Seattle Public Utilities, you’ll lead the development and public advertisement of contract documents that power major water, wastewater, drainage, and restoration projects across the city. Your engineering expertise and precision will directly shape multimillion dollar CIP construction—placing you at the center of projects that enhance Seattle’s resilience, sustainability, and quality of life. If you’re seeking meaningful impact, high visibility, and true ownership, this role gives you the opportunity to move the city forward with your work.

This role is responsible for preparing, reviewing, and stamping contract documents for municipal infrastructure projects involving water, wastewater, drainage, and related facilities. The ideal candidate brings strong technical expertise in specification writing, contract administration, and construction procurement within a Design/Bid/Build environment. This position also serves as the central city point of contact during bidding.

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is a community-centered utility that delivers vital services to Seattle residents and businesses including drinking water, drainage and wastewater, and garbage/recycling/compost. SPU also provides drinking water for 1.5 million customers in the region. SPU’s work includes system maintenance and improvements and keeping Seattle clean. Over 1,500 SPU employees work with our community to provide affordable and equitable stewardship of our water and waste resources for future generations.

• SPU Website
• SPU Workplace Expectations
• Strategic Business Plan

SPU commits to Our City Values and Race and Social Justice as core principles that guide our work. We actively take steps to dismantle systemic racism and increase service equity. We value diverse life experiences and strive to create a workplace that is welcoming to all. We take steps to be inclusive and equitable in our recruiting, hiring and promotional opportunities.

We know work isn’t only about what you do, it’s also about who you work for and with! SPU provides a fun and family-friendly work environment that supports a work life balance, including:

• Hybrid work schedule opportunities
• Family-friendly and multicultural work environment
• Generous benefits package
• Free Orca Pass
• City pension plan with employer/employee contributions
• Growth potential and advancement opportunities

• Prepare and review contract specifications (Project Manual) for bidding on municipal infrastructure construction projects (water, wastewater, drainage, roads, and facilities) using the Design/Bid/Build contracting method
• Manage the Ad/Bid/Award process for SPU CIP projects
• Sign and stamp (Professional Engineer stamp) front-end specifications (Divisions 0 and
  1) and applicable technical specifications
• Develop clear, concise, and accurate contract specifications in both APWA and CSI formats
• Review engineered drawings and construction cost estimates at the 90% and 100% design milestones
• Identify bid items and write corresponding measurement and payment language
• Serve as the central city point of contact during bidding; coordinate with design teams to address bidder questions
• Draft and issue Addenda to modify bidding documents and distribute revisions to all bidders
• Evaluate contractor bids for responsiveness and assess contractor experience for meeting responsibility criteria
• Maintain and update SPU’s APWA and CSI boilerplate specifications

• Water Main Rehabilitation
• Sewer Rehabilitation
• Drainage Rehabilitation
• Combined Sewer Overflow Infrastructure Improvements
• Creek…