Principal Engineer (Bridges)

Important Notice: Arlington County requires all applicants to thoroughly complete each section of the application, including prior job responsibilities, duties, and supplemental questions. While you may attach a resume, it will not replace a completed application. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

The Department of Environmental Services (DES) is seeking a skilled Principal Engineer (Bridges) to join our Engineering Bureau - a 60 member team delivering full-scale surveying, design, and construction management services for a wide range of public works capital improvement projects.  These projects include multimodal transportation, bridge replacements, stormwater, watermain, sanitary sewer, and other infrastructure work. The projects are complex, with competing interests in a constrained urban environment and range from $100,000 to $20 million in construction costs with a portfolio of approximately 75 to 100 projects in various stages of design at any given time. The Bureau also utilizes consulting services as additional resources to enhance project capacity.

This role is responsible for asset management of the County’s 35+ bridges, including oversight of bridge safety inspections, as well as maintenance and repairs.  Additionally, the Principal Engineer is responsible for bridge capital projects such as major bridge rehabilitations and replacements.  Much of the bridge program work is accomplished using consultants and contractors and the position is responsible for procuring and overseeing the work of these entities. The position will manage other transportation-related projects including the procurement of consultants, completion and review of design plans, submissions to regulatory agencies, management of schedules and budgets, procurement of construction contractors, and construction administration services. 

Specific duties include:

• Managing the bridge safety inspection program, ensuring that the biennial bridge inspections are completed in accordance with Federal and State requirements;
• Developing and prioritizing the 4-year bridge repair maintenance plan including preparing annual bridge repair and maintenance budgets for the County’s bridge inventory;
• Creating the bridge component of the Capital Improvement Plan including planning level cost estimates and scoping for future bridge capital projects and rehabilitations;
• Procuring design and construction contractors to perform Annual Maintenance and Repair Work, and complete Capital Improvement Projects;
• Directing consultant development of plans, specifications, estimates, and bid documents for construction contractors to execute the work contained in the Annual Maintenance and Repairs Work Plan and bridge capital improvement plan including reviewing consultant work products to ensure that they effectively meet the County’s goals and are accurate and complete;
• Preparing and reviewing detailed design and construction engineering plans including cost estimates, technical reports, and associated documentation for transportation related projects;
• Collaborating project implementation with internal teams, external agencies, and stakeholders to ensure projects are completed on time and within budget, while complying with regulatory requirements;
• Developing materials for and participating in pre-bid meetings, public engagement presentations, construction meetings, and other project-related events; and
• Performing other job-related duties including the design and review of retaining walls and other small structures and providing structural engineering related guidance on other capital projects.

The successful candidate will possess outstanding design, project, consultant and client management skills, including technical expertise in structural engineering as well as experience in a construction plan production environment. They will also have a track record of successfully working with various stakeholders and demonstrate strong leadership qualities. This individual will be a collaborative problem solver with an understanding of the complexities and challenges of bridges and Capital Improvement Projects related to bridges and transportation.

• Civil Engineering
• Interpersonal Skills
• Mathematics
• Problem Solving
• Reading and Writing