Watershed Engineer

Salary: Depends on Qualifications
Location : Houston, TX
Job Type: Regular Full-time
Job Number: 14697
Department: Flood Control District
Opening Date: 04/02/2025
Closing Date: 5/30/2025 11:59 PM Central
Max Number of Applicants: 150

Position Description
About Harris County Flood Control District:
The Flood Control District has the mission to reduce the risk of flooding in Harris County, the third most populated county in the United States, with a population in excess of 4.7 million, including the City of Houston, the nation's fourth largest city. The Flood Control District has jurisdiction over the primary stormwater facilities in the county, which consist of approximately 1,500 channels totaling nearly 2,500 miles in length, as well as more than 60 regional stormwater detention basins, totaling more than 10,000 acres and several wetlands mitigation banks including Greens bayou.
What you will do at Harris County Flood Control District:

The Harris County Flood Control District is seeking qualified candidates for the role of Watershed Engineer.

The Watershed Engineer is responsible for overseeing the review and approval process of government and private sector development plans and plats for the Watershed Management department to ensure compliance with the District's design criteria, policies, future drainage improvement projects and watershed management plans in accordance with the District's mission to maintain the Infrastructure.
Essential Functions and Duties:

Plan Review and Compliance Oversight

• Oversee the review of government capital improvement plans and private sector development plans (subdivision, site, detention, channel, bridge, and other drainage-related plans and plats) to confirm compliance with the District's criteria and policies.
• Oversee the review of variance requests to the criteria and obtain variance approvals if necessary.
• Review and comment on development reports, plans, designs, and technical submittals such as geotechnical reports and drainage analyses. Perform field visits as necessary to confirm compliance with the District's design criteria and standards.
• Ensure data entry of data documenting plan review efforts.

Research and Documentation

• Oversee the research of letter files, design reports, aerial photos, record drawings, and other resources to support plan review efforts.
• Prepare correspondence, complete forms, and maintain records and files related to work activities.

Communication and Coordination

• Facilitate communications with design engineers and the public (via telephone, letter, plan mark-ups, and in-person) to explain plan review efforts and objectives.
• Oversee coordination with other District and County departments (including Harris County Permits Office) to support regulations and permitting activity for government and private sector construction development plans.

Staff Management and Personnel Oversight

• Ensure personnel compliance with the District's policies and procedures regarding execution of duties and job performance. Assist in performing periodic personnel reviews and recommend adjustments.

Problem Solving and Decision Making

• Advise management of problems and prepare recommendations for solutions using best practices.

Additional Responsibilities and Support

• Assist with department projects, as needed.
• May be required to assume responsibility for the department in the absence of the department manager and/or other duties as assigned by management.
• Perform other duties that may be added or changed as the course and scope of the job directs.

Harris County is an Equal Opportunity Employer



If you need special services or accommodations, please call or email

This position is subject to a criminal history check. Only relevant convictions will be considered and, even when considered, may not automatically disqualify the candidate

Requirements
Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering or a similar curriculum from an accredited college or university
  
  • A similar degree may be considered based on relevant career experience.

Experience:

• Five (5) years of verifiable experience in engineering design and maintenance construction projects and/or field operations related to drainage design
• Professional kowledge of FEMA floodplain management, public works, hydrology, flood control and/or urban development.
• Experience working with government agencies and their governing bodies.
• Supervisory experience in a project management environment.

Licensure:

• Professional Engineer Registration (State of Texas)
• Valid Class "C" Texas Driver's License

Knowledge Skills, and Abilities:

• Strong skills using Microsoft Office 365 applications (Outlook, Word, Excel and Access).
• Strong skills using geographic information systems and digital review software.
• Strong skills using project management tools and systems.
• Solid knowledge/understanding of construction standards, practices and techniques.
• Excellent diagnostic and trouble shooting skills to solve unusual work problems and advise on complex technical questions and/or difficult work solutions.
• Excellent analytical skills in applying guidelines, policies and precedents and in adapting standard methods to fit facts and conditions.
• Basic understanding of FEMA floodplain regulations including CLOMR and LOMR processes.
• Excellent communication skills including presentation, grammar and writing skills.
• Excellent organizational and managerial skills.
• Can work well under pressure and public scrutiny.
• Can manage and lead a professional team within an office environment.
• Can utilize good time management skills and effectively prioritize and manage multiple tasks/initiatives.
• Can work independently with limited supervision, relative autonomy and general review.
• Work well with the public, interest groups, government agency personnel and external organizations.

NOTE: Qualifying education, experience, knowledge, and skills must be documented on your job application. You may attach a resume to the application as supporting documentation but ONLY information stated on the application will be used for consideration. "See Resume" will not be accepted for qualifications.
Preferences
Certification:

• FEMA floodplain manager certification (preferred)

Language:

• Bi-lingual skills in English/Spanish (preferred)

General Information
Position Type, Salary:

• Regular | Full-Time
• Salary: To be discussed at interview

Location:

• Watershed Management - 9900 Northwest Freeway Houston, TX 77092

Physical Demands and Environmental Exposure:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions:

• Frequent stooping, bending, reaching, lifting, and carrying of items up to 11 pounds and occasional lifting of up to 20 pounds.
• Frequent sorting, filing, shelving, and handling of documents, books, files, file drawers and related materials and equipment required for clerical operations.
• Occasional walking up and down steep slopes of ditches or on rough and uneven surfaces or ground such as sloping terrain plowed or furrowed areas or construction sites.
• Occasional ascending/descending stairs; prolonged sitting for extended periods of time.
• Work is generally performed indoors in a normal office environment with acceptable lighting, temperature, air conditions and noise levels.
• When at field locations, may be exposed to significant levels of heat, cold, moisture, air pollution, wind and dust, wildlife and flying/walking insects, vibration and/or noise in excess of 85 decibels, aquatic bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms.

Employment may be contingent on passing a drug screen and meeting other standards.

Due to a high volume of applications positions may close prior to the advertised closing date or at the discretion of the Hiring Department.
BENEFITS

Harris County offers a competitive benefits program, including comprehensive group health and related benefits plan as well as defined benefit retirement plan.
The following list of benefits is offered only to employees in regular (full-time) positions:

• Medical Coverage
• Dental Coverage
• Vision Coverage
• Wellness Plan
• Life Insurance
• Long-term disability
• Employee Assistance Program
• Ten (10) days of vacation each year for the first five (5) years of service
  • Accrual rates increase based on years of service
• Eleven (11) County-observed holidays and one (1) floating holiday
• Professional development opportunities
• Dependent Care Reimbursement Plan
• Healthcare Reimbursement Account
• 457 Deferred Compensation Plan

The following benefits are also available to regular (full-time) employment and may be available to part-time employees:

• Retirement Pension (TCDRS)
• Flexible schedule (varies by department)
• Transportation Assistance (Metro RideSponsor Program)

In accordance with the Harris County Personnel Regulations, Group Health and related benefits are subject to amendment or discontinuance at any time. Commissioners Court reserves the right to make benefit modifications on the County's behalf as needed.
For plan details, visit the Harris County benefits website:
01

Which of the following best describes your highest level of education completed as it relates to this position?

• High School or GED diploma
• Associate Degree
• Bachelor's Degree
• Master's Degree or higher
• None of the above

02

If you selected a college degree in response to the previous question, which of the following best describes your major?

• Civil Engineering
• Other Related Field
• Unrelated Field
• N/A; No Degree

03

Which of the following best describes your verifiable experience in engineering design and maintenance construction projects and/or field operations related to drainage design?(To be considered, qualifying experience must be documented in your application's employment history)

• Less than five (5) years
• Five (5) years or more but less than six (6) years
• Six (6) years or more but less than seven (7) years
• Seven (7) years or more
• I do not have this experience

04

Please provide the dates of employment during which you obtained verifiable experience in engineering design and maintenance construction projects and/or field operations related to drainage design. Provide the month and year that began and ended the experience. Example: "January 2020 - December 2023" If this experience is not clearly documented in the Work Experience section, your application will be disqualified. If you do not have this experience, type "N/A" in the space provided.
05

Which of the following do you have working knowledge of and/or experience with?(Select all that apply.)

• Professional kowledge of FEMA floodplain management, public works, hydrology, flood control and/or urban development.
• Experience working with government agencies and their governing bodies.
• Supervisory experience in a project management environment.
• None of the above.

06

If you made a selection in regard to the previous question, please describe your professional knowledge and/or experience. NOTE: Please DO NOT use "See Resume" as we do not use resumes for qualifications.(Type N/A if not applicable)
07

This position requires possession of a valid Texas-issued driver's license upon hire.If hired, will you be able to meet this requirement?If currently licensed, please be sure to include all related details in the Certificates and Licenses section of your application.

• Yes
• No

08

Which of the following describes your level of proficiency using a personal computer and common office software such as MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook). Please select your level of proficiency based on the following descriptions:Advanced:A person with this level of skills is able to produce very large, complex formal documents that require a table of contents, footnotes, endnotes, bookmarks, and other special elements; a wide range of graphic effects, and use advanced techniques for analyzing and manipulating data. Has full mastery of Macro commands and skills to tie the objects together into a cohesive system by using Macros and Visual Basic for Applications code. Makes interactive presentations by using hyperlinks and action buttons.Intermediate:A person with this level of skills is able to customize toolbars, import and insert graphs, embed Excel data, and elaborate reports. Understands the concepts of databases and is able to work with charts and to use the list management capabilities of Excel. Able to use complex query techniques, create efficient forms and reports, and create Macros to automate these forms. Makes interactive presentations by using hyperlinks and action buttons.Basic:A person with this level of skills is able to use basic formatting, editing, printing functions, and understands the document page setup. Has the ability to enter and correct data, modify a workbook, format a worksheet, and use printing functions. Understands the different database concepts and structures and is familiar with data validation and is able to create a simple presentation in PowerPoint, run it, and print it.Entry Level:A person with this level of skills has the ability to open, create, save and modify documents in Word, send and receive email in Outlook and create spreadsheets in Excel. Format documents for printing, comfortable using the printer menu to preview documents. Has ability to change the font, the margins, insert or delete pages and use the built-in spellchecker and grammar check.

• Advanced
• Intermediate
• Basic
• Entry Level
• Not proficient

09

Are you a currently registered Professional Engineer (PE) in the state of Texas?Please include all related details in the Certificates and Licenses section of your application.

• Yes
• No

10

Do you currently have a FEMA floodplain manager certification?

• Yes
• No

11

Which of the following language(s) are you bilingual and fluent?Select all that apply:

• English and Spanish
• English and Vietnamese
• English and Chinese
• English and Arabic
• English and Urdu
• English and Tagalog
• English and Other Language(s)
• None of the Above

Required Question