Staff Specialist Engineer

About the Organization:

MDOT is responsible for Michigan's 9,669-mile state highway system, comprised of all M, I, and US routes. MDOT also administers other state and federal transportation programs for aviation, intercity passenger services, rail freight, local public transit services, grant programs, and others.

Position Description:

This position serves as a staff engineer and technical specialist working with the Local Agency Programs (LAP) Section and Michigan’s local agencies in preparing and assembling documents required to deliver federal and state funded transportation construction projects to bid advertisement and letting. Working directly with the LAP Section Manager, this position advises and assists in assigning projects to LAP engineering consultants and oversees the delivery of those projects to bid advertisement and letting. This position advises and assists the LAP Section Manager in administering the annual contracts between MDOT and Michigan Technological University (MTU) for the Michigan Engineers Research Library (MERL) software package used to prepare engineer’s construction cost estimates and the Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) for training and educating Michigan’s local municipal agencies and the engineering consultant community, related to implementing the federal transportation funding program. Administering these contracts involves preparing the annual scope of required services and proposed budget, reviewing the work plan and proposals from MTU, requesting fund obligation, working with MDOT Contracts Services Division to award contracts, reviewing MTU’s progress on program delivery, and reviewing and approving invoices for services completed.

Provides training and guidance to consultants and local agencies statewide.

Responsibilities:

·       Review project plans, specifications, and engineer’s estimates for conformance with approved scope of work, design guidelines, and directives and all required state and federal requirements for transportation funded projects. If the documents are not acceptable, work with the local agency and its engineering consultant to update or revise the documents to be acceptable.

·       Arrange and conduct Grade Inspection meetings and site reviews with local agency representatives/consultants and others to ensure that the project documents are consistent with existing site conditions.

·       Review applicable design guidance documents, safety analyses, crash reports, and other applicable safety information to determine whether a design exception or a design variance from acceptable design standards is required and, if so, recommend to the LAP Section Manager regarding whether such exceptions or variances should be accepted.

·       Technical consultant and liaison to governmental agencies, legislators, contractors, consultants, project and region engineers, and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). This includes responding to and resolving inquiries by legislators and/or private citizens regarding various issues related to transportation projects.

·       Work with various MDOT and federal agencies to request that the appropriate transportation funds be obligated and assigned to the project and prepare the appropriate cost sharing agreement between MDOT and the local agency.

·       Assist the LAP Section Manager in preparing the individual project authorization forms that are required to assign individual projects to the LAP consulting engineer.

·       Monitor each consultant’s costs to date and compare those costs to the budgeted amounts of each contract, to determine whether the budgeted amounts are within 90% of the contract cost and, if so, notify the LAP Section Manager on the status of the budget and project status.

·       Review and approve LAP Consultant’s invoices for services completed.

This position is an essential part of the MDOT commitment to improving quality of the plan/proposal packages for use by contractors in the bidding process.

 Basic Requirements for Skills, Experience, Education and Credentials:

o   Bachelor's degree in engineering (preferably civil engineering).

o   Four years of professional experience equivalent to a transportation engineer, including two years equivalent to a transportation engineer P11 or one year equivalent to a transportation engineer 12 or transportation engineer licensed 12.

o   Possession of a registered professional engineering license as required by the State of Michigan.

o   Possession of a valid driver’s license.

Knowledge of:

·       Construction.

·       Design.

·       Traffic operations.

·       Federal and state regulations.

·       Plan preparation. 

·       Bridge standards and specifications. 

Ability to:

·       Comprehend and carry out written and oral instructions.

·       Communicate effectively both orally and in writing.

·       Interpret and work with databases of all sizes and complexities.

·       Use computers and applicable software.

·       Apply independent engineering judgment when making decisions.

Applying for this position:

Please apply for this position at the following link:

Transportation Engineer Licensed Specialist 13 (Staff Specialist Engineer) Bureau of Development | Job Details tab | Career Pages (governmentjobs.com)

Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled:

Accommodations:

Accommodations can be made for persons who require mobility, visual, hearing, written, or other assistance for participation. Large print materials, auxiliary aids or the services of interpreters, signers, or readers are available upon request. Requests should be made at least five days prior to the meeting date. Reasonable efforts will be made to provide the requested accommodation or an effective alternative, but accommodations may not be guaranteed. Please contact:

·       Accessibility Notice: Attendees who require mobility, visual, hearing, written or other assistance for effective participation should contact Orlando Curry at                               517-241-7462 or CurryO@Michigan.gov, preferably at least five business days prior to the scheduled meeting. Forms are located on the Title VI webpage: https://www.michigan.gov/mdot/programs/title-vi . Requests made after this timeframe will be evaluated and honored to the extent possible.

Questions:  Call Donna Horn at 517-204-1704.