Engineer Planning/Design

Date Opened: Friday, June 26, 2026 12:00 AM

Close Date: Sunday, July 12, 2026 12:00 AM

Department: Charlotte Water Department

Welcome to the City of Charlotte

Charlotte is America’s Queen City, opening her arms to a diverse and inclusive community of residents, businesses and visitors alike. Here you will find a safe, family-oriented city where people work together to help everyone thrive. The mission of the City of Charlotte is to deliver quality public services and promote the safety, health, and quality of life for all residents.

Our guiding principles include:

• Attracting and retaining a skilled and diverse workforce

• Valuing teamwork, openness, accountability, productivity, and employee development

• Providing all customers with courteous, responsive, accessible, and seamless quality services

• Taking initiative to identify, analyze, and solve problems

• Collaborating with stakeholders to make informed decisions

SUMMARY

This position is an entry level position on the Water Distribution Planning team within Charlotte Water’s Engineering Planning Section. Charlotte Water’s Engineering Planning Section is responsible for maintaining and updating water and wastewater master plans and area studies, evaluating operational performance, trends, and forecasts, reviewing proposed growth and development within the Charlotte Water Service area, and identifying and communicating needs to update and maintain Charlotte Water’s CIP Program. Work involves initiating projects; performing preliminary design; applying professional engineering principles; coordinating/planning project review meetings; reviewing drawings/specifications; and performing project inspections. This position involves conducting studies for project consideration, proposing future projects, and assisting with current projects.

The salary for this position is $69,852.60 to $77,613.99 commensurate with experience

MAJOR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES ​:        

• Participates in the development of lists of potential infrastructure improvement projects to be included in the capital investment plan and/or business plan for the utility.

• Assist other staff members in creating meeting materials for the annual CIP and serve as a planning representative in CIP meetings.

• Participates in engineering studies in support of project analysis and design. Implementing field testing plans for through equipment installation and operation of in-line valves, blow-offs, air releases, and hydrants during field testing and evaluation activities.

• Perform as the primary on-site representative for data collection activities related to Master Planning/ Area Study activities and system evaluations. As the group’s primary on-site representative for data collection, work hours may periodically change to match work hours for contractors, subcontractors, and field operation crews.

• Coordinates and reviews the work of contracted engineers, City staff, and other project service providers; provides old drawings and water project files to assist with current projects. 

• Facilitates communication between the owner, project manager, contractors, other governmental agencies, the public, and other interested parties.

• Calculates cost estimates and identifies resources needed for projects.

• Prepares reports detailing the quantitative and qualitative analysis performed; makes recommendations.

• Conducts a programming assessment to determine infrastructure, facility, and other project requirements.

• Maintaining accurate and up-to-date records for equipment and inventory of equipment.

• Review rezoning petitions from city planning and coordinate responses from Installation and development services.

• Provide comments to applications received by other Charlotte Water teams and Requests sent to Charlotte Water Planning.

• Assist with updating regulatory and utility partnership reports.

• Utilize ArcGIS to create various map for use by Charlotte Water staff.

• Develops preliminary plans and reports using ArcGIS and other GIS Tools.

• Provides technical support to Charlotte Water Staff.

• Performs other related job duties as assigned by the Water Distribution Planning Senior Engineer or Planning Division Manager.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES ​:

• Knowledge of fundamental engineering principles.

• Knowledge of project design and planning.

• Skill in using GIS and similar technical support equipment/tools.

• Skill in communicating, both verbally and in writing.

• Ability to develop technical reports.

• Ability to apply conflict resolution techniques.

• Ability to work cooperatively with other City employees and the public.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Prefers One (1) year of directly related work experience, preferably experience in design or technical planning for civil engineering projects.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS ​:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Construction management from an accredited school.

Licenses, Certifications or Registrations:

• Requires a valid driver’s license.

• Engineering Intern (EI/EIT) designation within one year of hire.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

The work is light work and requires applying 10 pounds of force frequently exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally to move objects. Additionally, the following physical abilities are required: balancing, climbing, crawling, feeling, manual dexterity, grasping, handling, perceiving sounds at normal speaking levels, distinguishing among sounds, mental acuity, pulling, pushing, repetitive motion, speaking, standing, expressing ideas by spoken word, shouting above noises, visual acuity in data/color/observations/equipment/inspections, and walking.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:     

Work requires working on-call as scheduled and working during emergency situations.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

The City’s Background Check Policy requires background checks to be conducted on final internal or external candidate(s) applying for any position with the City of Charlotte. The type of information that will be collected as part of a background check includes, but is not limited to: reference checks, social security verification, education verification, criminal conviction record check, and, if applicable, a credit history check, sex offender registry and motor vehicle records check.

Background checks must be in compliance with all federal and state statutes, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The checks must be consistent with the guidelines set forth by these laws requiring organizations to obtain a candidate’s written authorization before obtaining a criminal background report, motor vehicle records check or credit report; and to properly store and dispose of information derived from such reports.

Final candidates must pass a pre-employment drug-screening test and physical examination. During the selection process, candidates may be asked to take a skills test, and/or participate in other assessments.

The City of Charlotte is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, marital status, age, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation or on the basis of actual or perceived gender as expressed through dress, appearance, or behavior.

Our culture is to serve the community honorably.

HOW TO APPLY

Apply online.

Federal law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Please tell us if you require a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job.

You are welcome to visit the City of Charlotte Human Resources Department lobby, where self-service application kiosks are available. They are located in our office at 700 East 4th Street, Suite 200, Charlotte, NC 28202. We are open Monday through Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (EST), excluding official City holidays.

For questions about your application or the hiring process, please email [email protected]

The City of Charlotte is committed to making our services and programs accessible to all. Upon request, auxiliary aids, written materials in alternate formats, language access, and other reasonable accommodations or modifications will be provided. To make a request, please fill out the Innovation & Technology ADA request form or call 704.336.4120.

BENEEFITS

The City of Charlotte provides a comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees.

Click here to learn more about the City of Charlotte’s benefits.

The City of Charlotte is a drug and alcohol-free workplace.