Job Description
****IMPORTANT NOTE: Candidates selected to fill an Environmental Engineer position from this posting will be appointed on a provisional basis. As a provisional employee, you will be required to take and pass the next Environmental Engineer civil service examination and be given a list number by the NYC Dept. of Citywide Administrative Services in order to be considered for probable permanent employment in this title. Anyone who does not take and pass this examination, or who is not reached on the established list, will be terminated as a provisional Environmental Engineering.
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) protects public health and the
environment by supplying clean drinking water, collecting and treating wastewater, and reducing air,
noise, and hazardous materials pollution. DEP is the largest combined municipal water and wastewater
utility in the country, with nearly 6,000 employees. We deliver 1.1 billion gallons of high quality drinking
water per day to 8.5 million New York City residents and more than 1 million people in Upstate New
York, and we collect and treat an average of 1.3 billion gallons of wastewater per day.
The Bureau of Wastewater Treatment (BWT) is responsible for the operation and maintenance of all
facilities related to the treatment of sewage within the five boroughs of the City. This includes 14
wastewater treatment plants, sludge dewatering facilities, collections facilities (pumping stations,
combined sewer overflow retention facilities, regulators, tide gates, etc.), wastewater laboratories and
harbor vessels.
Collections facilities include, but are not limited to: 96 wastewater and stormwater pumping stations,
four (4) Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) facilities, wastewater and stormwater forcemains between
pump stations and/or sewer connections, sludge forcemains between Wastewater Resource Recovery
Facilities (WRRFs), approximately 500 regulators, tide gates, tide gate chambers, and approximately 140
miles of interceptors sewers.
The posted position resides within the Collections Support Division of the Project Delivery Directorate
and primarily entails the planning, coordination and oversight of the delivery of several assignments and
projects to support the continuous operation of collections facilities and linear assets.
The Enviromental Engineer, either directly or through a staff of project managers, inspectors and/or
other technical/administrative staff, directs and coordinates the oversight of the design and
construction of various projects of low to moderate size and complexity. These projects are
primarily related to the wastewater collections facilities, equipment and linear assets, such as
pumping stations, regulators, interceptors, tide gate structures, etc. Projects may be managed
within DEP, or through outside entities.
The Environmental Engineer’s primary responsibilities include:
1. Seamless communication/coordination with Collections Operations, Agency Bureaus,
other City Agencies, and key Stakeholders and lead reviews of design and construction
documents to confirm conformance with the Agency’s standards and goals, and to make sure that the project/assignment’s goals and milestones are met, ensuring that all
prepared schedules, reports, and work products conform to the approved scope of
work.
2. Support with the management of the Interceptor Improvement Program, as directed.
3. Coordination of multiple assignments of moderate to high technical complexity with
major potential impact on agency engineering operations and/or City’s infrastructure.
4. Preparation, negotiation, and processing of new solicitation as well as appropriate
modifications to existing vendor’s contract scope, cost, and schedule for successful
completion of the project or assignment at hand.
5. Day-to-day guidance and oversight of subordinates’ work assignments, motivation of
current employees, approval of time and leave, evaluation of staff members and
development of staffing requirements for implementation of the assignment at hand.
6. The Environmental Engineer must have the minimum technical knowledge and be a
“hands-on” professional capable of quickly recognizing what is required for an
assignment and providing the sustained effort necessary to see that assignment through
from inception to completion.
7. Where necessary, the Environmental Engineer will be responsible for managing staff
efficiently and effectively to ensure adequate staffing of projects/assignments and
opportunities for professional growth.
8. The Environmental Engineer reports directly to the Section Chief
Qualifications
1. A valid New York State Professional Engineer License and four years of full-time experience in environmental engineering. A master’s degree in environmental engineering from an accredited college will be accepted as equivalent to one year of the
full-time experience in environmental engineering.
SPECIAL NOTE:
In addition to above qualification requirements, to be eligible for placement in Assignment Level II or III, individuals must have at least one year within the last three years of experience as a major contributor or a project leader on a complex project requiring additional and specific expertise in the disciplines needed to design or construct the project.