PRINCIPAL ENGINEER CIVIL (Code 14091)
Principal Engineer Civil is a competitive state title, the kind you test for: the exam result, not a hiring manager's pick, decides where you land in line.
It expects a bachelor's degree and 3 years of relevant experience. Pay on the FY 2027 schedule runs $79,844 to $117,228, and state payroll currently lists 5 people in the title, most of them at Environmental Protection.
How to apply
This title is filled by competitive examination.
See every real route in, and where to apply. 2 agencies employ it. We don't track live vacancies.
See all 2 employers and how to apply →Who employs this title
Principal Engineer Civil appears on the State payroll at 2 departments, most of them at Department of Environmental Protection.
State departments
| Employer | Employees |
|---|---|
| Department of Environmental Protection | 3 |
| Board of the Public Utility | 2 |
State payroll and independent authority payroll are separate systems and are never merged. See data sources.
Who employs this title
State payroll records show 5 people working under this title. The median actual salary is $113,264. The agencies employing the most are:
- Environmental Protection (3)
- Board of the Public Utilities (2)
Counts from NJ YourMoney agency payroll. See statewide workforce analytics.
Official job specification
The text below is the official specification published by the New Jersey Civil Service Commission. The plain-language summary and analysis above are derived from it by NJ Civil Service Navigator. Source: the official specification page at NJ CSC.
Definition
Under the general supervision of a Project Engineer or other supervisory official in a state department or agency, supervises subordinates, and/or perform independent work in, the highly complex and difficult engineering phases of general civil engineering, design, inspection, and/or survey of construction projects, utilities, or related engineering facilities. Supervises staff and work activities; prepares and signs official performance evaluations for subordinate staff; does other related duties as required.
Examples of work
- Supervises and reviews plans, drawings, and detailed maps and charts to be used in construction, as-built reports, and field notes in formal reports.
- Supervises office and field surveys, inspections, investigations, and/or tests on projects assigned to the department involved.
- Performs independent assignments and/or supervises the more difficult field and/or office engineering work, and gives professional guidance to subordinate personnel in the performance of their work.
- Analyzes and interprets complex plans and specifications.
- Supervises the preparation of complex contract drawings, specifications, cost estimates, and preliminary estimates for various engineering projects.
- Supervises work plans and estimates of probable cost for materials needed in assigned work projects, and prepares requisitions for needed labor, equipment, materials, and supplies.
- Supervises the inspection of the equipment, methods, procedures, supplies, and materials used by the contractor, to ensure compliance with design plans and specifications.
- Develops field engineering details involved in change in plans, as-built plans and associated estimates.
- Performs highly complex and difficult engineering mathematical computations involving trigonometry and calculus.
- Supervises the work operations and/or functional programs and has responsibility for effectively recommending the hiring, firing, promoting, demoting and/or disciplining of employees.
- Supervises office and field surveys, inspections, investigations and/or materials tests within areas relating to projects assigned to the department, agency or jurisdiction.
- Investigates, identifies and evaluates new products and systems in the field of building construction.
- Implements new technological advances in construction into ongoing construction projects.
- Reviews applications for demolition and inspects designated buildings to assess the degree of deterioration and ascertains the cost of rehabilitation of demolition under a grant or loan program.
- Supervises the design of building construction, utilities and other related facilities.
- Prepares and/or supervises the preparation of clear, technically sound, accurate, and informative engineering and other related reports containing findings, conclusions, and recommendations.
- Prepares detailed correspondence.
- Maintains and/or supervises the maintenance of essential records, reports, and files.
- Will be required to learn how to utilize various types of electronic and/or manual recording and computerized information system used by the agency, office, or related units.
Education
Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering.
Experience
Three (3) years of experience in civil engineering related work.
License
Appointees will be required to possess a driver's license valid in New Jersey only if the operation of a vehicle, rather than employee mobility, is necessary to perform the essential duties of the position.
Knowledge, skills and abilities
Knowledge of the principles of civil engineering. Knowledge of the procedures used in locating, planning, and designing civil engineering projects, roadways, walks, and drainage projects. Knowledge of the methods used to review and interpret engineering plans and specifications. Knowledge of engineering mathematics, including trigonometry and calculus. Knowledge of Record of Decision (ROD) and transit activities of a field survey party. Knowledge of the form, content, and preparation of construction plans and specifications, of the techniques used in drafting and preparing detailed maps and charts, and of approved inspection techniques. Ability to supervise the design of new utility installations. Ability to supervise assigned staff and plan, organize, and implement projects within the unit. Ability to prepare specifications and to give authoritative advice to supervisory officers regarding the construction of new utility installations. Ability to prepare topographic maps, profiles, and plans used in construction and to use such instruments as required to obtain the necessary data. Ability to work with supervise the operation of the field and office work of professional and nonprofessional employees who are assigned to assist in this work. Ability to apply basic civil engineering principles and techniques in plans, designs, charts, maps, specifications, and estimates and to reduce and plot field notes. Ability to inspect construction projects for the purpose of determining conformance with designs, plans, and specifications. Ability to supervise and assign technical field and office engineering work, analyze engineering problems, and develop appropriate work methods. Ability to supervise the field survey parties, inspections and investigations of work under construction, and the preparation reports. Ability to prepare preliminary estimates of the cost of new construction or installations and to check drawings submitted by contractors for these projects. Ability to solve complex engineering and design problems. Ability to prepare and/or supervise the preparation of clear, technically sound, accurate, and informative engineering and other related reports containing findings, conclusions, and recommendations. Ability to prepare detailed correspondence. Ability to maintain and/or supervise the maintenance of essential records, reports, and files. Ability to learn how to utilize various types of electronic and/or manual recording and information systems used by the agency, office, or related units. Ability to read, write, speak, understand, and communicate in English sufficiently to perform the duties of this position. American Sign Language or Braille may also be considered as acceptable forms of communication. Persons with mental or physical disabilities are eligible if they can perform essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation. If the accommodation cannot be made because it would cause the employer undue hardship, such persons may not be eligible. This job specification is applicable to the following title code(s) which are different work week or work month and/or variants of the job class title: Job Spec Code State, Local or Common Class of Service Work Week State Class Code Local Class Code Salary Range
Note
The examples of work for this title are for illustrative purposes only. A particular position using this title may not perform all duties listed in this job specification. Conversely, all duties performed on the job may not be listed. An Engineer-In-Training (EIT) certification issued by the Division of Consumer Affairs, New Jersey Office of the Attorney General may be substituted for the above education requirement. Applicants must submit proof of the EIT certification and the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam results. The area of discipline indicated on the FE exam results must be in Civil Engineering. Possession of a valid Professional Engineer's license issued by the New Jersey Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors may be substituted for the Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering. A Master's degree in Civil Engineering may be substituted for one (1) year of experience as stated above. SCNL25N/AR25-SC4E25N/AR26-SC3E25N/AR24- This job specification is for government use only. Salary range is only applicable to state government. Local salaries are established by individual local jurisdictions. 6/19/2021