DWR Dam Safety Engineer (PE II)

Full Job Description

Are you interested in investing in a career that makes a difference?

Consider joining the dedicated people of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. It’s our mission to manage and conserve Colorado’s natural resources for the benefit of people today – and tomorrow. That means we have to balance development with conservation so the state we all love provides similar opportunities for our children and their children.

We invite you to explore our website at https://dnr.colorado.gov/ to find out more about the work we do to manage Colorado’s natural resources for today – and tomorrow.

The State of Colorado believes that equity, diversity, and inclusion drive our success, and we encourage candidates from all identities, backgrounds, and abilities to apply.

In addition to offering rewarding, meaningful work, we offer:

• Medical and Dental plans
• Strong, flexible retirement plans including PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan, plus pre-tax 401K and 457 plans
• Paid life insurance
• Short- and long-term disability coverage
• Employee Wellness programs
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Health Savings Accounts
• 11 paid holidays per year plus generous vacation and sick leave
• Flexible work schedule options and remote-work options
• Career advancement opportunities throughout the State system

Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. For more information, go to: https://studentloans.gov/myDirectLoan/pslfFlow.action#!/pslf/launch

Division of Water Resources (DWR):

State Engineer's Office

Our mission is to administer the waters of the State to maximize lawful beneficial use, ensure that dams and water wells are properly constructed and safe, and provide information about water resources to the public. Division of Water Resources

The Dam Safety work unit’s primary purpose is life safety protection, specifically, to protect the citizens of Colorado from potential dam failure floods.

Additionally, safeguarding the safety of dams ensures that water resources in reservoirs continue to be available as a vital life resource for the citizens of Colorado.

Currently, over 2.1 million Coloradans live below dams within the potential dam failure inundation zone.

Given the high consequences associated with this purpose, the work unit must be able to provide a high degree of assurance that the design, construction, performance, and operations of reservoir dams in the state has minimized the risk of potential dam failure(s).

Organizationally, this specific position is structured under the Dam Safety Program as part the State Engineer's Office. The position has regional responsibility within Division 1 with a regional coverage area of Water Districts 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 65, based primarily out of the Greeley, CO region.

Requirements

This position is an individual contributor who acts as a staff authority and is immediately responsible for the safety of a high quantity of dams in a region with a high population at risk below the dams. This position exists to prevent the loss of life and property damage from the failure of dams by setting safe storage levels in reservoirs by inspection and engineering evaluation; to provide assistance to citizens of Colorado in the area of dam safety.

Specific job duties include but are not limited to:

Dam Safety Engineer position completes inspection and assessment of jurisdictional dams per CRS 37-87-107, 109,125 to determine the safe storage level.

Includes file review of historical data, field inspection of dam, advice to dam owner of findings and requirements at the completion of inspection, a written report and follow-up including letters, re-inspection of dam if necessary, or components of the dam such as the outlet conduit, operation of the gate works and inspection of repairs to the dam.

Knowledge and skill requirements include, but are not limited to use of computer modeling; dam failure hazard evaluations, using Potential Failure Modes Analysis (PFMA) and consequence analysis to assess dam safety risk, flood hydrology, or statistical analysis of historical rainfall or snowmelt floods, geotechnical analysis of soils including seepage, slope stability analysis; hydraulic analysis of manmade/natural spillway channels and outlet structure systems; geologic/seismologic evaluation of hazards affecting reservoir rim and dam; and state law, regulations and policy.

Review design reports, plans & specifications for new dams or repair or modification of existing dams submitted by consulting engineers meeting Rule 4.10 for compliance with the dam safety rules and regulations, the C.R.S., and dam safety industry standard engineering principles and practices.

Conduct meetings with owners, consulting engineers and contractors to discuss requirements for new dams and repairs, analyses or modifications to dams.

Inspection of constructed work periodically from notice to proceed to completion of construction for conformance with approved plans and specifications.

Works to reduce the consequences of a dam emergency, incident or failure of dams through the application of Emergency Action Planning Rules, principles and activities.

Review of Emergency Action Plans (EAP’s) submitted for High and Significant hazard dams. Assist dam owners and emergency managers with the creation, fabrication, anddistribution of their EAP’s.

Coordinate with State and Local Emergency Management partners before and during emergencies.

Respond to dam safety emergencies including making critical emergency decisions regarding a potential dam failure.

Participate in the response with emergency management resources to decrease the potential for the dam failure, and reduce the risk of loss of life and property damage in the event the failure cannot be prevented.

The dam safety engineer position must be proficient in engineering analysis methods required to independently evaluate and determine the safe reservoir storage level behind a dam.

This includes using state-of-the-practice engineering methods to assess the consequences of sudden dam failure and assign a hazard classification to the dam.

Determine the spillway adequacy of dams in terms of the Dam Safety Rules and Regulations.

Conduct Comprehensive Dam Safety Evaluation (CDSE) Risk Analyses for high hazard dams including detailed file review, Potential Failure Mode (PFM) identification, screening, review, and analysis.

Apply results to semi-quantitative risk categories and determine the appropriate actions to reduce the risks identified.

Supporting analysis includes state of the practice methods in hydrology, hydraulics and geotechnical engineering.

Manage files for all dams in area of responsibility. Files are organized in a manner easily accessed by them and others for the purposes of review and/or digital scanning.

Digital filing system is organized in a manner easily interpreted for access by them and others.

Using existing tools such as Laserfiche and Adobe Acrobat Professional and protocols for a paperless workplace for all day-forward correspondence, reporting and documentation of activities to the greatest extent practicable.

Provide information and/or training and outreach to build stakeholder knowledge base and relationships related to dams to more effectively reduce dam safety risk statewide or regionally.

The audience can vary from either individuals or in group settings, concerning all aspects of the Dam Safety Program.

Topics include; Rules and Regulations, State Statutes, dam engineering principles and practices, available resources to dam owners, dam safety emergency response planning, tabletop mock failure exercises to walk through response plans with sheriffs and other firstresponders.

Available audiences include: Dam owners, consulting engineers, state and local emergency response personnel, other State employees and the general public.Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

Preferred Qualifications:

• Current or former State experience relevant to this position.
• Progressive experience conducting dam safety field inspections and evaluating safety of dams.
• Experience utilizing Risk Informed Decision Making (RIDM) to support dam safety decision making (evaluation, design, construction, regulation).
• Experience with engineering analyses and methods required to support dam evaluation and develop dam design documents (rehabilitation and new construction). This includes hydrologic, hydraulic, geological, geotechnical, and structural elements of civil engineering.
• Experience overseeing design and construction of dam rehabilitation and/or new dam projects.
• Experience with dam safety emergency planning and response.
• Experience managing conflict with internal and external stakeholders.
• Excellent public service and communication skills.
• Experience with appropriate modelling and software analysis techniques to support dam safety assessment.
• Proficiency with Google and Microsoft suites.

The current work arrangement for this position is as follows:
(Please note, this arrangement can be subject to change)

Hybrid: Business requirements for this position are expected to be a minimum of two days per week in the Greeley office.

There will be an initial training period where the new hire will report primarily to the Greeley office until the new hire is proficient in their duties.

The field vehicle available for use will be housed at the Greeley office.

(This position will at times have a responsibility to report to work during emergencies, including nights, weekends, and holidays as needed.)

Conditions of Employment:

Former State employees who were disciplinarily terminated or resigned in lieu of termination must disclose the information on the application and provide an explanation why the prior termination or resignation should not disqualify their application from the current position.

(Please Note: Absent extraordinary circumstances, prior disciplinary termination or resignation in lieu of termination will disqualify the applicant from future State employment with DNR).

Must be willing and able to possess and maintain a State of Colorado Driver's License

Must have and maintain valid licensure as a Professional Engineer in Colorado.

Applicants who do not have a current, valid licensure as a Professional Engineer from the Colorado State Board of Licensure for Architects, Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors will be required to obtain a Colorado license within six (6) months of hire as a condition of employment.

Must be a resident of Colorado by the start date of this position.

Must be prepared to defend and support actions and records in depositions or court testimony.

Must be able to address frequent and detailed inquiries from attorneys, professional engineers and hydrologists from government and private agencies.

Must be willing and able to respond to emergency dam safety situations on weekends, holiday, and evenings as needed.

APPEAL RIGHTS:
It is recommended that you contact the Human Resources Specialist listed below to resolve issues related to your possession of minimum qualifications. However, if you receive notice that you have been eliminated from consideration for this position, you may file an appeal with the State Personnel Board or request a review by the State Personnel Director.

An appeal or review must be submitted on the official appeal form, signed by you or your representative. This form must be delivered to the State Personnel Board by email, US Mail, faxed or hand delivered within ten (10) calendar days from your receipt of notice or acknowledgement of the department’s action.

For more information about the appeals process, the official appeal form, and how to deliver it to the State Personnel Board go to spb.colorado.gov or refer to 4 Colorado Code of Regulations (CCR) 801-1, State Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director's Administrative Procedures, Chapter 8, Resolution of Appeals and Disputes, at spb.colorado.gov under Rules.

Additional Information

• All applications received by the closing of this announcement will be reviewed by an HR Specialist against the Minimum Qualifications in this announcement.

• Colorado Revised Statutes require that state employees are hired and promoted based on merit and fitness through a comparative analysis process. Part of, or all of, the comparative analysis for this position will be a structured application review by Subject Matter Experts.

• Resumes, cover letters and other attachments are not considered as part of initial reviews, therefore, it is important to document in your application your education, experience, minimum qualifications, and preferred qualifications as outlined in the job announcement.

• Please thoroughly answer all supplemental questions (if listed) since question responses may be evaluated for content, writing ability, spelling, grammar, and effective communication.

• This recruitment may involve additional testing and/or exams to arrive at the top group for interviews.

A salary range is posted for this position and any job offer is based upon a salary analysis to comply with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act.

The salary analysis considers relevant experience, education, certifications, and state seniority as compared to others doing substantially similar work.

While all offers are compliant with the Colorado Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, there is no guarantee an offer will be at the top of the posted range based on the salary analysis.