POSITION SUMMARY/CLASS DESCRIPTION
Howard County:
Conveniently located in the heart of central Maryland between Baltimore and Washington, Howard County offers the charm of a historic past mixed with the excitement of a cosmopolitan community.
Howard County Government:
Howard County Government is a leader in innovation, sustainability, and consistently ranked as one of the best places to live and work in the country. In 2026, Howard County Government received a record-breaking 113 Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo) – the highest number of annual NACo awards achieved in the history of the State of Maryland, and the highest number of awards of any county in the State of Maryland which received a collective 165 awards. NACo is the leading organization representing county-level government operations. These awards recognize innovative and transformative programs that provide new services for county residents, improve existing programs, upgrade working conditions, and enhance citizen participation and public policymaking.
What are we looking for?
We are looking for outstanding individuals to join our team and contribute to excellence in Howard County operations.
What you'll like most about working at Howard County Government:
- We are committed to workplace excellence in every area of County government.
- We have a highly talented, diverse, and inclusive workplace. Your input will not only be heard, but it will be encouraged!
- We offer competitive compensation and great benefits including medical, retirement, and wellness programs.
- As a member of the Howard County Government team, you'll be helping drive our culture and directly impact what makes us an amazing place to work.
POSITION SUMMARY:
This is advanced professional engineering at the full performance level, in a supervisory of staff capacity, managing the operations of a Division within the Bureau of Highways.
STARTING SALARY HIRING RANGE:
$50.63 - $66.28/Hourly
$105,308 - $137,864/Annually
*This is the anticipated starting salary range for this position. Please note that the final salary will be determined by the Office of Human Resources, commensurate with experience and aligned to ensure internal equity with similarly situated roles.*
CLASS DESCRIPTION:Performs mid-management level and advanced engineering work under general supervision from an administrative or technical superior. Work involves managing the administrative, technical and budgetary affairs of a division, including preparing and maintaining an operating budget; projecting personnel needs, materials, and equipment; and resolving the most difficult engineering design and/or customer service problems.
*This is a Classified position, meaning that it is a part of the Howard County Classified Service upon completion of a probationary period of at least six (6) months*
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Administrative and Division Management:
• Manage administrative affairs of the division, including budget preparation and expenditure control for both Capital and Operating costs.
• Maintain records of all division activities and prepare reports with recommendations for budget, personnel, and procedural improvements.
• Develop program information for capital and operating budgets; initiate and review major expenditure requisitions.
• Develop and supervise new programs and expansion of existing programs; coordinate and manage budgeted operations.
• Carry out special projects and evaluate practices, policies, and program feasibility.
Engineering Review and Compliance:
• Review the most complex engineering plans, designs, and specifications to ensure compliance and engineering sufficiency.
• Receive and assign plan submissions to engineers; review and compare engineers’ comments and recommendations against plans and ensure completeness.
• Provide input during internal review board meetings; may lead meetings in the absence of a superior.
• Approve plans upon completion of recommended revisions and ensure compliance with applicable codes and regulations.
Project and Construction Management:
• Act as project engineer for large-scale projects.
• Direct all phases of complex capital project construction.
• Prepare bid documents for design work; review and evaluate bids; recommend award decisions.
• Serve as liaison between designers, contractors, and the County.
• Inspect project sites during construction and upon completion to ensure compliance with contract plans and specifications.
• Approve completed construction for payment.
Interagency and Public Coordination:
• Develop multi-agency agreements and ensure compliance with grant requirements.
• Meet with developers, architects, engineers, the public, and outside agencies to explain regulations and resolve major design challenges.
• Facilitate community acceptance of projects through communication and problem solving.
• Maintain extensive and critical contacts with contractors, developers, agencies, and community groups.
Supervision and Staff Development:
• Directly supervise employees in the Traffic Engineering Division.
• Interview, hire, train, and develop staff.
• Plan, assign, and direct work activities.
• Appraise performance and manage rewards and disciplinary actions.
• Address complaints and resolve personnel issues.
Decision-Making and Professional Judgment:
• Perform evaluative thinking and exercise judgment guided by precedents, established practices, and policies.
• Assume responsibility for major County engineering programs with significant monetary and operational impact.
• Resolve difficult design interpretations and complex technical issues.
Directly supervises the employees in the Traffic Engineering Division. Carries out supervisory responsibilities in accordance with the organization's policies and applicable laws. Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.
MINIMUM REQUIRED EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE
Bachelor's degree in Engineering and six (6) years of related experience.
REQUIRED CERTIFICATIONS, LICENSES, AND REGISTRATIONS:
- Graduate of an Accredited Baccalaureate Engineering Program.
- Registered Professional Engineer in State of Maryland.
- Master's degree (M.S., M.E., MBA) and related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience. Education and/or experience in more than one of the specialty disciplines under responsibility of the Division.
- Valid Class C Maryland driver's license.
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; and talk or hear. The employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; reach with hands and arms; climb or balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; and taste or smell. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, moving mechanical parts, and outside weather conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.
LANGUAGE SKILLS, MATHEMATICAL SKILLS, AND REASONING ABILITY:
Ability to read, analyze, and interpret common scientific and technical journals, financial reports, and legal documents. Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, or members of the business community. Ability to deliver speeches and write articles for publication that are relevant to the Division's mission. Ability to effectively present information to top management, public groups, and/or boards of directors with or without visual aids.
Ability to apply advanced mathematical concepts such as exponents, logarithms, quadratic equations, and permutations. Ability to apply mathematical operations to such tasks as frequency distribution, determination of test reliability and validity, analysis of variance, correlation techniques, sampling theory, and factor analysis.
Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions. Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
TO APPLY: You must complete an employment application online to be considered for this recruitment. Resumes cannot be substituted for completion of the job application work history. No paper applications will be accepted.
Selected candidates may be subject to drug screening, background screening, and reference checks.
At time of application, please submit a copy of any college degree, coursework, licenses, or certifications that you have referenced on your application. Applicants who have education obtained outside of the U.S. may need to provide proof of the equivalent U.S. education as determined by a foreign credential evaluation service, such as the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (http://www.naces.org) or World Education Services: International Credential Evaluation (https://www.wes.org/).
Howard County Government is not sponsoring employees in application of the H-1B Visa or providing an extension of an existing H-1B Visa. All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
Howard County is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, and we are committed to a workplace that values diversity, equity, and inclusion. The County prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, ancestry, creed, national origin, disability status, genetics, marital status, military service, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. Applicants requiring accommodations during the hiring process should contact the Office of Human Resources directly at [email protected]. Requests for accommodations should not be attached to the application.