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City engineer skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Ben Giudice Ph.D.,

James Albrecht

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical city engineer skills. We ranked the top skills for city engineers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 14.9% of city engineer resumes contained civil engineering as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a city engineer needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 city engineer skills for your resume and career

1. Civil Engineering

Civil Engineering is a term referring to the branch of the engineering industry which deals with the design, creation, and keep up of public spaces such as roads, dams, parks, railways, pipelines, and various other infrastructures. It is one of the oldest branches of this field, having been born with the first larger cities and civilizations; thus "civil" engineering. It is an industry generally used to solve the problems of the public, such as a lack of sheltering or low cleanliness.

Here's how city engineers use civil engineering:

Verified and updated other miscellaneous Design Change closeout documents requiring Civil Engineering responses.
Design civil engineering projects with a focus on structural engineering.

2. Project Management

Here's how city engineers use project management:

Project management of the construction of 26 miles of transmission line for delivery of contract participation power and SWPA allocation.
Project management of design and construction contracts.

3. Cost Estimates

Here's how city engineers use cost estimates:

Prepared cost estimates for proposed building renovation projections.
Prepare bid documents, drawings, specifications and cost estimates for procurement of public sector materials and tools.

4. Public Works

Public Works usually include the divisions of water, wastewater, street, landfills, airports, and parks and fall under the control of city managers or some other city staff.

Here's how city engineers use public works:

Develop and administer City and Public Works related budgets including operation, capital and emergency expenditures.
Provided administrative and technical assistance to Public Works Director & other departments.

5. GIS

A geographic information system (GIS) is a tool for capturing, storing, manipulating, analyzing, managing and presenting various forms of geographic data.

Here's how city engineers use gis:

Key Accomplishments Developed and implemented Maine's first automated Geographic Information System (GIS) for public domain use.
managed a 5-10 person department consisting of Engineers, GIS Professional, Environmental Specialist, Surveyor and Technicians.

6. Capital Improvement Projects

Here's how city engineers use capital improvement projects:

Served as Project Manager for several City capital improvement projects.
Budget Management: Oversaw 110 Private Development Projects totaling $61M and 75 Capital Improvement Projects totaling $68M.

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7. Engineering Design

Engineering design is defined as the method that engineers use to recognize and solve problems. It is an extensive and flexible approach to problem-solving and provides the necessary information needed regarding every step of the process. An engineering design is a collaborative effort of the team to identify problems underlying a process and find out ways to solve them.

Here's how city engineers use engineering design:

Prepare preliminary construction cost estimates as part of engineering design feasibility reports, project budgets, and applications for project funding.
Maintained a successful client base, providing annual engineering design and construction management opportunities throughout Northern Minnesota and Eastern North Dakota.

8. Capital Improvement Program

Here's how city engineers use capital improvement program:

Reviewed subdivision and commercial plans and provided long-range planning for capital improvement programming for roadway and storm water improvements.
Managed the City's capital improvement program, including contractdevelopment and claims resolution;

9. Infrastructure Projects

Here's how city engineers use infrastructure projects:

Create and implement short and long term goals for infrastructure projects.

10. Engineering Services

Here's how city engineers use engineering services:

Negotiated engineering services and construction contracts.
Provide all City Engineering services, including civil design, traffic, roads, signalization and all City required permits.

11. Development Projects

Development Projects include all contracts, constructions, and projects that may develop an area for housing or commercial construction. These projects frequently require multiple departments to prepare the space for construction projects, including how the construction will take place, who will finance the project, and whether any refurbishments or renovations will be needed.

Here's how city engineers use development projects:

Performed construction plan review of private development projects.
Managed the Construction Inspection Division and supervised personnel for the construction of CIP and private development projects.

12. Plan Review

Here's how city engineers use plan review:

Plan review of all public and private construction drawings necessary to obtain city plan approvals.

13. Construction Management

Here's how city engineers use construction management:

Provided engineering and construction management support for projects in support of counter drug and illegal immigration agencies operating in the Southwest.
Supervised development of the CWP Construction Management & Inspection Procedures Manual, owner-controlled insurance/safety program and emergency media communications plan.

14. Public Infrastructure

Here's how city engineers use public infrastructure:

Coordinate and perform Certificate of Occupancy Inspections Manage private to public infrastructure transitions.

15. Water Distribution

Water distribution is a system of pipes and plumbing that transfer drinkable water from a treatment plant to residential and commercial buildings. The water supply system must align with district requirements so that all homes, buildings, and emergency services have access to the water lines.

Here's how city engineers use water distribution:

Designed in-house the municipal engineering projects related to storm water management, sanitary, grading, water distribution disciplines.
Conducted water distribution system analysis to identify low fire flow and pressure point areas.

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What skills help City Engineers find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What city engineer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Ben Giudice Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, George Fox University

If you like working with people and serving your community, being a civil engineer can be very rewarding. You can also contribute to a healthier environment by developing more environmentally friendly designs. There is a wide variety of different kinds of work that civil engineers do, as it is a very broad discipline. Because of this, it is likely that something within civil engineering will excite and interest you. I haven't known anyone who was a civil engineer that disliked it! Compared with other engineering disciplines, the pay is not quite as high on average, but there are generally more opportunities available on a more consistent basis, and there are jobs available everywhere in the world nearly all the time.

What hard/technical skills are most important for city engineers?

James Albrecht

Professor of Criminal Justice and Homeland Security, retired NYPD Captain/Commanding Officer, Pace University

There are basic phenomena that all civil engineers have to understand and fully comprehend. These are the skills that you will learn in detail in books in college or at your training site. But a top-tier civil engineer must not only be acutely familiar with the project objectives but also must be exceptionally aware of the environment in which the building or structure has been or will be placed. As such, one must be cognizant of potential hazards posed by climate or people. There may be expressed concerns or mandates about building in hurricane, tornado or flooding prone areas, but a civil engineer must take into consideration population density, proximity to a high-value person, structure, or historic site (e.g., City Hall, electric company, Liberty Bell, etc.), and potential for mass casualty or extreme damage if attacked by radical elements or rioters. Unfortunately, this is the world that we live in today.

Do you want to know more?

List of city engineer skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a city engineer resume and required skills for a city engineer to have include:

Civil Engineering
Project Management
Cost Estimates
Public Works
GIS
Capital Improvement Projects
Engineering Design
Capital Improvement Program
Infrastructure Projects
Engineering Services
Development Projects
Plan Review
Construction Management
Public Infrastructure

Water Distribution
Floodplain
Design Standards
City Codes
Contract Administration
Street Maintenance
Construction Inspection
City Ordinances
CAD
Asphalt
City Streets
City Facilities
Capital Improvement Plan
HVAC

Construction Contracts
GPS
Construction Supervision
Technical Assistance
Advisory Committee
FEMA
Private Development
DOT
State Agencies
Citizen Complaints
Water Treatment Plant
Engineering Division
Retaining Walls
Pump Stations

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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