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What does a city engineer do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read

A city engineer is a civil engineer employed by the city government. City engineers handle structural component fabrication programs for the applications of flight hardware. The engineers design bridges, design, and any other infrastructure projects. They make sure that they adhere to environmental and budgetary requirements. It is their job to oversee project execution requiring management skills. They are also expected to have skills in the planning, budgeting, presentation, and supervision of engineering projects.

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City engineer responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real city engineer resumes:

  • Manage Jenkins security by providing specific access to authorize developers/testers using project base matrix authorization strategy.
  • Work in a variety of disciplines including structural, architectural, transportation and geotechnical engineering design and mapping and GIS development.
  • Develop maps and layouts for use by different town departments, update different databases of GIS.
  • Perform geotechnical instrumentation monitoring and data collection
  • Perform geotechnical instrumentation monitoring and data collection

City engineer skills and personality traits

We calculated that 15% of City Engineers are proficient in Civil Engineering, Project Management, and Cost Estimates. They’re also known for soft skills such as Leadership skills, Organizational skills, and Speaking skills.

We break down the percentage of City Engineers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Civil Engineering, 15%

    Verified and updated other miscellaneous Design Change closeout documents requiring Civil Engineering responses.

  • Project Management, 8%

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

  • Cost Estimates, 7%

    Prepared cost estimates for proposed building renovation projections.

  • Public Works, 5%

    Develop and administer City and Public Works related budgets including operation, capital and emergency expenditures.

  • GIS, 5%

    Key Accomplishments Developed and implemented Maine's first automated Geographic Information System (GIS) for public domain use.

  • Capital Improvement Projects, 5%

    Served as Project Manager for several City capital improvement projects.

Common skills that a city engineer uses to do their job include "civil engineering," "project management," and "cost estimates." You can find details on the most important city engineer responsibilities below.

Organizational skills. Many city engineer duties rely on organizational skills. "civil engineers often oversee several projects at the same time and must be able to allocate resources effectively.," so a city engineer will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways city engineer responsibilities rely on organizational skills: "instituted process improvements and collaborative organizational strategies through the atlassian suite (jira, confluence, etc. )"

Math skills. A commonly-found skill in city engineer job descriptions, "math skills" is essential to what city engineers do. City engineer responsibilities rely on this skill because "civil engineers use calculus, trigonometry, and other mathematics for analysis, design, and troubleshooting." You can also see how city engineer duties rely on math skills in this resume example: "conducted engineering or scientific calculations; coordinate geometry; perform design work, preliminary analysis, and layout. "

Problem-solving skills. Lastly, "problem-solving skills" is an important element of what a city engineer does. City engineer responsibilities require this skill because "civil engineers may encounter problems during each stage of their work." This resume example highlights how city engineer duties rely on this skill: "managed the city's capital improvement program, including contractdevelopment and claims resolution;"

All city engineer skills

The three companies that hire the most city engineers are:

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Compare different city engineers

City engineer vs. Representative projects

A Structural Designer designs, develops, and supervises the construction of new buildings and bridges, or extensions to existing properties or other structures. They review and update construction drawings as well as communicate project problems and flaws to managers.

If we compare the average city engineer annual salary with that of a representative projects, we find that representative projects typically earn a $23,620 lower salary than city engineers make annually.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between city engineers and representative projects are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like construction management, contract administration, and construction inspection.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, city engineer responsibilities require skills like "civil engineering," "project management," "cost estimates," and "public works." Meanwhile a typical representative projects has skills in areas such as "construction projects," "infrastructure," "osha," and "autocad." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Representative projects earn the highest salaries when working in the technology industry, with an average yearly salary of $64,096. On the other hand, city engineers are paid more in the government industry with an average salary of $72,514.The education levels that representative projects earn slightly differ from city engineers. In particular, representative projects are 3.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a city engineer. Additionally, they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

City engineer vs. Structural designer

A structural engineering intern is responsible for supporting the engineering team on construction and structural projects, identifying cost-reduction techniques, and drafting layouts that adhere to clients' specifications, business requirements, and budget limitations. Structural engineering interns join the engineers on area visits, inspecting site foundation, and calculating dimensions and material costing. They also shadow the team's best practices and recommend ways to maximize productivity and efficiency to deliver high-quality outputs within the required deadlines. A structural engineering intern must be highly technical and analytical, especially on designing deliverables that meet quality standards.

A career as a structural designer brings a lower average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a city engineer. In fact, structural designers salary is $11,162 lower than the salary of city engineers per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. City engineers and structural designers both require similar skills like "project management," "engineering design," and "hvac" to carry out their responsibilities.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that city engineer responsibilities requires skills like "civil engineering," "cost estimates," "public works," and "gis." But a structural designer might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "revit," "structural design," "bim," and "navisworks."

Structural designers may earn a lower salary than city engineers, but structural designers earn the most pay in the construction industry with an average salary of $69,802. On the other hand, city engineers receive higher pay in the government industry, where they earn an average salary of $72,514.In general, structural designers achieve lower levels of education than city engineers. They're 7.5% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

City engineer vs. Structural engineering internship

A Structural Design Engineer designs drawings, specifications, and computer models of structures for building contractors. They help design hospitals, office blocks, houses, bridges, ships, and other structures.

On average scale, structural engineering interns bring in lower salaries than city engineers. In fact, they earn a $27,363 lower salary per year.By looking over several city engineers and structural engineering interns resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "cost estimates," "design standards," and "hvac." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, city engineers are more likely to have skills like "civil engineering," "project management," "public works," and "gis." But a structural engineering internship is more likely to have skills like "structural analysis," "revit," "powerpoint," and "structural design."

Structural engineering interns earn the highest salary when working in the technology industry, where they receive an average salary of $56,459. Comparatively, city engineers have the highest earning potential in the government industry, with an average salary of $72,514.When it comes to education, structural engineering interns tend to earn similar degree levels compared to city engineers. In fact, they're 4.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

City engineer vs. Structural design engineer

Structural design engineers tend to earn a higher pay than city engineers by an average of $1,227 per year.According to resumes from city engineers and structural design engineers, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "cost estimates," "cad," and "retaining walls. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between city engineers and structural design engineers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a city engineer might have more use for skills like "civil engineering," "project management," "public works," and "gis." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of structural design engineers require skills like "structural design," "autocad," "aerospace," and "gd. "

In general, structural design engineers earn the most working in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $88,526. The highest-paying industry for a city engineer is the government industry.In general, structural design engineers hold similar degree levels compared to city engineers. Structural design engineers are 0.4% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of city engineer

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
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.

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