Exam Bulletin - Senior Civil Engineer (LEAP)

State of California

Exam Code: EX-1567

Examination Plans Included:

  • SENIOR CIVIL ENGINEER - Open

Final Filing Date: Applications are accepted on a continuous basis.

Bulletin Updates

  • Any editable section on the Exam Bulletin has been updated.

Classification Details

SENIOR CIVIL ENGINEER: $11,104.00 - $13,898.00 per Month

View the SENIOR CIVIL ENGINEER classification specification.

Application Instructions

This is not a timed exam. If you request a Reasonable Accommodation your account will be locked and you will not be able to proceed with the exam until the request is processed.

Introduction to the Limited Examination and Appointment Program (LEAP)

The Limited Examination and Appointment Program (LEAP) is an alternative examination and appointment process for the recruitment and hiring of persons with disabilities into the California state civil service. The LEAP is a two-part process that consists of: (1) a Minimum Qualifications Assessment/Readiness Evaluation and (2) a Job Examination Period that is administered and evaluated in the work setting.

To qualify to take this Minimum Qualifications Assessment/Readiness Evaluation, you must first have LEAP certification issued by the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR). For information on how to obtain LEAP certification, visit the DOR website at https://www.dor.ca.gov/Home/LEAP. To find a DOR office near you, contact the DOR at (916) 558-5300, TTY (916) 558-5302, or online at www.dor.ca.gov.

The legal authority for the LEAP is Government Code Sections 19240-19244.

Applications are accepted on a continuous basis.

Who Should Apply:

The information below will help you determine which classification(s) is(are) appropriate for you. Applicants must meet the Minimum Qualifications as stated on this bulletin to compete in this examination.

Open and Open, Non-Promotional Examination(s):

  • SENIOR CIVIL ENGINEER - Open

Individuals who meet all of the following criteria:
  1. Individuals with a disability, a record of a disability, or who are regarded as having a disability that limits one or more major life activities;
  2. Individuals who have Limited Examination and Appointment Program (LEAP) certification from the California Department of Rehabilitation
  3. Individuals who satisfy the minimum qualifications as stated in the minimum qualifications section below

For all Classifications, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 24 months:

Exam Code(s):

    1567

For SENIOR CIVIL ENGINEER, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 24 months:

Exam Code(s):

  • EX-01567

How To Apply:

Submit an Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) to apply for this examination.

Electronic applications can be submitted through your account at www.CalCareers.ca.gov.

Special Testing Arrangements:

If you require assistance or alternative testing arrangements due to a disability, indicate on your application that you need reasonable accommodation. You will be contacted by a representative of the testing department to make the necessary arrangements. If you have not been contacted by the time you receive notification of testing, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

If you are unable to submit your application or complete the test due to a disability, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

Minimum Qualifications

All applicants must meet the education and/or experience requirements as stated on this exam bulletin to be accepted to the examination.

Unless otherwise stated in the Minimum Qualifications, qualifying experience may be combined on a proportionate basis if the requirements stated below include more than one pattern and are distinguished as "Either" 1, "or" 2, "or" 3, etc. For example, applicants possessing qualifying experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 1 and additional experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 2 may be accepted to an examination as meeting 100% of the overall experience requirement.

00103120 - SENIOR CIVIL ENGINEER

Possession of a valid Certificate of Registration as a civil engineer issued by the California State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers. and

Experience: Five years of civil engineering, two years of which shall have been in the performance of difficult civil engineering work with responsibilities comparable to those of a project or resident engineer for a large earth moving project, or highway bridge project or in supervising a design squad. (Experience in the California state service to be applied toward this two-year requirement must be comparable to that of an Associate Civil Engineer.) and

Education: Equivalent to graduation from college with major work in civil engineering. (Additional qualifying experience may be substituted for the required education on a year-for-year basis.)

Position Description

00103120 - SENIOR CIVIL ENGINEER

Plans the work and directs a staff of engineers in the design and preparation of drawings, specifications, and estimates in connection with the construction or maintenance of a wide variety of engineering projects, including buildings, bridges, roads, wharves, piers, dams, levees, ditches, retaining walls, and similar structures; inspects existing water, sanitation, power, and telephone systems and decides what improvements or modifications are necessary; passes on difficult problems, determines the methods of procedure, and personally performs the more difficult phases of the work; supervises the preparation of maps, plans, charts, or diagrams; supervises the maintenance of various engineering records and performs difficult engineering office work in connection with budget preparation, purchases, cost analyses, and progress reports; plans and directs field surveys and varied construction projects; inspects or directs the inspection of structures under construction or repair; makes detailed analyses of proposed projects for the economic as well as the practical engineering phases; analyzes and prepares descriptions of property; makes specialized technical studies and investigations and performs difficult research work; prepares complete and comprehensive reports and makes recommendations on engineering problems.

Special Personal Characteristic

Demonstrated supervisory ability.

For information regarding position location(s), please refer to the Eligible List Information section.

Examination Information

This examination consists of the following component(s):

Component OrderComponent TypeComponent DuePercentage of Final Score
1LEAP AssessmentN/A100%

A final score of 70% must be attained to be placed on the eligible list.

LEAP Process Information

PART 1: MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS ASSESSMENT/READINESS EVALUATION – Weighted 100%

This Minimum Qualifications Assessment/Readiness Evaluation consists solely of minimum qualification questions that assess the training, experience, and education that you have previously obtained. Your responses to the questions will determine if the training, experience, and education you have meet the minimum qualifications for the Senior Civil Engineer classification. If you pass the Minimum Qualifications Assessment/Readiness Evaluation, your name will be placed on the Senior Civil Engineer LEAP Referral List, and you will have referral list eligibility to apply for Senior Civil Engineer vacancies.

Applicants who obtain Senior Civil Engineer LEAP Referral List eligibility must compete for job vacancies in order to begin PART 2 of this process, which is called the Job Examination Period.

PART 2: JOB EXAMINATION PERIOD (JEP)

The JEP begins after you are hired and obtain an examination appointment. When you perform the duties of your state job, you will be evaluated on your job performance at least every four weeks, or more often, if needed. Your evaluation will be based on the classification specification and the duty statement of the position.

The JEP will be the same length as the length of the probationary period for the same non-LEAP classification.

After successful completion of the JEP, the result will be a transition from an examination appointment to a standard appointment as a Senior Civil Engineer. If appointed to a permanent position through the LEAP process, you will not be required to serve a probationary period.

In addition to evaluating the applicant's relative knowledge, skill and ability as demonstrated by quality and breadth of education/experience, emphasis in each test component will be on measuring competitively, relative to job demands, each applicant's:

Knowledge of:
  1. Principles and practices of civil engineering.
  2. Surveying.
  3. Engineering mathematics.
  4. Strength, properties, and used of the materials of engineering construction.
  5. Engineering economics.
  6. Stress analysis.
  7. Common descriptions of real property.
  8. Principles of personnel management and supervision.
  9. Valuation methods, procedure, and terminology.
  10. Department's Affirmative Action Program objectives.
  11. A manager's role in the Affirmative Action Program and the processes available to meet affirmative action objectives.
Skill in:
  1. Design, mapping, and drafting.
Ability to:
  1. Plan and direct an engineering and clerical staff.
  2. Supervise the preparation of detailed plans and specifications.
  3. Prepare complete and comprehensive reports including economic analyses, and make recommendations.
  4. Analyze situations accurately and take effective action.
  5. Effectively contribute to the department's affirmative action objectives.

Eligible List Information

A Servicewide Open eligible list for the SENIOR CIVIL ENGINEER Classification will be established for:

  • State of California

The names of successful competitors will be merged onto the eligible list(s) in order of final score regardless of test date. Eligibility expires 24 months after it is established. Applicants must then retake the examination to reestablish eligibility.

Resulting Eligibility List(s) will be used to fill vacancies throughout the State of California.

Veterans' Preference will be granted for this examination. Veterans' Preference is an assistance program for veterans, veteran widows and widowers, and spouses of 100% disabled veterans who seek employment with the state. Veterans' Preference is also extended to currently serving military members nearing their retirement or separation date.

You are not eligible for Veteran's Preference if you are:

  • A veteran who has been dishonorably discharged or released.
  • A veteran, widow or widower of a veteran, or spouse of a 100 percent disabled veteran who currently has permanent civil service status. (Permanent civil service status is the status of an employee who is lawfully retained in his/her position after completion of the applicable probationary period. This does not include limited term).

Veterans' Preference is codified in Government Code Sections 18973 – 18979.

Veteran status is verified by the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR). Directions to apply for Veterans' Preference are on the Veterans' Preference Application (Std. Form 1093), which is available at www.CalCareers.ca.gov, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Career Credits are not granted for examination(s) administered on an Open basis or a Promotional basis.

Testing Departments

  • State of California

Contact Information

Questions regarding this examination should be directed to:

State of California
CalCareer Service Center
1810 16th Street
Sacramento, CA 95811
Phone: (866) 844-8671
CalCareer@calhr.ca.gov

California Relay Service: 1-800-735-2929 (TTY), 1-800-735-2922 (Voice). TTY is a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, and is reachable only from phones equipped with a TTY Device.

Equal Opportunity Employer

The State of California is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.

Drug Free Statement

It is an objective of the State of California to achieve a drug-free State work place. Any applicant for State employment will be expected to behave in accordance with this objective, because the use of illegal drugs is inconsistent with the law of the State, the rules governing civil service, and the special trust placed in public servants.

General Information

Examination and/or Employment Application (STD 678) forms are available at the California Department of Human Resources, local offices of the Employment Development Department, and through your CalCareer Account (www.CalCareers.ca.gov).

If you meet the requirements stated on this examination bulletin, you may take this examination, which is competitive. Possession of the entrance requirements does not assure a place on the eligible list. Your performance in the examination described in this bulletin will be rated against a predetermined job-related rating, and all applicants who pass will be ranked according to their scores.

State of California reserves the right to revise the examination plan to better meet the needs of the service, if the circumstances under which this examination was planned change. Such revision will be in accordance with civil service laws and rules and all applicants will be notified.

General Qualifications: Applicants must possess essential personal qualifications including integrity, initiative, dependability, good judgment, the ability to work cooperatively with others, and a state of health consistent with the ability to perform the assigned duties of the class. A medical examination may be required. In open examinations, investigation may be made of employment records and personal history and fingerprinting may be required.

Eligible Lists: Eligible lists established by competitive examination, regardless of date, must be used in the following order: 1) sub-divisional promotional, 2) departmental promotional, 3) multi-departmental promotional, 4) service-wide promotional, 5) departmental open, 6) open. When there are two lists of the same kind, the older must be used first. Eligible lists will expire in one to four years unless otherwise stated on the bulletin.

High School Equivalence: Equivalence to completion of the 12th grade may be demonstrated in any one of the following ways: 1) passing the General Education Development (GED) Test; 2) completion of 12 semester units of college-level work; 3) certification from the State Department of Education, a local school board, or high school authorities that the competitor is considered to have education equivalent to graduation from high school; or 4) for clerical and accounting classes, substitution of business college work in place of high school on a year-for-year basis.

Accepted applicants must provide proof of identification at each in-person test session. Acceptable identification consists of a photo identification card or two forms of signed identification.

Application Methods:
Electronic (Your CalCareer Account)