Engineer In Training, Materials Design

Description of Job

About the Work Unit

The Region 1 Materials Design and Pavement Management team in Denver serves an extensive area that is centered in the Denver Metro area. The talented materials team works together to serve the traveling public, focuses on doing good every day, and succeeds together. All members learn from and with one another and strive to embody CDOT’s core values of people, respect, integrity, customer service, excellence and accountability, and safety. The Region 1 Materials team strives for excellence, recognizes that the reward is in service to the traveling public and to each other, and balances the highly technical and demanding nature of the job with frequent team-building activities. 

About the Position

The Engineer-in-Training position will serve as the Region 1 Pavement Manager. The Pavement Manager tracks the condition of all the Region's roads, administers the $40M per year resurfacing program, and works with others to determine the type and time of treatment that optimizes the condition of all state highways.  This is a data driven, analytical position that includes examining, interpreting and verifying condition data that is collected every year, working with predictive models, balancing the roads in need of treatment with the available funds, etc. However, the position always provides frequent opportunities to listen to and to communicate with project stakeholdes which includes the traveling public, transportation commissioners, project engineers, the CDOT leadership team, and CDOT executive management.

The EIT is expected to gain engineering expertise and to apply engineering theories, principles, and standards to the design and preparation of plans and specifications for highway projects and will learn how to support projects from a materials design perspective. This includes working with roadway designers to include all applicable materials, plan elements and specification requirements, conducting pavement designs and complex life cycle cost analyses, participating in task forces to advance the state of the art in transportation design and construction.

As the selected candidate gains knowledge and experience, there is an opportunity for advancement.  

Your duties and responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, the following:

Learn how to analyze current and historical pavement distress and project data with the assistance of computer modeling software to prepare the Regional yearly resurfacing plan.

Collect input from Materials, Programs, Residencies, and Project Engineers in addition to Maintenance staff to determine treatment options and locations.

Manage the 4-year approved Regional resurfacing project plan with the collective goal of optimizing resources over the short and long term.

Serve on the Pavement Management Technical Committee and associated Task Forces for the purpose of implementing improvements to the pavement management system.

Learn how to validate the accuracy of raw distress data, determine where discrepancies have occurred and correct as appropriate.

Determine the nature and extent of preliminary investigation and data analysis required to effectively evaluate the Region pavement management and resurfacing program.

Develop and manage long-range resurfacing projects for inclusion into the approved statewide 4-year resurfacing plan, which balances technical data, observed needs, often inadequate budgets, and potential political pressure.

Communicate highly complex technical information regarding the pavement management software program and its implications to upper management in order that they may be prepared to make or concur with decisions made regarding the approval of the Region resurfacing plan.

Utilize information from pavement data collection, past experience, observed pavement condition, and input from Engineering and Maintenance staff to assist in development of the resurfacing plan.

Review materials projects special provisions and test procedures;

Coordinate and review project plans and specifications prior to project bid advertisement; make recommendations related to materials items;

Assist in pavement design, gathering data and assembling information in support of a pavement recommendation;

Design pavement roadway cross sections, identifying layer properties to the base and subbase;

Collect data and observations from a number of sources, including Pavement Management System (PMS), Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD), field collected soil samples and cores, and traffic databases;

Establish indexing values for analysis refinement via AASHTO Pavement ME software or other techniques recommended in the CDOT Pavement Design Manual (PDM);

Search for cost information related to materials used in the pavement recommendation for treatment to assist in optimizing materials and costs, which may include Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA);

Assemble observations and data to evaluate pavement alternatives which meet AASHTO design (Pavement ME – mechanistic empirical software) parameters;

Analyze and review Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) project parameters based on contractor- submitted property values; review submittals and determine if tolerances have been met;

Analyze material-related problems and recommend solutions;

Act as a liaison between various stakeholders on materials-related issues; provide support to the CDOT project managers, the CDOT Access Permit group, and Local Agencies by providing final review and recommendations of pavement designs and materials specifications;

Assist in managing consultant task orders relating to the mission of the materials unit;

Other job duties as assigned.

Work Environment: 

Your schedule will primarily be 8:00 am – 5:00 pm work hours, Monday-Friday, with the opportunity for a flexible schedule

Approximately 95% spent in the office, 5% spent in the field

Travel required during work hours to visit the project site, as well as attend meetings and Training

Required to attend night or public meetings

Occasional overnight travel 1-3 times a year throughout Colorado

Required to operate CDOT vehicles

Required to lift up to 30 lbs.

Required to work in proximity to heavy traffic, in variable weather, and over variable terrain at project sites

May need to assist with road closures during major weather events.