Rainbow Municipal Water District is hiring a Water/Wastewater Design Engineer to help stand up a new in-house CIP program for pipeline replacements, wastewater projects, pump station upgrades, and more.
What you'll do:
- Design water and wastewater pipelines in AutoCAD Civil 3D
- Run hydraulic models and develop alignments for capital improvement projects
- Build and prioritize our Capital Improvement Program (CIP) project pipeline
- Review private development plans for standards compliance
- Support construction in the field, coordinating with crews and operations
- Work as the direct engineering partner for our in-house Construction Crew that will be phased in over the next three years.
Why this role is different: At larger water utilities or engineering firms, you're one specialist in a long chain — design, or plan check, or construction support, rarely more than one. At Rainbow, a small 58-person agency, you'll work across the full project lifecycle: planning, design, construction support, and close-out. That's a faster path to becoming an engineer who can run a project start to finish.
Good fit if you:
- Love the craft of hands-on design work and want more of it
- Are eager to learn and comfortable figuring things out without a step-by-step oversight
- Want broad experience across planning, design, and construction, not one narrow lane
- See a small agency as a chance for real ownership, not a step down
Not the right fit if:
- You're looking for a fully remote role — this is hybrid, with regular in-office and field time
- You'd rather manage a design process than be hands-on in it yourself
Designed for Growth: This role is designed to meet you where your experience fits: Assistant, Associate, or journey-level Engineer, with room to grow. The most important thing is that you love hands-on design work and are eager for a wide breadth of experience rather than deeply siloed work.
Assistant Engineer ($115,289–$161,405)
- BS in Civil or Mechanical Engineering (required)
- EIT certification preferred
- Best fit: hands-on project or internship design experience; you don't need step-by-step direction
Associate Engineer ($126,818–$177,545)
- 2–5 years of water utility design experience
- BS in Civil or Mechanical Engineering (required)
- EIT certification (required); CA PE license preferred
- Best fit: experienced in a utility or consulting environment, ready for full-lifecycle CIP work and more autonomy
Engineer ($139,500–$195,300)
- 5+ years of water utility design experience
- BS in Civil or Mechanical Engineering (required)
- Active CA PE license (required)
- Best fit: seasoned designer ready to lead our in-house CIP program, with a path to Senior Engineer
Benefits:
- Hybrid schedule with remote flexibility after onboarding
- 9/80 schedule — every other Friday off
- Six weeks PTO to start
- CalPERS retirement + 457b/401a matching
- Medical, dental, and vision (five plan options)
- Tuition assistance and student loan repayment
About Rainbow Water: A San Diego Union-Tribune Top Workplace five years running, located in North San Diego County, just south of Temecula. As a small, agile public agency, we value innovation and initiative over bureaucracy.
Application open until filled. First-round interviews begin early August.
Benefits:
- 401(k) matching
- Dental insurance
- Employee assistance program
- Flexible schedule
- Health insurance
- Health savings account
- Life insurance
- Paid time off
- Professional development assistance
- Retirement plan
- Tuition reimbursement
- Vision insurance
Work Location: In person
