The county commission shall appoint and employ a county engineer, who shall be a thoroughly qualified and competent professional engineer not required to be a land surveyor, but otherwise possessing all of the qualifications as specified for county engineers under the general laws of the State of Alabama; and he or she shall devote his or her entire time and attention to the maintenance and construction of the county public roads, highways, bridges, ferries, and other county engineering projects and shall, during his or her employment, reside in Clay County, Alabama. The county engineer shall serve at the pleasure of the Clay County Commission.