Engineer Technician

**Salary Grade Equivalency: 69**

**Recruitment Range: $28,713.00 – $40,000.00 **

The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services provide services that promote and improve agriculture, agribusiness and forests; protect consumers and businesses; and conserve farmland and natural resources for the prosperity of all North Carolinians. The Department employs approximately 2000 employees.

This position is located within the Division of Soil and Water Conservation, Technical Services Section. This section provides assistance to soil and water conservation districts and private landowners to protect soil resources, improve water quality and conserve and protect water resources. The focus of this position will be to provide assistance/support with Water Resources (AgWRAP Projects). This assistance includes survey and design work for irrigation ponds (new and repair plans), sediment removal from farm ponds, water collection and reuse, construction oversite of related projects and as-built surveys. Other areas of assistance will include the areas of watershed planning, animal waste management and engineering support for the implementation of conservation practices. Watershed planning includes reducing flood and erosion/sediment damages, improving water quality and agricultural water management. Animal waste management technical assistance is provided for design, installation and/or closure of waste storage structures, runoff controls and irrigation systems. Assistance is also provided to producers and technical specialists in developing, modifying and properly managing animal waste management plans and systems.

This position accelerates voluntary implementation of conservation practices by providing engineering surveys to Division engineers and local soil and water conservation districts for the planning, design, and construction of projects. This position is responsible for planning surveying methods and approaches for specific jobs, making sure best surveying practices are being followed, providing quality control by reviewing field work, insuring proper data download and reduction for use in CAD and GIS software, and maintaining an efficient schedule and product. Field work will be performed with Real Time Kinematic GPS and/or a total station with data collector/controller; office work download/reduction will be performed with the proprietary software developed by the equipment manufacturer, e.g., Trimble Geomatics Office and TDS.

Normal work hours are Monday-Friday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm, however, staff may be requested to respond after hours in the event of an emergency such as to address flooding or drainage concern and/or inspect the integrity of an animal waste storage facility.

This position will be headquartered in Davie County, however, the position will serve the following counties: Alamance, Alexander, Alleghany, Anson, Ashe, Chatham, Cabarrus, Caswell, Catawba, Cleveland, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Gaston, Guilford, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Orange, Person, Randolph, Richmond, Rockingham, Rowan, Stanley, Stokes, Surry, Union, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities / Competencies

• Experience in conducting independent, moderately complex surveys, with limited supervision.
• Experience in use of survey instruments such as total stations, GNSS receivers, or data collectors/recorders.
• Knowledge and understanding of conservation/best management practices in an agricultural setting.
• Ability to formulate or assist in the development of management alternatives and recommendations.
• Computer experience including office software.
• Effective project and time management skills.
• Excellent oral and written skills to facilitate discussion with various organizations, agencies, and the public, often with conflicting goals.
• Ability to travel throughout assigned region, may include some overnight travel.
• Valid driver’s license

PREFERENCES:

• Progressive experience in surveying and/or conservation practice implementation
• Experience with Robotic Survey Equipment
• Experience with AutoCAD Civil 3D software

Minimum Education and Experience Requirements

Associate’s degree in one of the agricultural, engineering, surveying, geometric technology, environmental or natural resource sciences or a closely related curriculum; or an equivalent combination of training and experience. Some positions may require certification. All degrees must be received from appropriately accredited institutions.

Engineering and Architectural (Engineering/Architectural Technician) has a career-banded compensation plan, which encourages and rewards competency development. Recruitment for this position will target the journey level of the Engineering/Architectural Technician class. Salary will be commensurate with the applicant’s competencies, as well as, the budget, equity, and market conditions. For current state employees, this position is considered to be equivalent to salary grade 69. If no qualified applicants apply who meet the required competencies/training/experience requirements, management may consider candidates at the contributing level.

**NOTE: Career-Banded position. To minimally qualify, applicants must meet the training and experience requirements and required knowledge, skills and abilities/competencies. Competencies must be listed on the state application to receive appropriate credit.