Engineering Support Technician I - Public Works - Bureau of Environmental Services

Howard County:

Conveniently located in the heart of central Maryland between Baltimore and Washington, Howard County offers the charm of a historic past mixed with the excitement of a cosmopolitan community.

Howard County Government:

Howard County Government is a leader in innovation, best practices and sustainability. It is consistently ranked as one of the best places to live and work in the country. In 2024, Howard County Government received a record-breaking 63 Achievement Awards from the National Association of Counties (NACo) – the most awards in the state of Maryland, and the fifth highest in the nation, as compared to more than 3000 counties. NACo Achievement Awards are the premier national honor to recognize innovative and transformative programs that provide new services for county residents, improve existing programs, upgrade working conditions, and enhance citizen participation and public policy making.

What are we looking for?

We are looking for outstanding individuals to join our team and contribute to excellence in Howard County operations.

What you'll like most about working at Howard County Government:

• We are committed to workplace excellence in every area of County government.
• We have a highly talented, diverse, and inclusive workplace. Your input will not only be heard, but it will be encouraged!
• We offer competitive compensation and great benefits including medical, retirement, and wellness programs.
• As a member of the Howard County Government team, you'll be helping drive our culture and directly impact what makes us an amazing place to work.

POSITION SUMMARY:

Field operations and subprofessional field engineering position performing a variety of duties essential to the successful operation and monitoring of county landfills and other environmental control and remediation systems. Work includes landfill gas collection and flare system operations, landfill gas-to-energy generator and emergency generator operations, groundwater remediation system operations, groundwater monitoring, data entry, on-call response to remote telemetry and alarming systems, and other site duties as assigned.

Performs intermediate technical level engineering support work under the general supervision from a technical superior. Work includes survey field work and operating survey instruments; and preparing graphic materials and drafting plans, schematics and maps by hand or by using CAD/GIS equipment in associated engineering and planning projects. Work involves relieving engineers of routine office and field technical duties.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Include the following. Other related duties may be assigned.

Plans, coordinates, schedules, collects and analyzes field data for groundwater monitoring, stream monitoring, and landfill gas monitoring. Work includes calibrating, operating, and maintaining field sampling and analysis equipment.

Collects, prepares, stores, and delivers water, solid, and gaseous samples for laboratory analysis. Maintains related records such as field conditions, chain of custody, and sample identification.

Operates and maintains landfill gas collection, gas detection and flare systems to ensure their proper and safe operation. Work includes field inspections, conducting tests, maintaining records, and operating and servicing technical equipment to insure efficient operations complying with regulatory requirements.

Operates and maintains groundwater remediation and leachate collection systems. Work includes field inspections, conducting tests, maintaining records and operating and servicing technical equipment to insure efficient operations complying with regulatory requirements.

Performs site maintenance duties such as weed and grass cutting, fence repair, painting, and other miscellaneous maintenance activities as needed. Included is the use of hand and/or power tools. May perform minor construction related to the repair or upgrading of facilities and systems. Maintenance duties may include the use of self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) or respirators as needed.

Performs various recording keeping functions and maintains documents including logs, field records, computerized data bases, and sampling records. Updates operation and maintenance records.

Purchases, transports and delivers supplies needed to perform other duties.

Performs overtime work and on call work to respond to alarm systems. On-call work is required for one-week periods every three to four weeks.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:
This job has no supervisory responsibilities.

MINIMUM REQUIRED EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE

High School Diploma or GED and two (2) years of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

PREFERRED EDUCATION, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

Associates' degree (A.A.) or an equivalent from a two-year college or technical school.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand, walk, sit, use hands to finger, handle, or feel, and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to climb or balance and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 50 pounds and occasionally up to 50 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly exposed to outside weather conditions. The employee is frequently exposed to moving mechanical parts and vibration. The employee is occasionally exposed to high, precarious places; fumes or airborne particles; toxic or caustic chemicals; and risk of electrical shock. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate and occasionally loud.

LANGUAGE SKILLS, MATHEMATICAL SKILLS, AND REASONING ABILITY:

Ability to read and comprehend instructions, correspondence, safety rules, operating maintenance instructions; and procedures manuals. Ability to write simple correspondence. Ability to effectively present information in one-on-one and small group situations to customers, clients, and other employees of the organization.

Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions, percentages, area, circumference, and volume. Ability to apply concepts of basic algebra and geometry.

Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES AND REGISTRATIONS

Class C Maryland Driver's License or equivalent issued by state of residence.

Ability to obtain the following within six months of appointment:

• Confined Space Training Certification.
• HazMat 40 hour training Certification, with 8 hour annual recertification.
• Industrial Wastewater Operator, Class II, Certification.
• CPR.
• Meet OSHA/MOSHA training and testing requirements.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

TO APPLY: You must complete an employment application online to be considered for this recruitment. Resumes cannot be substituted for completion of the job application work history. No paper applications will be accepted.

Selected candidates may be subject to drug screening, background screening, and reference checks.

At time of application, please submit a copy of any college degree, coursework, licenses, or certifications that you have referenced on your application. Applicants who have education obtained outside of the U.S. may need to provide proof of the equivalent U.S. education as determined by a foreign credential evaluation service, such as the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (http://www.naces.org) or World Education Services: International Credential Evaluation (https://www.wes.org/).

Howard County Government is not sponsoring employees in application of the H-1B Visa or providing an extension of an existing H-1B Visa. All applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

Howard County is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer, and we are committed to a workplace that values diversity, equity, and inclusion. The County prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, ancestry, creed, national origin, disability status, genetics, marital status, military service, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. Applicants requiring accommodations during the hiring process should contact the Office of Human Resources directly at HiringPreference@howardcountymd.gov. Requests for accommodations should not be attached to the application.