USDA NRCS Lafayette, NY - Engineering Technician

In partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), ELYON International is recruiting Engineering Technicians in New York state. The ELYON Engineering Technician (Civil) will be an integral part of the NRCS Team and provide support for a variety of programs, projects, and special tasks. Work must be completed in accordance with NRCS policies, guides, and the state Field Office Technical Guide (FOTG). The anticipated workload will require working outdoors in the field, in the office, and other business locations and environments.

• Duties shall include but not be limited to:
• Assisting agency staff with project planning, documentation and implementation both in

the office and in the field.

• Inventorying and evaluating potential new project sites to support conservation practice

systems.

• Assist and complete required engineering surveys to support future designs and

construction project layout.

• Assisting with development of engineering design calculations, drawings, specifications,

cost estimates, asbuilts, etc.

• Assist and complete construction inspection of construction projects during construction

and report findings to the appointed government representative or responsible NRCS

employee.

• Evaluate and assist with evaluating construction materials to verify that they meet or

exceed specifications - this shall occur during construction activities but shall also

include going to rock quarries to verify required material size requirements and material

quality requirements.

• Develop, maintain, and complete construction project job diaries as required.
• Communicate daily, or as needed with NRCS employees, the design approver, owner and

others on construction projects for progress updates, project coordination, potential

problems, substandard construction work, potential needs for contract design, cost, or

specification modifications.

• Keep track of ongoing quantities for construction projects, and make NRCS employees,

the design approver, owner and others aware of potential quantity overruns.

• Assisting with non-inherently governmental and non-sponsor paperwork processing and

activities

• Verify that all construction projects assigned are following the required construction

specifications and are following all required permit regulation requirements and keep

files that document these activities, including but not limited to manufacturer's material

specifications, quality of construction work, equipment breakdowns, substandard

materials, OSHA construction safety violations, regulatory permit violations, material

testing results, communications with contractors, landowners, agency personnel, material

providers, regulatory personnel, local unit of government Sponsors, NRCS employees,

the design approver, owner, other appointed Construction Inspectors, various county and

district employees, and others

• Provide documentation that is accurate and complete, this will require the gathering of

information, recording of data, establishing and maintaining files, and transmitting the

information in the required format to the appropriate personnel.

• Contractor employee shall have a working knowledge of AutoCAD Civil 3d 2016, or

similar technical and agency software, and the capability to be trained on such technical

and agency software to improve skills. Actual experience and formal educational training

are desirable when available.

• Contractor employee shall with appropriate guidance develop and complete engineering

drawings, modify AutoCAD Civil 3d 2016 drawings to the point of completing many

standardized NRCS drawings, modify and develop new drawings when needed. The

Contractor employee will interpret these and other construction drawings and

9 specifications, explain these interpretations to contractors, landowners, agency personnel,

material providers, regulatory personnel, local unit of government Sponsors, NRCS

employees, other Construction Inspectors, and various county, district employees and

others.

• Contractor employee will, after appropriate training and support on agency equipment, be

able to independently download survey data, and produce contour maps/drawings when

needed. Contractor employee shall be able to analyze data to produce surfaces, profile

views and sections views from the surveyed data.

• Contractor employee will review and provide comments to NRCS staff on construction

drawings and specifications developed by NRCS or others when needed to verify

technical adequacy and accuracy of the materials and documents in question.

• Contractor employee will have either a working knowledge of or the willingness and

capability to be trained on a variety of surveying equipment. Contractor employee shall

use and troubleshoot setup problems for various forms of surveying equipment, self

levelling levels, total station equipment, data collectors, GPS total stations, etc. Following

initial training on agency specific equipment, the contractor employee shall be able to

independently operate such equipment and will train others on its use.

• The Contractor employee will be expected to independently work with agency specific,

TEAMS, SharePoint sites, shared drives and computer systems which may require some

initial training.

• Communicate effectively both verbally and in writing with appropriate contractors,

landowners, agency personnel, material providers, regulatory personnel, local unit of

government Sponsors, NRCS employees, other Construction Inspectors, various county

and district employees and others as needed on all assigned projects.

• Much of this work will be conducted outside in various weather conditions, and in

various environments. Much of the work will be conducted in and around water bodies.

The Contactor employee may expect to be working in wet conditions, on construction

sites with numerous pieces of heavy equipment, along state, county, and city roads where

traffic will be ongoing, in agricultural areas where wildlife and livestock will be

commonly present, around Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) where

livestock waste will be commonly present, and often being stored, and along very steep

slopes.

• Contractor employee will have a working knowledge of OSHA rules and regulations for

construction projects, shall follow these rules and regulations, and shall inform others

present what the regulations are, and when they are not being followed. Observed

violations shall be reported to the appropriate project responsible party, government

supervisor or other authorized agency government official. Contractor employee shall be

provided all necessary personal protective equipment from the Contractor.

• Assists with typing, generating, assembling, reviewing, updating, completing, and

distributing reports, paper or digital, for inventory, dam assessment, dam inspection,

project inspection, quality reviews, progress, and other reports required by any NRCS

Program, initiative, database, task order or policy.

• Assist with maintenance, repairs, and inspections of motor vehicles, as needed.
• Utilizes a variety of computer hardware and software applications and small office

machines, NRCS business tools and locally developed Excel spreadsheets and Access

databases to extract information needed to develop reports, maintain schedules, track

10 work progress, and complete assignments. The contractor employee shall demonstrate the

use of appropriate language to communicate ideas in words and print based on the

audience and situation.

• Performs duties in a manner supportive of a safe and healthy work environment, and

exercises safety precautions when exposed to dangerous objects, chemicals, extreme

temperatures, etc.

• Contractor employee will assist with preparing training materials, facilities, and tools for

streamlining planning, design and implementation processes as assigned.

2To perform the duties of the position, in addition to driving a privately owned vehicle

(POV), the Contractor employee may be required to travel via a Government Owned

Vehicle (GOV) to other locations, as needed. The employee of the Contractor shall be

allowed to use a GOV to travel from the office to established work location to established

satellite offices as allowed by the availability of GOVs. The Contractor employee must

serve as an incidental motor vehicle operator. This involves the operation of a motor

vehicle on both public and private roads during daylight hours and occasionally after

dark. A valid state driver's license is required

Desired Education:

• Minimum experience shall be 1-year similar job experience.
• Minimum education shall be a High School degree or equivalent.

Desired Skills/Qualification/Experience:

• Possess and maintain a valid state issued driving license.
• Functionally proficient and experienced in the use of Adobe Acrobat DC, Distiller or Professional.
• Functionally proficient and experienced in utilizing a variety of computer hardware and software applications, such as but not limited to Microsoft Windows, Word, Excel, Access, Windows File Explorer, and PowerPoint; Be functionally proficient in saving, editing, deleting, and managing digital files.
• Knowledgeable and experienced in operating small office machines, such as calculators, fax machines, scanners, and copy machines.
• Knowledgeable and experienced in general office procedures, such as but not limited to scheduling meetings, preparing reports, creating, and editing spreadsheets, and filing both paper and digital formats.
• Functionally proficient and experienced in the use of Microsoft Outlook for email and calendars as well as internet browsers such as Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, etc.
• Possess professional and courteous communication skills. Have the ability to function proficiently, professionally, and respectfully in an office environment.
• Skillful in working and communicating with the general public.
• Proficient in reading, writing, speaking, communicating, and understanding in English.
• Physically capable of mobility and accomplishing duties in on-site, field environments.
• Capable of working independently and be a self-starter.
• Capable of maintaining professionalism in all situations and environments.
• Capable of effectively contributing as a member of a team.
• Possess efficient telephone and email communication skills while being professional, courteous, and respectful.
• Much of this work will be conducted outside in various weather conditions, and in various environments. Much of the work will be conducted in and around water bodies. You will be expected to work in water, on construction sites with numerous pieces of heavy equipment, along state, county, and city roads where traffic will be ongoing, in agricultural areas where operational equipment, wildlife, and livestock will be commonly present, around Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) where livestock waste will be commonly present, and often being stored, and along very steep slopes.
• In addition to motor vehicles, you will be expected to travel as a passenger in ATV's and UTVs in the various areas of work listed above. After completion of appropriate safety training and upon receipt of operator certification, you will be required to safely operate off road ATV's and UTV's.

Benefits:

• Medical, Dental, Vision, Short Term Disability, Workers Compensation and Life Insurance
• 11 Paid Federal Holidays
• 56 Hours of paid Sick Leave per calendar year
• 80 Hour of Vacation after 1 year of service