CMT Field Technician — Elizabeth, NJ

Construction Material Testing; Elizabeth (NJ); On-site; USD 37,000 - 58,000; Full time

Job summary

Construction Material Testing seeks field technicians to perform concrete sampling and field tests at diverse sites. You will deploy to job sites, operate testing equipment, and document results the same day, with on-site communication to superintendents.

Entry-level positions are available as we sponsor certifications and provide structured field training. The role is outdoor, physical, and essential for project accuracy; strong reliability and coachability help you succeed as you learn more

Qualifications

• Valid driver’s license with clean record.
• Willingness to work outdoors in varying weather.
• Ability to read and document test results accurately.
• We sponsor ACI Field Grade I, nuclear gauge safety certification, and NICET Level I/II as you progress.

Responsibilities

• Sample and test fresh concrete per ASTM C172, C143, C231, C1064, C31.
• Run field density and moisture tests per ASTM D6938.
• Prepare clear daily field reports tied to placement locations.
• Maintain gauge standardization, cure boxes, and chain of custody.
• Communicate results to superintendents on-site.

Skills

Attention to detail

Coachable

Reliability

Communication with superintendents

Outdoor endurance

Valid driver’s license

Education

ACI Field Grade I certification

NICET Level I/II certification

Tools

Nuclear density gauge

Field gauges and cure boxes

Job description

Field technicians are the front line of construction materials testing. You will sample fresh concrete, run slump, air, temperature, and cylinder sets, verify soil compaction with a nuclear density gauge, and document every result the same day. No experience required for entry level: we train and we pay for your certifications.

Responsibilities: Sample and test fresh concrete per ASTM C172, C143, C231, C1064, and C31; Run field density and moisture tests per ASTM D6938; Prepare clear daily field reports tied to placement locations; Maintain gauge standardization, cure boxes, and chain of custody; Communicate results to superintendents on the spot.

Qualifications: Valid driver's license and clean driving record; Comfortable outdoors in Gulf Coast heat and winter sites; Reliable, detail-first, and coachable; ACI Field Grade I and nuclear gauge certification a plus - we sponsor both.

What a week in this job looks like:

Most mornings start with a dispatch text the night before: which site, which tests, which spec. You load the truck, standardize your nuclear gauge against its reference block, check your cure boxes, and roll. By mid-morning you might be running density tests on a lift of select fill; by afternoon you are at a different site sampling concrete off the chute, running slump, air, and temperature, and casting cylinders while the superintendent watches the clock. The work is outside, it is physical, and it matters. A pad you test this month carries a building for fifty years. You will learn to read a jobsite, talk to superintendents twice your age, and defend a failing test without flinching, because the number is the number.

Certifications, training, and where this leads:

You do not need certifications to start. You need to show up, take notes, and care whether the result is right. We put new technicians through structured field training with a senior tech, then sponsor ACI Concrete Field Testing Grade I, nuclear gauge safety certification, and NICET Level I and II as you progress. Every certification you earn is paid for by the company and belongs to you. The ladder from here is real: Field Technician to Senior Field Technician and Special Inspector, into laboratory, project management, or drilling oversight depending on where your strengths land. Most of the people running this industry started exactly where this posting starts.

Pay, schedule, and travel:

Pay runs $18 to $28 per hour depending on experience and certifications, and field positions are hourly with overtime when production schedules run long, which in this business they do. Big pours start early; earthwork seasons run hot; your paycheck reflects both. Texas positions dispatch through our Sugar Land operations hub and work sites across their metro. Positions outside Texas support defined project programs, staffed on a project basis, with travel assignments and per-diem arrangements set out clearly before you commit to a deployment.

Safety, quality, and the standards we work under:

You will operate a nuclear density gauge, which means you will be trained, badged, and monitored under a licensed radiation safety program, no exceptions and no shortcuts. Personal protective equipment, jobsite safety orientation, and pre-task planning are part of the job, not an interruption to it. Every result you record lives inside a documented quality system built to AASHTO R18, with accredited laboratory backup behind your field calls. When your name is on a report, the system behind it holds up.

Field positions require a valid driver's license with an acceptable record, the ability to lift and carry testing equipment on active jobsites in outdoor conditions, and pre-employment screening consistent with jobsite and radiation-safety requirements.

We are an equal opportunity employer. Every applicant is considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or veteran status. What we care about is whether you will get the number right and stand behind it.