Engineering Associate II - EXAM

Columbus; Columbus, Northern (OH, KY); Hybrid; USD 52,000 - 76,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Columbus is seeking a paraprofessional engineering candidate to assist professional engineers or surveyors in a variety of traffic and construction projects. The role involves reviewing plans, coordinating with contractors, and assisting in field inspections.

The position requires a high school diploma and three years of paraprofessional engineering or surveying experience, plus a valid driver’s license. Training and testing processes are part of the exam and hiring timeline.

Qualifications

• Completion of the twelfth school grade and three years of experience performing paraprofessional engineering or surveying work.
• Ability to read and interpret plans, specifications, and working drawings.
• Knowledge of traffic counts, signal justification studies, and signal timing checks.
• Possession of a valid driver’s license.

Responsibilities

• Oversees construction or traffic related projects.
• Oversees and/or performs traffic counts, signal justification studies, and signal timing checks and changes.
• Reviews, records, and prepares construction plans, specifications, and working drawings; assists contractors and inspectors in the field.
• Meets with contractors and maintains related records and expenditures.
• Operates a computerized traffic control system and reviews project estimates.

Skills

Paraprofessional engineering

Surveying experience

Traffic engineering basics

Project coordination

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Tools

CAD

GIS

Job description

Under direction of a professional engineer or surveyor, is responsible for performing intermediate-level paraprofessional engineering work; performs related duties as required.

(Any one position may not include all of the duties listed, nor do the examples cover all of the duties that may be performed.)

• Oversees construction or traffic related projects;

• Oversees and/or performs traffic counts, signal justification studies, and signal timing checks and changes;

• Reviews, records, and prepares construction plans, specifications, and working drawings for construction projects, utility projects, pavement markings, sign layouts, and signal layouts; assists contractors and inspectors in the field with proper interpretation and clarification of plans and specifications;

• Meets with contractors about engineering related projects, forwards work to contractors, and maintains related records and expenditures;

• Operates and monitors a computerized traffic control system using closed-circuit television;

• Reviews and/or prepares estimates for construction projects;

• Makes field investigations to develop or review plans which may include determining land boundaries or easements, taking readings of monitoring equipment (e.g. capacity meters, rain gauges) to evaluate system capacity, or viewing right-of-way encroachments and needed sidewalk repairs;

• Researches courthouse records and documents in order to prepare various legal descriptions; prepares comprehensive reports and maintains files, as necessary;

• Lays out lines and grades for construction projects;

• Makes determinations of the proper location of curbs and issues sidewalk and driveway permits to contractors and property owners;

• Reviews or prepares surveys of areas to be improved for record map purposes or to give testimony in court;

• Prepares equipment and material specifications and periodic reports; inspects new equipment for conformance to specifications;

• Trains and gives instructions to subordinate personnel, coworkers, or work groups; reviews their work for accuracy and consistency;

• Operates various drafting tools such as a scale (engineer's ruler) or computer aided drafting (CAD) system;

• May utilize GIS mapping software;

• May supervise employees assigned to a particular project.

Completion of the twelfth school grade and three (3) years of experience performing paraprofessional engineering or surveying work; construction project management; construction materials testing; construction inspection; plan reviews for permitting or design (i.e. architectural or engineering); utility line locating; performing traffic studies; or operating centralized control systems via computerized interface such as for traffic control or SCADA. Substitution(s): College education in engineering, drafting, construction management, or a related curriculum may be substituted for the experience on a year-for-year basis (thirty (30) semester/forty-give (45) quarter credit hours equals one (1) year). Completion of a vocational program in engineering, drafting, construction management, or related field may substitute for one (1) year of the experience. A certificate of high school equivalence (GED) will be accepted in lieu of the twelfth school grade requirement.

Possession of a valid driver’s license.

COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION ANNOUNCEMENT: The names of the applicants passing this administration of this exam will be MERGED, according to score, with the names of applicants on the current eligible list. If you are interested in having your name included on the eligible list, you will need to apply for this exam within the filing period and successfully complete all phases of the testing process. Questions regarding this process can be directed to the Test Center at 614-645-7439.

The examination process will consist of a computerized exam weighted 100% covering Reading Maps, Plans, and Drawings; GIS; Logic and Reasoning; Reading Comprehension; Problem Sensitivity; Mathematics; Sewer Tools, Equipment, Safety; Traffic Regulations; Engineering and Surveying; and 2019/2021 Excel, Outlook, and Word.

The exam is expected to be administered in October 2026. Approved applicants will be notified by mail/email of their scheduled test date and time.

All applicants must complete all phases of the testing process in order to receive a final score. The names of all candidates who pass this examination will remain on the eligible list for two years, unless the eligible list is replaced prior to or extended beyond the two years. If a candidate's name is certified and the candidate is to be considered for employment, the hiring process will include one or more interviews, a criminal background check, and a pre-employment drug test. For any position within the Division of Police, the hiring process will also include the completion of an extensive personal history questionnaire and a polygraph examination.

The certification process will be: Fixed Band

The City of Columbus is an Equal Opportunity Employer