Radio Communications Technician III

County of Riverside; Perris (CA); On-site; USD 75,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

County of Riverside Fire Department seeks a Radio Communications Technician III (IT Communications Technician III) for the Forest division in Perris. Duties include repairing radio repeaters, dispatch systems, mobile and handheld radios, and the department’s keyless security doors.

Candidates should have four years in vehicle outfitting, 12-volt wiring, and two-way radio work, with lead or advanced RF experience preferred.

Qualifications

• Graduation from high school or equivalently a certificate of proficiency.
• IT job-related coursework from an accredited college or trade school is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Repair and maintain radio and data systems on vehicles and in offices/buildings.
• Coordinate system upgrades and work with vendors/users to ensure standards.

Skills

Radio installation

Test equipment

Troubleshooting

System coordination

Education

High school diploma

IT coursework preferred

Tools

Network hardware

Test equipment

Job description

The County of Riverside seeks candidates to fill positions throughout Riverside County. A list of eligible candidates will be established to fill current and future vacancies.

The County of Riverside’s Fire Department has an opportunity for a Radio Communications Technician III (IT Communications Technician III) who will be assigned to the Fire Protection – Forest division in Perris.

The Radio Communications Technician III (IT Communications Technician III) will be tasked with performing repairs of communication repeaters and dispatch radio systems, repairs of mobile and handheld radios, and the department’s keyless security door system. Additionally, the Radio Communications Technician III (IT Communications Technician III) will repair headsets and emergency warning lights in/on apparatus and provide repairs to telephone network systems and infrastructure.

Competitive candidates will possess four years, within the last five years, of experience in vehicle outfitting, 12-volt circuitry and wiring, installing, maintaining and repairing two-way radios and lead experience with team members. Project Management experience is highly desired.

This position follows a 9/80 schedule; please note that extended hours, standby shifts and travel throughout the county are required.

Meet the Team!

The Riverside County Fire Department is one of California’s largest integrated, cooperative, regional fire protection organizations. The Department, a unique partnership between State of California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) and the County of Riverside, serves 19 partner agencies and 1 community service district. The Department has five core values: Leadership, Competence, Integrity, Safety, and Customer Service.

• Install communication (e.g., VHF radio, microwave radio, mobile data computer) and other equipment in or on vehicles; install communication (e.g., VHF radio, microwave radio, computer, telephone) and other equipment (e.g., infrastructure equipment, cabling) in offices and other buildings (e.g., remote microwave/radio tower sites); perform preventative maintenance on communication network and/or components.
• Install and configure network hardware and software; update system documentation; coordinate system/component upgrades and repairs with vendors and users; monitor the work of vendors to ensure compliance of enterprise standards for products and services; provide user training regarding equipment and network utilization.
• Troubleshoot, repair, and resolve malfunction of equipment and devices (e.g., computer, radio repeaters, vhf/microwave radios, telephone systems, and cabling); diagnose, locate and repair network malfunctions.

• Be able to use test equipment to check a vhf antenna/radio systems for sensitivity and/or interference to ensure optimal safety and performance.
• Troubleshoot, repair, program and resolve malfunctions of Code 3 emergency alerting systems within County emergency response vehicles/vessels (e.g. lights, sirens, PA, low level power sources).

• Utilized and administer enterprise network applications such as domain name services, network modeling, trend analysis, IP address management and network configuration management.
• Research, evaluate and test proposed products, product versions and systems solutions.
• Coordinate all telephone and data services for County departments; coordinate the installation and operation of the County private telephone system, 911 emergency telephone system and all microwave and radio systems with County departments, cities and telephone companies.
• Confer with County staff and vendors to determine requirements and services and coordinate activities to ensure capability exists for inter-agency communication.
• Plan new and revised communications systems; estimate installation and recurring costs; coordinate the modification and installation of systems and leased data and transmission facilities; review and verify billings for completeness and accuracy prior to submission for payment; prepare recommendations and reports.

Education

Graduation from high school, possession of a certificate of proficiency issued by the California State Board of Education, or attainment of a satisfactory score on a G.E.D. test. IT job-related coursework from an accredited college, university or trade school in computer science, computer information systems, data processing, information management or a related field to the assignment is preferred.

Experience

Four years of successful VHF radio or microwave job-related experience, one year of which included either lead level duties or technically advanced RF job-related work. (One year as a Radio Communications Technician II [IT Communications Technician II] will satisfy the one year of lead or technically advanced experience requirement).

Other Requirement

Valid California Driver License: Class C

Required Skills

The installation and coordination of the installation of communication systems including voice, videoconferencing, VHF radio, microwave and data in vehicles, remote sites and buildings; use of test equipment to isolate, repair and resolve problems; problem isolation techniques; coordination, planning or designing of modern and computer based business telephone systems to include planning, development and evaluation of computer telephony integration (CTI) systems involving extensive communication with telephone service user.

Knowledge Of

The principles, methods, and techniques used in the course of work for the IT Communications Technician series; principles and techniques applied to IT devices, applications and systems; principles of organization and administration; principles of documentation and recordkeeping, storage and retrieval.

Ability To

Gather and analyze data, reason logically, draw valid conclusions and make appropriate recommendations; resolve technical problems and innovate more efficient use of IT resources; perform systems analysis work and problem solving; interpret and follow written and oral instructions; prepare concise reports and documents; establish and maintain effective working relationships with staff, customers, other employees, and the public; communicate effectively with people at all organizational levels.

Preferred Skills

Assessing customer repair needs based on description of problems; installation and configuration of network hardware and software; use of systems level maintenance and management tools; troubleshooting and repairing/resolution of equipment malfunction in a multi-user, single platform environment; interpreting of customer technology needs.

Contact Richard Griego at [phone] or [e-mail]. Please allow 1-2 business days for a response to general inquiries.