New York State Civil Service logo

Principal Engineering Technician (NY HELPS)

New York State Civil Service

Long Island City, NYFull-time$63–80K/yrSeen todaySeen in employer's feed today

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At a glance

Compensation
$63–80K/yr
Location
Long Island City, NY
Schedule
Full-time
Work Authorization
Not specified

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Job overview

The New York State Department of Transportation seeks a Principal Engineering Technician for regional construction work, primarily in Regional Office groups such as Contracts, Consultant, Construction Safety, Materials, or Compliance. The role may also involve field construction inspection on road, bridge, and appurtenance projects. The technician carries out higher-level engineers’ directives, works under an Engineering Assistant or Professional Engineer, and may support emergency response or work overnight shifts.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Construction InspectionEngineering TechnologyEngineering Management TechnologyArchitectureArchitectural TechnologyEnvironmental TechnologyLandscape ArchitectureLandscape DesignMaterials Laboratory TechnologyDraftingSurveyingConstruction TechnologyForestryAeronauticsElectronicsElectronics Technology

Qualifications

Engineering Geologist or RelatedEngineering Materials Analyst or RelatedEnvironmental Engineering Technician 2 or RelatedSenior Drafting Technician or RelatedSenior Engineering Technician or RelatedSenior Engineering Technician (Soils)Four Years Engineering-Related Experience and High School DiplomaAssociate's Degree or RelatedTwo Years Engineering-Related ExperienceBachelor's Degree or RelatedOne Year Permanent Competitive ServiceU.S. Work Authorization

Full job description

NY HELPS Yes

55-b/c Eligible Yes

Agency Transportation, Department of

Title Principal Engineering Technician (NY HELPS)

Occupational Category Other Professional Careers

Salary Grade 16

Bargaining Unit PS&T - Professional, Scientific, and Technical (PEF)

Salary Range From $62694 to $79795 Annually

Employment Type Full-Time

Appointment Type Permanent

Internship No

Jurisdictional Class Competitive Class

Travel Percentage 50%

Workweek Mon-Fri

Hours Per Week 40

Workday

From 7 AM

To 3:30 PM

Flextime allowed? No

Mandatory overtime? No

Compressed workweek allowed? No

Telecommuting allowed? No

County Queens

Street Address NYS Dept. of Transportation- Construction

47-40 21st Street

City Long Island City

State NY

Zip Code 11101

Duties Description This includes serving as staff in a Regional Construction Group or in the field as a construction inspector on various road, bridge, and appurtenance construction projects. PETs ensure that the orders and directives of higher level engineers are properly carried out. PET’s work at various levels of expertise and experience, which allows them to work independently under supervision of an Engineering Assistant (EA) or a Professional Engineer 1 (PE1). The primary need for this PET posting is for staffing in Regional Office positions in the Contracts Group, Consultant Group, Construction Safety Group, Materials Group, or Compliance Group. Responsibilities may include serving a role within the Incident Command System to support the Department’s response to regional and statewide emergency situations.Additional duties as assigned; duties may include the assignment of overnight shifts.

Minimum Qualifications This title is part of the New York Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement Statewide Program (NY HELPS).*To be considered for appointment through NY HELPS, or 55 b/c, candidates must meet the minimum qualifications for this position. The qualifications are:Promotional: One year of permanent competitive or 55-b/55-c service as an Engineering Geologist, Engineering Materials Analyst, Environmental Engineering Technician 2, Senior Drafting Technician (all parenthetics), Senior Engineering Technician, or Senior Engineering Technician (Soils).Open Competitive: Either 1. FOUR years of experience assisting in engineering or engineering technology, engineering management technology, architecture or architectural technology, environmental technology, landscape architecture/design, materials laboratory technology, drafting or surveying, AND graduation from high school or possession of a diploma issued by a recognized educational authority;Or 2. an associate's degree in mathematics, physical science, geology, engineering or engineering technology, engineering management technology, architecture or architectural technology, construction technology, landscape architecture/design, environmental technology, drafting, forestry, surveying, aeronautics, electronics, or electronics technology AND TWO years of experience listed above in number 1;Or 3. a bachelor's degree in mathematics, physical science, geology, engineering or engineering technology, engineering management technology, architecture or architectural technology, construction technology, landscape architecture/design, environmental technology, drafting, forestry, surveying, aeronautics, electronics, or electronics technology.Candidates may also be qualified for permanent competitive appointment if reachable from the appropriate Civil Service eligible list or eligible for reassignment or transfer in accordance with Civil Service Law.If there are three or fewer qualified candidates interested in appointment to this position, a permanent appointment may be made pursuant to Section 52.7 of the Civil Service Law. To be eligible, candidates must be an employee of the Department of Transportation and have one year of permanent competitive service as a Senior Engineering Technician, SG-13.

Additional Comments Responsibilities may include serving a role within the Incident Command System to support the department’s response to regional and statewide emergency situations.Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis. *For the duration of the NY HELPS Program, this title may be filled via a non-competitive appointment, which means no examination is required but all candidates must meet the minimum qualifications of the title for which they apply. At a future date, it is expected employees hired under NY HELPS will have their non-competitive employment status converted to competitive status, without having to compete in an examination. Employees will then be afforded with all of the same rights and privileges of competitive class employees of New York State. While serving permanently in an NY HELPS title, employees may take part in any promotion examination for which they are qualified.Your required educational credentials must have been awarded by an educational institution accredited by a regional, national, or specialized agency recognized as an accrediting agency by the United States (U.S.) Department of Education/Secretary of Education. If awarded by an institution outside of the U.S. and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. A list of companies that provide these services (fees must be paid to the company you choose) can be found at: http://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/degrees.cfmt The salary range listed reflects the full range for this graded position. For new State employees appointed into graded positions, the annual salary is the hiring rate (beginning of the Salary Range) of the position. Promotion salaries are calculated by the NYS Office of the State Comptroller in accordance with NYS Civil Service Law, OSC Payroll rules and regulations and negotiated union contracts. For more salary information please visit https://oer.ny.gov/salary-schedulesDOT is an equal opportunity employer. Disabled persons are encouraged to apply.In compliance with Public Law 99-603, candidates selected for appointment must provide an original document to prove their citizenship and/or legal right to work in the United States. Candidates for employment must have proper authorization to work in the United States at the time an offer of employment is made. The Department will not sponsor a nonimmigrant for a temporary employment visa (H-1B or similar), OPT STEM, or for permanent residence. Offers of permanent employment may not be made to nonimmigrants whose employment authorization is limited to a period of practical training (F-1 or similar).

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Name R11 Personnel

Telephone 718-482-4585

Fax 718-485-4592

Email Address [email protected]

Address

Street NYS Department of Transportation

47-40 21st Street

City Long Island City

State NY

Zip Code 11101

Notes on Applying Qualified candidates should submit a letter of interest, a current resume, and a copy of required transcripts (if applicable), titled by last name, with the Notice Number R11-26-28 and last name in the subject line and referenced in the letter of interest, no later than November 20, 2026, to: via email [email protected]PLEASE INCLUDE NOTICE NUMBER R11-26-28 IN THE SUBJECT LINE

How this job compares

Set against the 1,918 open Engineering Technician jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 7, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$63–80K/yr
  • New York median$59–80K/yr35 salary ranges
  • US median$66–97K/yr447 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $71K, is 4% above the New York median midpoint ($68K) — in the middle half of Engineering Technician salary ranges in New York.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 81 open Engineering Technician jobs in New York and 1,918 across the US. Under 1% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in New York
Experience
Engineering Technician postings that state a minimum ask for 2 years of experience at the median; the middle half ask for 2 to 5 years (1,457 postings).
Education
19 of the 1,918 open Engineering Technician jobs (under 1%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 7, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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