Residence Requirements:

RESIDENCE REQUIREMENTS:CANDIDATES MUST HAVE BEEN LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY FOR AT LEAST ONE MONTH IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE WRITTEN TEST AND MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY AT THE TIME OF APPOINTMENT. There is one vacancy at the Erie County Department of Public Works - Division of Highways

Examples of Duties:

A Traffic Safety Engineer is responsible for advanced professional engineering work  in rendering opinions and decisions on technical aspects of a wide variety of engineering and traffic safety subjects;

Reviews and makes comments on specific engineering and traffic studies;

Directs and investigates planning and layout of various engineering and traffic projects;

Coordinates engineering and traffic studies with Federal, State and other agencies;

Assists in developing policy on traffic research and engineering for the department;

Interprets Federal guidelines and requirements as related to traffic and safety and engineering projects to confirm procedures and information necessary to satisfy Federal agencies; 

Makes field surveys to collect data and make evaluations;

Prepares costs estimates, as necessary, for various projects;

Assembles and analyzes data from traffic accident reports;

Recommends and directs implementation of new methods and procedures to eliminate traffic hazards;

Reviews program operations for adequacy and conformity to established policy;

Supervises design of traffic projects;

Coordinates program activities with other safety groups;

Maintains records and data and makes reports of activities.

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Candidates must meet one of the following requirements on or before the date of the written test: 

A) Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered four (4) year college or university with a Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering and five (5) years of civil  engineering experience*, at least one (1) year of which must have been in a supervisory  capacity; or:

B) Graduation from high school or possession of a high school equivalency diploma and nine (9) years of civil engineering experience*, at least one (1) year of which must have been in a  supervisory capacity; or:

C) An equivalent combination of training and experience as defined by the limits of (A), and (B).

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT:
Eligibility for a license to practice as a Professional Engineer in New York State at the time of  application; possession of the license at the time of permanent appointment.

Notes:

NOTES: 1. A Master's Degree in Civil Engineering may be substituted for one (1) year of the required civil engineering experience, but may not be substituted for the required  supervisory experience. .  2. Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the full-time experience requirements. 3. Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the New York State Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. A grade of "D" or better is necessary for a course to be credited as successfully completed. If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside of the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to this Department for a list of acceptable companies providing this service; you must pay the required evaluation fee.

Notice to Candidates:  Transcripts will now be accepted by the Department of Personnel ONLY at time of application.  All subsequent transcripts must be submitted at time of interview.

The New York State Department of Civil Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However,candidates may find information in the publication "How to take a written test" helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at: www.cs.ny.gov/testing/localtestguides.cfm

Subjects of Examination:

SUBJECTS OF EXAMINATION: A written test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas:

1. Plans and specifications

These questions test for the ability to understand, analyze, and perform computations based on various roadway-related technical drawings and written technical material. All the information required to answer the questions will be presented in the written material and/or drawings.

2. Preparing written material

These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.

3. Supervision

These questions test for knowledge of the principles and practices employed in planning, organizing, and controlling the activities of a work unit toward predetermined objectives. The concepts covered, usually in a situational question format, include such topics as assigning and reviewing work; evaluating performance; maintaining work standards; motivating and developing subordinates; implementing procedural change; increasing efficiency; and dealing with problems of absenteeism, morale, and discipline.

4. Principles and practices of traffic and transportation engineering

These questions test for knowledge of traffic and transportation engineering concepts and their practical applications, including materials, terminology and procedures used, computations related to the design, construction and operation of roadways and related facilities, traffic and transportation studies and data interpretation, and safety issues.

5. Traffic control devices and regulations and collection, analysis and presentation of data

These questions test for knowledge of the uses, placement, laws, rules and regulations related to various types of traffic safety and traffic control devices such as pavement markings, work zone markings, signs and traffic signals, and the proper procedures and terminology used to gather, evaluate, organize and utilize various types of technical data related to transportation and traffic studies.

6. Highway planning, design, safety and laws

These questions test for knowledge of the concepts, economics, computations and federal and New York State rules and regulations involved in the planning, design, construction and operation of roadway systems, including the safety of workers and the traveling public.

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES:  Unless otherwise noted, candidates are permitted to use quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculators.  Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers", “Personal Digital Assistants", "Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similar devices are prohibited.  You may not bring books or other reference materials.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $20.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.