Salary : $81,203.20 - $124,883.20 Annually
Location : Ames - 50010 - Story County, IA
Job Type: Full-time
Job Number: 27-00871
Agency: 645 Iowa Department of Transportation
Opening Date: 09/24/2026
Closing Date: 10/6/2026 11:59 PM Central
LinkedIn Tag: #LI-POST
Point of Contact:

Job Description
We are looking for a Work Zone Design Engineer (TE Specialist) to join the Iowa Department of Transportation Design Bureau. You will be a key player in overseeing the design and application of traffic control measures for use during the construction of improvement projects on the primary and interstate systems in Iowa. Your leadership will help us ensure motorist and worker safety, traffic flow, and project success.
You will partner with multiple stakeholders to develop effective construction staging and traffic control strategies, conduct field reviews to evaluate performance in real-world conditions, and contribute your expertise to task forces and committees. This is a chance to take on meaningful responsibility, influence statewide practices, and grow within a highly valued engineering specialty.
Location: Ames, Iowa - Design Bureau
Shift Requirements: Days, Monday through Friday. Flexible work hours available. Some travel will be required.
Our most successful candidate will have a thorough understanding of the highway development process, highway design, construction zone traffic control design, and assessment, as well as the capability to research evolving practices in construction zone traffic control advances to aid the agency in deploying the most current and effective measures.
In this position, you will contribute to the agency by working on a wide variety of construction zone traffic control designs that support complex highway improvement projects that will require you to:

• Advise engineers and designers on solutions to non-standard and highly complex challenges.
• Advance innovation in safety analysis, investment optimization, technologies, and methods related to construction zone traffic control.
• Work closely and effectively as part of our central highway design team, district design teams, and our consulting engineering partner teams to ensure that they are highly trained, adaptive, and efficient in the delivery of excellent transportation services that support our agency goals.

Additional Requirements:

• Must have, or prior to appointment, must obtain an active Iowa professional engineering license through the Iowa Professional Licensing Bureau -Engineering and Land Surveying Examination Board.
• Must possess and maintain a Class C Driver's License.

At this time, we're not considering applicants who need any type of immigration sponsorship (additional work authorization or permanent work authorization) now or in the future to work in the United States. This includes, but IS NOT LIMITED TO: F1-OPT, F1-CPT, H-1B, TN, L-1, J-1, etc. For additional information on work authorization needs, please use the following links.
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The Iowa Department of Transportation is proud to be a partner with the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Through this partnership, DOT engineers are granted membership at a largely discounted price, as well as discounts for conferences and continuing education through the ASCE. We are excited to offer this benefit and to have you join this partnership with us! If you're interested in learning more about this benefit, please visit .

As a State of Iowa employee, you will be eligible for the following benefits:

• Competitive pay and benefits package including health, dental, flexible spending, and life insurance
• Insurance benefits start the first month following 30 days of employment, and costs can be reviewed here.
• Opportunities for professional growth and development.
• Paid time off effective immediately - biweekly vacation, separate sick leave, accruals rollover on a yearly basis, and 9 paid holidays per year.
• Iowa Public Employee Retirement System (IPERS) Retirement Package with employer match
• Optional 401A plan with employer contributions.
• Employee Discount Programs from a variety of vendors (vision, cellular, fitness, recreation, season passes, travel, counseling; legal, financial).

You have the freedom to flourish in Iowa - Apply now!

Minimum Qualification Requirements

Applicants must meet at least one of the following minimum requirements to qualify for positions in this job classification:

1) Three years of full-time work experience in engineering survey, which included the operation of survey instruments.
2) A total of three years of education and/or full-time experience (as described in number one), where thirty semester hours of accredited college or university course work in civil engineering, construction engineering, or photogrammetry equals one year of full-time experience.
3) Current, continuous experience in the state executive branch that includes one year of full-time work in survey, construction, maintenance, or design as a Highway Technician Associate, Highway Technician, Highway Technician Senior, Construction Technician Assistant, Construction Technician, or Construction Technician Senior.

For additional information, please click on this
Additional Qualification Requirements

• All positions are required to have and maintain a minimum of a valid Class C Non-Commercial Operator's License.
• Prior to starting employment, all persons are required to have a post offer pre-employment physical verifying the physical ability to perform the duties described.
• Employees must be able to travel and may be required to stay away from home overnight during assignments

01

Do you understand that the answers to all of the following questions must be truthful, honest, and accurate to the best of your ability? Please read all questions and answers thoroughly and make sure you understand them completely. Ensure the answers to your questions match the information filled out on your application and the attachments you have uploaded. If the answers to your questions are inconsistent with your application information or uploaded attachments, you will be given zero points for the question. Knowingly misrepresenting the facts when submitting any information related to an application, examination, certification, appeal, or any other facet of the selection process will result in your disqualification from this application and future employment with the state of Iowa.

• Yes - I understand and agree.
• No

02

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY
Have you filed a registration statement pursuant to the federal Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended, 22 U.S.C. a7611 et seq?

• No - I have NOT filed a registration statement pursuant to the federal Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended, 22 U.S.C. a7611 et seq
• Yes - I HAVE filed a registration statement pursuant to the federal Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, as amended, 22 U.S.C. a7611 et seq

03

How many years do you have of full-time engineering survey experience which included the operation of survey instruments?

• No engineering survey experience which included the operation of survey instruments
• Less than one year of engineering survey experience which included the operation of survey instruments
• One year to less than three years of engineering survey experience which included the operation of survey instruments
• Three or more years of engineering survey experience which included the operation of survey instruments

04

How many years do you have of a combination of post high school education in civil engineering, construction engineering, or photogrammetry and/or full-time experience in engineering survey, which included the operation of survey instruments?

• I do not have post high school education AND /OR experience in the identified areas
• Less than one year of the combined education and experience in the identified areas
• One year to less than three years of the combined education and experience in the identified areas
• Three or more years of the combined education and experience in the identified areas

05

Are you a current State of Iowa employee (executive branch)? IF YES - How many months of full-time survey experience do you have in in survey, construction, maintenance, or design as a Highway Technician Associate, Highway Technician, Highway Technician Senior, Construction Technician Assistant, Construction Technician, or Construction Technician Senior for the State of Iowa?

• I am not a State of Iowa employee
• No experience in the classification of Construction Technician Assistant
• Less than 12 months of full-time work in survey, construction, maintenance, or design in on of the classifications list above
• 12 or more months of full-time work in survey, construction, maintenance, or design in on of the classifications list above

Required Question