State of Maryland

A Soil Conservation Engineer III is the full performance level of registered professional soil conservation engineering work.  Employees in this classification provide professional technical liaison, guidance and assistance to the various soil conservation districts Statewide.  Employees in this classification perform work that involves frequent contact with representatives of the soil conservation district, local, State, federal, and public officials, engineering consultants, farmers and rural land owners in order to evaluate soil conservation problems, recommend and implement effective solutions and coordinate area-wide conservation activities.  Employees in this classification independently design soil and water conservation projects, review and approve or disapprove designs prepared by technicians and other engineers, conduct investigations and studies, and supervise implementation of complex conservation projects. Employees in this classification provide technical direction and guidance to Soil Conservation Associates and Soil Conservation Engineering Technicians, as necessary. Employees in this classification do not supervise.

Employees in this classification receive general supervision from a senior Engineer or other designated supervisor.  Work is evaluated upon the basis of the employee’s demonstrated mastery of established engineering principles, his ability to develop novel applications when faced with an unfamiliar problem, and his ability to meet deadlines and to work within existing administrative policies and procedures.

Positions in this classification are evaluated by using the classification job evaluation methodology.  The use of this method involves comparing the assigned duties and responsibilities of a position to the job criteria found in the Nature of Work and Examples of Work sections of the class specification.

The Soil Conservation Engineer I, Soil Conservation Engineer II and Soil Conservation Engineer III are differentiated on the basis of degree of supervisory control exercised by the supervisor over these employees.  The Soil Conservation Engineer I learns to perform duties under close supervision. The Soil Conservation Engineer II performs duties under close supervision at times and under general supervision at other times depending on the complexity of the specific duty being performed.  The Soil Conservation Engineer III performs the full range of duties and responsibilities under general supervision. 

As a Professional Engineer:

Plans and designs soil and water conservation engineering projects such as storm water management impoundments, drop spillways, stream bank stabilization projects, drainage channels, animal waste management storage structures, subsurface drainage systems;

Reviews design criteria and contract documents prepared by consultants for technical adequacy pertaining to the construction of sediment control measures, storm water management structures, and flood plan delineation studies as related to land development activities;

Instructs other professional and sub-professional technical personnel in the design techniques and construction practices concerning conservation engineering structures and methods;

Meets and coordinates with representatives of Soil Conservation Districts, members of the public, county, State and federal agencies concerning technical criteria for sediment control, storm water management, flood control, and other conservation programs;

Performs other related duties.

Knowledge of the principles and practices of civil and agricultural engineering related to soil and water conservation;

Knowledge of the design techniques and construction practices concerning irrigation systems, impoundments and dams, surface and sub-surface drainage systems, earthwork construction and soil mechanics, sediment and storm water management plans, surveying structural design;

Knowledge of field inspection techniques;

Knowledge of animal waste management systems;

Knowledge of landscaping and grading;

Knowledge of the basic characteristics of vegetative ground cover;

Knowledge of the application, processing plans and granting of permits as related to land grading and building construction;

Ability to review and approve or disapprove complex technical engineering designs and specifications;

Ability to plan activities of a broad technical nature;

Ability to prepare and present, detailed reports and recommendations (based on accurate conclusions) on soil conservation engineering problems.

Education:   A Bachelor’s degree in engineering, with specialization in civil or agricultural engineering, from an accredited college or university approved by the Engineer’s Council for Professional Development.

Experience: One year of experience as an intermediate level Soil Conservation Engineer in State service.

                                                                    OR 

Three years of experience in the field of soil conservation engineering or agriculture or urban resource conservation activities, one year must have been in a capacity involving responsibility for planning and supervising soil and water engineering work equivalent to an intermediate level Soil Conservation Engineer.

Notes:

1. Candidates may substitute the possession of a Master’s degree in engineering from an accredited college or university for one year of the required experience.

2. Candidates may substitute U.S. Armed Forces military service experience as a commissioned officer in soil conservation classification or soil conservation specialty codes in the natural resources management and biological sciences field of work on a year-for-year basis for the required experience.

1. Candidates for this classification must be currently registered as Professional Engineers in Maryland or in a state with comparable requirements.  Evidence of registration must be presented with the application.

2. Employees in this classification, that are registered as Professional Engineers in a state with comparable requirements, must be registered as a professional Engineer in the State of Maryland, within six months of the date of appointment.

Class specifications are broad descriptions covering groups of positions used by various State departments and agencies. Position descriptions maintained by the using department or agency specifically address the essential job functions of each position.

This is a Skilled Service classification in the State Personnel Management System.  All positions in this classification are Skilled Service positions.  Some positions in Skilled Service classifications may be designated Special Appointment in accordance with the State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 6-405, Annotated Code of Maryland.

This classification is assigned to Bargaining Unit G, Engineering, Scientific and Administrative Professionals classes.  As provided by State Personnel and Pensions Article, Section 3-102, special appointment, temporary, contractual, supervisory, managerial and confidential employees are excluded from collective bargaining.  Additionally, certain executive branch agencies are exempt from collective bargaining and all positions in those agencies are excluded from collective bargaining.

This classification is one level in a Non-Competitive Promotion (NCP) series.  NCP promotions are promotions by which employees may advance in grade and class level from trainee to full performance levels in a classification series.  In order to be non-competitively promoted to the next level in a NCP series an employee must: 1) perform the main purpose of the class as defined in the Nature of Work section of the class specification; 2) receive the type of supervision defined in the class specification, and 3) meet the minimum qualifications of the classification.