Highway Maintenance Specialist

Initial posting date: 08/24/2026 • Application deadline: 09/08/2026 • Agency: Department of Transportation

About the Role

Join our hardworking Detroit maintenance crew and help keep Oregon’s roads and travelers safe! As part of our team, you will operate equipment necessary to maintain and repair roadways, highways, bridges, and structures. You will also assist with emergency cleanup and traffic control after storms, spills, incidents, and more. We provide a safe and reliable multimodal transportation system that connects people and helps Oregon's communities and economy thrive.

Responsibilities

• Operate a variety of heavy and light equipment and tools to maintain and repair various surfaces.
• Assist with weather-related emergencies and operate snowplows, deicer trucks, and other equipment to clear snow from roadways.
• Perform minor surface repairs including pothole and concrete patching and small inlay work.
• Clear debris, brush, mow grass, and spray roadside vegetation.
• Maintain and repair fences, guardrails, concrete barriers, and milepost markers.
• Maintain drainage systems, dig and clean ditches, and repair culverts, inlets, and erosion.
• Maintain wooded areas, including replanting, pruning, thinning, or trimming trees, shrubs, and groundcover.
• Service and repair tools and motorized equipment.
• Perform minor maintenance including janitorial work, landscaping, painting, and light carpentry.
• Exposure to noise, extreme heights, all weather conditions, heavy equipment, pesticides, and hazardous waste materials is expected.
• Must be able to move around rough terrain, bend and stoop for extended periods, and may need to lift up to 60 pounds.
• May need to be available after hours, on weekends, and holidays for emergency, on-call, and weather-related purposes.

Requirements

• One year of experience performing basic highway maintenance work; OR
• Two years of general landscaping, maintenance, mechanical, farming, logging, and/or construction experience or training.
• This position requires a maximum 45-minute response time to 600 N. Santiam Hwy, Detroit, OR 97342 for emergency call-outs.
• You must possess a current, valid commercial driver's license A (CDL-A) with a tanker endorsement, no air brake restrictions, no 5th wheel restrictions, and no manual transmission restrictions, OR have the ability to acquire a class A commercial learner permit within 60 days of hire and a CDL-A with a tanker endorsement and restrictions removed within six months of hire (ODOT will cover training costs).
• A valid driver license and an acceptable driving record are required. Pre-employment driving records checks, including Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Clearinghouse registration and full query check, will be conducted for final candidate(s) and annual query for current employees.
• As of Sept. 29, 2025, individuals who hold a lawful employment authorization document (EAD) are no longer eligible to obtain a commercial learner’s permit (CLP) or commercial driver’s license (CDL) due to federal policy changes.

Preferred Qualifications

If you have these attributes, let us know in your application materials:

• Experience in road maintenance, construction, or in a maintenance training program such as ODOT High School to Highway program, ODOT/ODF Fire and Ice program, Job Corps, etc.
• A current, valid commercial driver’s license A (CDL-A).
• Winter maintenance experience such as sanding, deicing, or using snow blowers or snowplows.
• Experience using hand tools and operating light and heavy equipment such as tractors, excavators, loaders, or dump trucks.
• Experience working in conditions that may be hazardous.

Benefits

• Work/life balance, 11 paid holidays a year, flexible work schedules, and paid leave.
• Comprehensive and equitable base salary offer within the listed range, determined through an equal pay assessment based on your application materials.
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness opportunity.
• If you are already a participating PERS member or become PERS eligible, the salary range will increase by 6.95%.

Pay

Salary range: $4,312 – $5,988 per month (non-PERS).