Radio Communications Technician III

For questions regarding this position, please contact the Recruiter listed in the Supplemental Information section.

About the role

The County of Riverside seeks candidates to fill positions throughout Riverside County. A list of eligible candidates will be established to fill current and future vacancies. The County of Riverside’s Fire Department has an opportunity for a Radio Communications Technician III (IT Communications Technician III) assigned to the Fire Protection – Forest division in Perris.

The role involves performing repairs of communication repeaters and dispatch radio systems, mobile and handheld radios, and the department’s keyless security door system. Additionally, the technician will repair headsets and emergency warning lights on apparatus, and provide repairs to telephone network systems and infrastructure.

Competitive candidates will possess four years, within the last five years, of experience in vehicle outfitting, 12-volt circuitry and wiring, installing, maintaining, and repairing two-way radios, and lead experience with team members. Project Management experience is highly desired.

This position follows a 9/80 schedule; extended hours, standby shifts, and travel throughout the county are required.

Meet the Team

The Riverside County Fire Department is one of California’s largest integrated, cooperative, regional fire protection organizations. The Department, a unique partnership between the State of California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) and the County of Riverside, serves 19 partner agencies and 1 community service district. The Department has five core values: Leadership, Competence, Integrity, Safety, and Customer Service.

Responsibilities

• Install communication (e.g., VHF radio, microwave radio, mobile data computer) and other equipment in or on vehicles.
• Install communication (e.g., VHF radio, microwave radio, computer, telephone) and other equipment (e.g., infrastructure equipment, cabling) in offices and other buildings (e.g., remote microwave/radio tower sites).
• Perform preventative maintenance on communication network and/or components.
• Install and configure network hardware and software; update system documentation.
• Coordinate system/component upgrades and repairs with vendors and users; monitor vendor work to ensure compliance with enterprise standards.
• Provide user training regarding equipment and network utilization.
• Troubleshoot, repair, and resolve malfunctions of equipment and devices (e.g., computer, radio repeaters, VHF/microwave radios, telephone systems, and cabling).
• Diagnose, locate, and repair network malfunctions.
• Use test equipment to check VHF antenna/radio systems for sensitivity and/or interference to ensure optimal safety and performance.
• Troubleshoot, repair, program, and resolve malfunctions of Code 3 emergency alerting systems within County emergency response vehicles/vessels (e.g., lights, sirens, PA, low-level power sources).
• Utilize and administer enterprise network applications such as domain name services, network modeling, trend analysis, IP address management, and network configuration management.
• Research, evaluate, and test proposed products, product versions, and systems solutions.
• Coordinate all telephone and data services for County departments; coordinate the installation and operation of the County private telephone system, 911 emergency telephone system, and all microwave and radio systems with County departments, cities, and telephone companies.
• Confer with County staff and vendors to determine requirements and services and coordinate activities to ensure capability exists for inter-agency communication.
• Plan new and revised communications systems; estimate installation and recurring costs.
• Coordinate the modification and installation of systems and leased data and transmission facilities.
• Review and verify billings for completeness and accuracy prior to submission for payment; prepare recommendations and reports.

Requirements

Education

• Graduation from high school, possession of a certificate of proficiency issued by the California State Board of Education, or attainment of a satisfactory score on a G.E.D. test.
• IT job-related coursework from an accredited college, university, or trade school in computer science, computer information systems, data processing, information management, or a related field is preferred.

Experience

• Four years of successful VHF radio or microwave job-related experience, one year of which included either lead-level duties or technically advanced RF job-related work.
• One year as a Radio Communications Technician II (IT Communications Technician II) will satisfy the one year of lead or technically advanced experience requirement.

Other Requirements

• Valid California Driver License: Class C.

Skills

Required Skills

• Installation and coordination of communication systems including voice, videoconferencing, VHF radio, microwave, and data in vehicles, remote sites, and buildings.
• Use of test equipment to isolate, repair, and resolve problems.
• Problem isolation techniques.
• Coordination, planning, or designing of modern and computer-based business telephone systems, including planning, development, and evaluation of computer telephony integration (CTI) systems.

Knowledge Of

• The principles, methods, and techniques used in the course of work for the IT Communications Technician series.
• Principles and techniques applied to IT devices, applications, and systems.
• Principles of organization and administration.
• Principles of documentation and recordkeeping, storage, and retrieval.

Ability To

• Gather and analyze data, reason logically, draw valid conclusions, and make appropriate recommendations.
• Resolve technical problems and innovate more efficient use of IT resources.
• Perform systems analysis work and problem-solving.
• Interpret and follow written and oral instructions.
• Prepare concise reports and documents.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with staff, customers, other employees, and the public.
• Communicate effectively with people at all organizational levels.

Preferred Skills

• Assessing customer repair needs based on description of problems.
• Installation and configuration of network hardware and software.
• Use of systems-level maintenance and management tools.
• Troubleshooting and repairing/resolution of equipment malfunction in a multi-user, single-platform environment.
• Interpreting customer technology needs.

Schedule

This position follows a 9/80 schedule; extended hours, standby shifts, and travel throughout the county are required.

For questions regarding this recruitment, contact Richard Griego at (951) 955-5162 or rgriego@rivco.org. Please allow 1-2 business days for a response to general inquiries.