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Survey Technician

Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
Oregon State Office

Summary

You will serve as a Survey Technician for the Bureau of Land Management.

We expect to fill 7 vacancies at this time; however, additional positions may be filled from this announcement of they become available. These positions are located in Medford, OR - Roseburg, OR and Salem, OR.

Pay will vary based on grade level and/or duty location for which you're selected. First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted today · Apply by 07/28/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 28, 2026
Location
7 vacancies in the following locations:
Work site options
Telework eligible
No
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$40,736 - $70,682 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 5 - 7
Promotion potential
7
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Not required
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
OR-DEU-26-13004430-GS
Control number
876647700

Videos

Duties

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Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

  • Assisting in conducting field surveys.
  • Preparation of the field notes and draft plans for Cadastral Surveys assigned to the Land Surveyor.
  • Assisting the assigned Land Surveyor in performing work that involves establishing, investigating, and reestablishing land and property boundaries.
  • Assist in, and/or prepare draft plans and draft legal descriptions for tracts of land and learn and use knowledge of the concepts, principles, and techniques of surveying and land ownership laws.
Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must provide proof of U.S. citizenship.
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
  • Direct Deposit participation required.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit www.dhs.gov/EVerify/.
  • Must have and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment.
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-Year probationary period -OR- 2-year trial period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated.

This probationary or trial period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider:
  • your performance and conduct;
  • the needs and interests of the agency;
  • whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
  • whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated.

Upon completion of your probationary or trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-07/28/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

To qualify for this position at the GS-05 grade level:

  • Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the 04 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as performing 2 or more of the following tasks: 1) using survey instruments (e.g., total station, GPS, transit, level, distance measuring device, allidale, etc.) to complete assignments; 2) assisting in the preparation of field notes, random lined diagrams, or computations; 3) Assists in monumentation and recording of corner positions of a Cadastral Survey, following previously selected methods of monumentation. Oversees the setting of posts, construction of accessories, and marking of reference points.3) entering and/or retrieving survey data from databases.
-OR-
  • Education: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree from an accredited or pre-accredited institution (a) with major study in an appropriate field of surveying, engineering, construction, or industrial technology; OR (b) that included at least 24 semester hours in any combination of the following courses: surveying, engineering, industrial technology, construction, physics, drafting, forestry, geography, navigation, cartography, physical science, or mathematics. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
  • Combination of education and experience. A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of education beyond two years (total semester hours minus 60) by 60. Add the two percentages. You must include transcripts.
To qualify for this position at the GS-06 grade level:
  • Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the 05 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as performing 2 or more of the following: 1) training survey aids and/or junior technicians in the gathering and recordation of survey data, line running, or distance and angle measurement; 2) computing closures, corner moves, or proportionate measurements; 3) entering, retrieving, and/or manipulating data from automated databases.
-OR-
  • Education: A half year (i.e., 9 semester hours) of graduate level education in a field directly related to the work of the position, such as surveying, engineering, construction, or industrial technology. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
  • Combination of education and experience. A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 9. Add the two percentages. You must include transcripts.
To qualify for this position at the GS-07 grade level:
  • Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the 06 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as performing 2 or more of the following: 1) overseeing survey aids and/or junior technicians in the performance of land surveys; 2) assisting the land surveyor in establishing, investigating, or reestablishing land and property boundaries; 3) preparing field notes, draft plats, legal descriptions for tracts of land, and/or weekly progress reports.
-OR-
  • Education: One full year (i.e., 18 semester hours) of graduate level education in a field directly related to the work of the position, such as surveying, engineering, construction, or industrial technology. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
  • Combination of education and experience. A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 18. Add the two percentages. You must include transcripts.
Volunteer Experience: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | U.S. Department of Education. https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualification

Additional information

Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.

Promotion to the full performance level is neither guaranteed nor implied and will be based solely on your ability to satisfactorily perform the work of the position, existing work at the higher grade level, and recommendation by the position's supervisor.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

Physical Demands: Work requires some physical exertion such as bending and walking in terrain that is rough, rocky, mountainous and densely vegetated. Required to lift and carry equipment necessary to efficiently perform the work of the position, and to provide for personal comfort and safety. This can include tools, personal protective equipment, food and water for extended periods of work away from vehicles.

Work Conditions: Office work is performed in a setting that is adequately lighted, ventilated, cooled and heated. When doing fieldwork is subject to cuts and bruises, extreme and adverse weather conditions, and injuries and discomforts from pests or animals. Employee will adhere to all safety rules.

All Department of Interior (DOI) employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here, https://www.doi.gov/ethics/ethics-prohibitions.

Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following: OPM qualification standards for the position; all selective placement factors, where applicable; special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and is rated by the organization at least at the well qualified level.

The duties of this position are not suitable for telework.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g. resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of any additional assessment(s) required for this position.

Your resume must not exceed 2 pages. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed.

Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. These procedures place candidates with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Veterans with a service-connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher. Under Category Rating, candidates will be rated and ranked into the following categories:

  • Best Qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position

  • Well Qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in most of the requirements of the job

  • Qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in some, but not all of the requirements of the job.

You will be assessed in the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork

In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of the USA Hire Assessment, if required.

If fewer than three eligible and available candidates per vacancy result, the agency will expand the group of candidates in accordance with the pre-announced supplement strategy and 5 CFR 332.402(f).

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Providing false or misleading information on your resume or supporting documentation may result in removal from consideration or other action consistent with applicable federal hiring regulations. Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.

Bureau of Land Management

The Department of the Interior protects and manages the Nation's natural resources and cultural heritage; provides scientific and other information about those resources; and honors its trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and affiliated Island Communities. Click here to learn more about The Department of the Interior and its bureaus.

The mission of the Bureau of Land Management is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. Click here to learn more about The Bureau of Land Management.

Agency contact information

Christina Brewer
Phone
279-842-2530
Email
christina_brewer@ios.doi.gov
Address
BLM Oregon State Office
BLM Oregon State Office, OR-953
1220 SW Third
Portland, OR 97204
US

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