Maintenance Engineer Eastern Region
Application instructions for this and all current OPB employment opportunities are available at OPB's careers page.
About OPB
OPB is a leader in public media, serving diverse communities of the Northwest with fact-based, in-depth news and information about politics, the environment, science, arts, history, and cultures; business, education and more. Powered by the generous support of members, OPB seeks out a variety of voices in our communities and lifts up authentic stories of the people, places, events and issues of the region, providing context and a deeper understanding. OPB’s independent journalism and programs are available at opb.org, on OPB Radio and OPB TV. Follow us on Instagram, YouTube and Facebook.
The Opportunity
Do you enjoy traveling to remote areas, long drives through beautiful countryside, and working outdoors on top of mountains? Are you experienced with working in complex technological systems and safely operating 4WD vehicles? Do you have curiosity about how broadcast systems work? If so, OPB is hiring a Maintenance Engineer in Bend and this could be a great opportunity for you!
In this position you will support OPB’s mission by keeping our infrastructure running, enabling our content creators to keep our audience informed 24/7. This role performs a blend of IT and traditional broadcast tasks and as such we’re looking for someone with an agile mind, innate curiosity, and priority for safety who can work in remote outdoor settings. This position is part of a team based in Bend, OR responsible for maintaining OPB’s distribution and broadcast infrastructure at 32 sites on the east side of the Cascades. The territory stretches from the Columbia River down to Lakeview, and from Bend to Payette, ID.
It’s an exciting time for OPB as the technological landscape continually evolves. By maintaining uptime of our transmitters, your work enables our radios shows such as “Think Out Loud®” to broadcast to our hundreds of thousands of listeners, the airing of Sesame Street to children across the region, and access to important news around the clock.
Check out our Oregon Field Guide episode on Tower Engineers to see the team in action.
Position Details
The Field Maintenance Engineer is a member of the Bend-based engineering team and is entrusted with a wide variety of duties supporting the Eastern Region of OPB’s statewide broadcast network. Our area of responsibility stretches from the Cascades to the Idaho border. This engineer works independently or with OPB staff and contractors on projects ranging from technical research, documentation, and test-bench equipment repairs to winter trips accessing remote transmitter sites for maintenance. We primarily work in digital television, FM radio, microwave, and fiber distribution. The engineer filling this position possesses methodical troubleshooting skills, safety awareness, and a spirit of adventure.
Responsibilities
30% - Transmitter Site Maintenance
- Travel to transmitter sites in 4WD trucks or tracked snow vehicles, occasionally requiring hiking or snowshoeing
- Independently perform routine or emergency maintenance on equipment at transmitter sites, including TV, FM, and microwave airchains and controls, generators, building mechanical systems, and computer networks
- Erect, paint, reinforce, rebuild, or demolish site structures as necessary
- Trips are often 3-5 days long
- Perform basic vehicle maintenance as necessary
25% - Planning and Documentation
- Document installations, upgrades, and operational parameters
- Update databases with plans, drawings, and diagrams of changes
- Partner with staff in planning and designing new systems
- Create and revise simple documents for managing equipment, tools, programs, libraries, and supplies
25% Field Services
- Represent OPB in routine interactions with viewers and listeners, vendors and contractors, fellow broadcasters and engineers, cable operators, utility companies, government agencies, emergency services personnel, and the people of the Pacific Northwest
20% Education
- Participate in on-the-job training directed by Chief Engineers in signal flow, transmitter function, the use of test equipment, and repair and maintenance of broadcast facilities
- Create training presentations contributing to staff learning activities
- First Aid, CPR, and Wilderness Emergency Medicine compulsory
- Tower climbing certification available
- Attendance when possible at industry seminars
Working Conditions
Conditions vary widely, from the Bend workshop to remote broadcast facilities across the state and include arduous travel and significant hands-on activity outdoors year-round. The position occasionally requires non-traditional work hours, including evenings, weekends, and holidays to respond to outages or emergencies. Travel to remote sites involves 4WD trucks and tracked snow-vehicles, and possibly the need to perform basic mechanical repairs. Non-ionizing radiation exists at all transmission sites, and high voltages are present in some equipment. This position requires challenging physical activity, including lifting up to 50 pounds, performing in inclement weather, tower climbing, and walking or snowshoeing at least 5 miles.
Minimum Qualifications
- Four years combined involvement with A/V production, communications technology, electrical distribution, physical plant ops, systems engineering, or broadcast education
- Strong understanding of signal flow and troubleshooting fundamentals
- Detail-oriented and highly organized, able to work independently
- Willingness to work outdoors in challenging conditions, including backcountry travel and inclement weather, and to maintain OPB-provided certifications in First Aid, CPR, and wilderness emergency medicine
- Excellent interpersonal skills, a solution-oriented communicator that tactfully engages with colleagues, contractors, and our viewers and listeners
- Competent in Windows and Microsoft Office
- Valid driver’s license, clean driving record, and experience with 4WD trucks and towing
- Familiar with vehicle maintenance, and with basic construction tasks and equipment
- Enthusiasm for the mission of OPB!
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience with the design, maintenance, and operation of TV & FM transmitters, or of related equipment such as cellular transceivers, spectrum analyzers, frame syncs and audio processors, IP network devices, radar/sonar, or military radios
- Experience operating tracked vehicles or other heavy equipment
- Familiarity with construction tasks, wiring, framing, siding, sheetrock, HVAC
- Tower climbing training
- Bachelor’s degree in related field such as Electronics, Electrical Engineering, or IT
- CCNA
Additional Information
- This position reports to the Chief Engineer and is represented and benefits eligible.
- The probable hiring range for this exempt position is between the equivalent of $60,000 - $74,900, depending on qualifications.
- For the safety of our employees, the contractors/vendors we work with, and the public we serve, OPB has a mandatory COVID vaccination policy and all employees are required to show proof of vaccination.
- This position has access to highly sensitive data and therefore must pass a background check.
- This position requires a valid driver's license and will requires consent to OPB conducting a driving record check. Employees will not be allowed to use a company or personal vehicle for work purposes without completion and satisfactory results of this check.
How to Apply
For application instructions, please visit OPB's careers page. You will be asked to create an account, upload your cover letter and resume and answer a few position related questions. Once you click “submit” you cannot make changes to your application.
This position is open until filled.
OPB is an Equal Opportunity Employer.