Senior Office of Public Safety Field Communications Specialist

Telecommunications Specialist III

This position is located within the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM). The division is a dynamic and diverse team that is committed to developing, administering and coordinating comprehensive and integrated statewide emergency management and homeland security programs. The Office of Public Safety Communications (OPSC) provides critical and essential public safety two way radio communications to over 1,000 local, state, tribal and federal public safety and governmental agencies across the state.

On average the system supports 8 – 9M calls per month and is one of the largest communications systems in the United States. It is currently the largest system in Colorado providing interoperability across a vast array of independent communications systems in every county jurisdiction and region of the state. Over 136,000 Colorado first responders use the system for routine operations, emergency operations, interoperability, mutual aid, for both naturally occurring and man caused large scale events.

The OPSC represents the State of Colorado, in all matters related to public safety communications, in partnership with political subdivisions, elected officials, state departments, local, regional, tribal and federal government. The OPSC team is made up of system engineers, network monitoring, program management, project management, transmitter site facility operations and maintenance. We are responsible for system design - expansion and architecture, establishment and enforcement public safety communications policy, procedures, standards, technological advancement, system security – system upgrade management, Federal Communications Commission licensing and compliance, radio programing and talk group assignment, transmitter site and tower construction, everything associated with what may directly impact the performance and reliability of the OPSC.

Our teams are geographically and strategically stationed at 13 regional technical service centers throughout the state to ensure an immediate response and accelerated restoration of communications continuity of operations. This includes, but is not limited to knowledge and proficiency of all computer software programs operating various components of the system, installation, service and maintenance of all backup power generators, environmental conditioning units, UHF – VHF – Microwave, transmitters – receivers, coaxial waveguide - antenna systems and communications tower structures in excess of 400 feet.

All engineering and technical specialist are trained in winter survival and safe snow-cat operations in effort to safely access high altitude mountain communications sites in Colorado's ever changing and extreme weather conditions and have been called upon in the event of emergencies and extreme weather events to assist in first responder search and rescue missions. This support unit responds to 24-hour system monitored alarm notifications indicating component trouble or failures, routine and preventive maintenance ensuring the highest level of system performance and preventing interruptions in service and loss of availability.

This position is that of a working technical expert supporting federal, state, Tribal and local government agencies by maintaining microwave, telephone, two-way radio, digital trunked radio (DTR), data and video communications equipment and systems. This position has the responsibility to provide technical expertise in the installation and maintenance of the aforementioned equipment. This position offers technical support to other Telecommunication Specialists through demonstration of tasks, quality review and instruction, to include the installation, modification, fabrication and calibration of new equipment and systems.

This position will follow established procedures to provide on-going preventive and failure maintenance of systems and support equipment, creating and updating circuit and equipment records to fill public safety needs and inter-government requirements and tracing and repairing circuits that may be intermittent. The technical experts in this position are…