• Continuous filing dates have been added.

Upcoming Filing Cutoff Dates:

• 12/15/2025

Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) must be received or postmarked by the filing date indicated above. Applications postmarked, personally delivered or received via interoffice mail after the filing date will be processed in the next group.

If application is sent via interoffice mail, application MUST be received on or before the final filing date by the Division of Human Resources.

Dates printed on Mobile Bar Codes, such as the Quick Response (QR) Codes available at the USPS or equivalent mobile print technology, are not acceptable proof of the date the application and any other required documents or materials were filed/mailed.  Faxed or emailed applications will not be accepted.

The information below will help you determine which classification(s) is(are) appropriate for you. Applicants must meet the Minimum Qualifications as stated on this bulletin to compete in this examination.

Open and Open, Non-Promotional Examination(s):

• TRANSPORTATION SURVEYOR PARTY CHIEF (CALTRANS) - Open

Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications of the classification, as stated on this examination bulletin, may apply.

For all Classifications, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 12 months:

Exam Code(s):

4748

For TRANSPORTATION SURVEYOR PARTY CHIEF (CALTRANS), once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 12 months:

Exam Code(s):

• EX-04748

It is the personal responsibility of each examination candidate to submit their application materials within the timeframe and in the manner specified on this examination bulletin.

Applications mailed or submitted in person to any other location shall not be accepted.

Submit an Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) to apply for this examination.

Electronic applications can be submitted through your account at www.CalCareers.ca.gov.

You may apply by mail to:

• Testing and Selection Services
  Department of Water Resources
  Department of Water Resources
  P. O. Box 1079
  Sacramento, CA 95812
  

Indicate the Examination Code and Classification(s) on your Examination/Employment Application (STD 678).

You may drop off your application and any applicable or required documents at:

• Department of Water Resources
  Testing and Selection Services
  715 P Street
  Sacramento, CA 95814
  8:00 AM - 4:30 PM
  Check in with lobby security

Indicate the Examination Code and Classification(s) on your Examination/Employment Application (STD 678). All applicants must provide proof of identification. Accepted forms of identification are: 1) a photo identification card or 2) two forms of signed identification.

DO NOT MAIL OR SUBMIT APPLICATIONS TO THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES OR DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES’ FIELD OFFICES.  

Applications must include “to” and “from” dates (month/day/year), job title, time base, and duties performed.  Applications received without this information will be rejected.  Resumes and other attachments will not be accepted in lieu of a completed application.

If you require assistance or alternative testing arrangements due to a disability, indicate on your application that you need reasonable accommodation. You will be contacted by a representative of the testing department to make the necessary arrangements. If you have not been contacted by the time you receive notification of testing, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

If you are unable to submit your application or complete the test due to a disability, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

All applicants must meet the education and/or experience requirements as stated on this exam bulletin to be accepted to the examination.

Unless otherwise stated in the Minimum Qualifications, qualifying experience may be combined on a proportionate basis if the requirements stated below include more than one pattern and are distinguished as "Either" 1, "or" 2, "or" 3, etc. For example, applicants possessing qualifying experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 1 and additional experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 2 may be accepted to an examination as meeting 100% of the overall experience requirement.

Possession of a valid California Land Surveyors' License. (A Certificate of Registration as a Civil Engineer issued by the California Board of Registration for Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors prior to January 1, 1982 satisfies this requirement.) and

Either I

One year of experience in the California state service performing duties comparable to a Transportation Surveyor (Caltrans), Range D.

Or II

Two years of experience in the California state service performing duties equivalent to a Transportation Surveyor (Caltrans), Range C.

Or III

Two years of field or office experience performing duties equivalent to a Transportation Surveyor (Caltrans), Range D.

Or IV

Three years of field or office experience performing duties equivalent to a Transportation Surveyor (Caltrans), Range A, B, or C.

This examination will consist of a Qualification Appraisal Interview weighted 100%.  In order to obtain a position on the eligible list, a minimum rating of 70% must be attained.  Competitors who do not appear for the interview will be disqualified.

Testing Locations - The examination will take place in Sacramento.

This examination consists of the following component(s):

A final score of 70% must be attained to be placed on the eligible list.

Examination Dates - It is anticipated that interviews will be held during January or February 2026.

In addition to evaluating the applicant's relative knowledge, skill and ability as demonstrated by quality and breadth of education/experience, emphasis in each test component will be on measuring competitively, relative to job demands, each applicant's:

1. Perform the less complex field and office surveying work.
2. Make precise survey measurements.
3. Interpret legal descriptions of real property.
4. Make and interpret the less difficult survey calculations.
5. Apply and utilize the principles of the California Coordinate System.
6. Research, analyze, check, and adjust survey data.
7. Research and compile evidence and documentation for boundary determination.
8. Assist in planning, directing, and coordinating the work of a group of survey or right of way engineering personnel.
9. Do mapping and drafting.
10. Analyze situations accurately and take effective action.
11. Prepare clear and concise reports and correspondence.
12. Write property descriptions and prepare legal land documents and descriptions.
13. Operate precise surveying instruments (conventional and state of the art).
14. Establish and maintain friendly, business-like relations with those contacted in the course of the work; communicate effectively.

A Departmental Open eligible list for the TRANSPORTATION SURVEYOR PARTY CHIEF (CALTRANS) Classification will be established for:

• Department of Water Resources

The names of successful competitors will be merged onto the eligible list(s) in order of final score regardless of test date. Eligibility expires 12 months after it is established. Applicants must then retake the examination to reestablish eligibility.

Veterans' Preference will be granted for this examination. Veterans' Preference is an assistance program for veterans, veteran widows and widowers, and spouses of 100% disabled veterans who seek employment with the state. Veterans' Preference is also extended to currently serving military members nearing their retirement or separation date.

You are not eligible for Veteran's Preference if you are:

• A veteran who has been dishonorably discharged or released.
• A veteran, widow or widower of a veteran, or spouse of a 100 percent disabled veteran who currently has permanent civil service status. (Permanent civil service status is the status of an employee who is lawfully retained in his/her position after completion of the applicable probationary period. This does not include limited term).

Veterans' Preference is codified in Government Code Sections 18973 – 18979.

Veteran status is verified by the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR). Directions to apply for Veterans' Preference are on the Veterans' Preference Application (Std. Form 1093), which is available at www.CalCareers.ca.gov, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Career Credits are not granted for examination(s) administered on an Open basis or a Promotional basis.

• Department of Water Resources

Questions regarding this examination should be directed to:

California Relay Service: 1-800-735-2929 (TTY), 1-800-735-2922 (Voice). TTY is a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, and is reachable only from phones equipped with a TTY Device.

Examination and/or Employment Application (STD 678) forms are available at the California Department of Human Resources, local offices of the Employment Development Department, and through your CalCareer Account (www.CalCareers.ca.gov).

If you meet the requirements stated on this examination bulletin, you may take this examination, which is competitive. Possession of the entrance requirements does not assure a place on the eligible list. Your performance in the examination described in this bulletin will be rated against a predetermined job-related rating, and all applicants who pass will be ranked according to their scores.

Department of Water Resources reserves the right to revise the examination plan to better meet the needs of the service, if the circumstances under which this examination was planned change. Such revision will be in accordance with civil service laws and rules and all applicants will be notified.

General Qualifications: Applicants must possess essential personal qualifications including integrity, initiative, dependability, good judgment, the ability to work cooperatively with others, and a state of health consistent with the ability to perform the assigned duties of the class. A medical examination may be required. In open examinations, investigation may be made of employment records and personal history and fingerprinting may be required.

Eligible Lists: Eligible lists established by competitive examination, regardless of date, must be used in the following order: 1) sub-divisional promotional, 2) departmental promotional, 3) multi-departmental promotional, 4) service-wide promotional, 5) departmental open, 6) open. When there are two lists of the same kind, the older must be used first. Eligible lists will expire in one to four years unless otherwise stated on the bulletin.

High School Equivalence: Equivalence to completion of the 12th grade may be demonstrated in any one of the following ways: 1) passing the General Education Development (GED) Test; 2) completion of 12 semester units of college-level work; 3) certification from the State Department of Education, a local school board, or high school authorities that the competitor is considered to have education equivalent to graduation from high school; or 4) for clerical and accounting classes, substitution of business college work in place of high school on a year-for-year basis.

Accepted applicants must provide proof of identification at each in-person test session. Acceptable identification consists of a photo identification card or two forms of signed identification.