SIGN TECHNICIAN 1
Career Family: SIGN TECHNICIAN
Sign Technician 1 is a competitive state title, the kind you test for: the exam result, not a hiring manager's pick, decides where you land in line.
It is the lowest-paid of the 3 Sign Technician grades, a step below Sign Technician 2, whose band tops out about $6,005 higher. What it takes is 1 year of relevant experience. Pay on the FY 2027 schedule runs $43,934 to $63,341, and state payroll currently lists 5 people in the title, most of them at Transportation.
How to apply
This title is filled by competitive examination.
See every real route in, and where to apply. One agency employs it. We don't track live vacancies.
See where to apply for this title →Who employs this title
Sign Technician 1 appears on the State payroll at one department, Department of Transportation.
State departments
| Employer | Employees |
|---|---|
| Department of Transportation | 5 |
State payroll and independent authority payroll are separate systems and are never merged. See data sources.
Pay ladder: Sign Technician series
- Sign Technician 1 — $43,934 – $63,341 (this title)
- Sign Technician 2 — $47,916 – $69,346
- Sign Technician 3 — $52,308 – $75,954
Promoting to Sign Technician 2 raises the top of the band by about $6,005. Its top salary lands around the 8th percentile of all NJ civil service titles that publish a range.
Rungs are ordered by FY 2027 pay. NJ level numbers are not always sequential, so ordering follows salary rather than the title number.
Who employs this title
State payroll records show 5 people working under this title. The median actual salary is $44,323. The agencies employing the most are:
- Transportation (5)
Counts from NJ YourMoney agency payroll. See statewide workforce analytics.
Official job specification
The text below is the official specification published by the New Jersey Civil Service Commission. The plain-language summary and analysis above are derived from it by NJ Civil Service Navigator. Source: the official specification page at NJ CSC.
Definition
Under the close supervision of a Crew Supervisor, Signs in the Department of Transportation, performs various duties in the fabrication, reconditioning, installation, replacement, and repair of traffic signs, including sign support structures for various types of highway signs; operates, adjusts, and maintains necessary equipment; does other related duties as required.
Examples of work
- Performs the installation, maintenance, and repair of highway signs, sign structures, and the equipment and machinery required for the fabrication of highway traffic signs.
- Works from heights up to 75 feet from an aerial platform truck or similar equipment.
- Repairs, replaces, and installs signs and sign support structures, and assists in the performance of priority repairs.
- Lays out various signs for the application of electronically cut reflective letters, backgrounds, and/or die stamped metal letters.
- Operates and maintains the machinery necessary to cut and apply reflective letters and backgrounds.
- Operates hydraulic power sheers to cut materials to the appropriate size.
- Performs the proper safety and operation of a plasma cutter.
- Enlarges scale-sized drawings from the Standard Highway Signs Manual.
- Spray-paints various types of surfaces.
- Operates and maintains the equipment used in the screen printing of signs; mixes inks to the proper consistency for s creen process printing.
- Fabricates silk screens and cuts screen stencils by hand from several types of stencil film.
- Fabricates vinyl banners.
- Maintains the shop, tools, and equipment in an orderly and safe condition.
- Drives automobiles, trucks, or other equipment as required.
- Maintains records of work completed and materials used.
- Operates and maintains the computer assisted and electronic sign making equipment used in the design of signs.
- Performs snow removal and ice control work at any time of day or night as required.
- Will be required to learn to utilize various types of electronic and/or manual recording and information systems used by the agency, office, or related units.
Experience
One (1) year of experience in the assembly, installation, replacement, reconditioning, and repair of highway signs, including sign support structures; and the fabrication, reconditioning, and assembly of highway signs utilizing large-scale production techniques.
Knowledge, skills and abilities
- Knowledge of the use of basic hand tools, including power actuated and pneumatic tools.
- Knowledge of taking measurements and utilization of measuring devices.
- Knowledge of appropriate safety precautions, especially work zone safety measures.
- Knowledge of the methods, materials, and techniques used to lay out traffic and highway signs.
- Knowledge of screen process printing techniques.
- Ability to cut screen stencils by hand.
- Ability to operate and maintain tools, equipment, and machinery used for the large-scale production of signs and repair of sign support structures.
- Ability to work from an aerial platform truck or similar equipment, up to a height of 75 feet, and to fabricate, erect, and recondition signs, support structures, and effect repairs.
- Ability to mix and thin inks for screen process printing.
- Ability to maintain records.
- Ability to learn to utilize various types of electronic and/or manual recording and information systems used by the agency, office, or related units.
- Ability to read, write, speak, understand, or communicate in English sufficiently to perform the duties of this position. American Sign Language or Braille may also be considered as acceptable forms of communication.
- Persons with mental or physical disabilities are eligible as long as they can perform essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation. If the accommodation cannot be made because it would cause the employer undue hardship, such persons may not be eligible.
Note
The examples of work for this title are for illustrative purposes only. A particular position using this title may not perform all duties listed in this job specification. Conversely, all duties performed on the job may not be listed.
Satisfactory completion of thirty (30) semester credit hours in Graphic Arts, Drafting, or Computerized Assisted Drafting Design may be substituted for one (1) year of experience.
<b>LICENSE AND CERTIFICATION:</b>
Appointees must possess and maintain a current certification as a Powered Industrial Truck Operator issued by the New Jersey Department of Transportation or possess a current Coaching the Lift Truck Operator 2 certification or its equivalent.
Appointees must possess a Commercial Driver's License (CDL) and applicable endorsements for the class and type of vehicle being operated.
The responsibility for ensuring that employees possess the required motor vehicle license, commensurate with the class and type of vehicles they operate, and the Powered Industrial Truck Operator certification, Coaching the Lift Truck Operator 2 certification, or an equivalent certification, rests with the Appointing Authority.