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Architectural Historian

Iowa Department of Transportation
Email

Salary

 

$49,400.00 - $92,185.60 Annually

Location

 

Ames - 50010 - Story County, IA

Job Type

 

Full-time

Job Number

 

26-02619

Agency

 

645 Iowa Department of Transportation

Opening Date

 

04/01/2026

Closing Date

 

4/15/2026 11:59 PM Central

LinkedIn Tag

 

#LI-POST

Point of Contact

 

Angela Poole, Angela.Poole@Iowadot.us

Job Description

 

 

Only applicants who meet the Minimum Qualification Requirements and meet all selective requirements (listed below) will be eligible. 
 

If you love old structures, federal regulations, and keeping transportation projects from veering off course, we have a strangely perfect job for you. Spoiler: you’ll never be bored. The Iowa Department of Transportation is looking to hire an Architectural Historian or a Historian (Transportation Planner 1) with experience in standing structures to join our Cultural Resources Section within the Location and Environment Bureau (LEB). This position will be responsible for providing expertise in environmental planning and regulatory compliance to support the development and delivery of Iowa’s transportation projects.  The preferred candidate will have familiarity with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and cultural resource regulations.

 

Location: Ames – 50010 – Story County

 

Schedule and travel requirements:  40 hours, M-F, with flexible schedule options and telework arrangements available.  Some travel and overnight stays.

 

For non-state of Iowa employees, starting pay is negotiable within the pay scale range, based on years of experience above the minimum qualifications.

 

This position is part of the Transportation Planner classification series. Candidates hired at the Transportation Planner 1 level may be eligible for non-competitive reclassification to Transportation Planner 2 after meeting Department of Administrative Services (DAS) minimum qualifications and demonstrating the competencies needed to perform journey-level planning work.

 

Special Requirements: 

  • Must possess and maintain a valid driver’s license
  • Must meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards for architectural history and/or history as published in Appendix A of 36 CFR Part 61. Click here to learn more about  SOI Qualifications.

 

Responsibilities include:

  • Reviewing transportation projects for compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and applicable Iowa Code.
  • Coordinating consultation with Tribes, the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), and other stakeholders.
  • Managing consultant contracts for archaeological and architectural-historical investigations.
  • Preparing and reviewing technical documentation, including determinations of effect and clearance memos.
  • Supporting the development of legal agreements such as Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs) and Programmatic Agreements (PAs).
  • Maintaining project records and ensuring confidentiality of sensitive cultural resource data.

 

Iowa Department of Transportation’s Mission is Making Lives Better Through Transportation. To accomplish our Mission, the person selected for this position will demonstrate actions and behaviors guided by the Iowa Department of Transportation’s five CORE values: Safety First, People Matter, Customer Focused, Servant Leadership, and Integrity Without Exception.

 

As a State of Iowa employee, you will be eligible for the following benefits:

  • Competitive pay and benefits package including health, dental, flexible spending, and life insurance
  • Insurance benefits start the first month following 30 days of employment, and costs can be reviewed here.
  • Opportunities for professional growth and development.
  • Paid time off effective immediately - biweekly vacation, separate sick leave, accruals rollover on a yearly basis, and 9 paid holidays per year.
  • Iowa Public Employee Retirement System (IPERS) Retirement Package with employer match
  • Optional 401A plan with employer contributions.
  • Employee Discount Programs from a variety of vendors (vision, cellular, fitness, recreation, season passes, travel, counseling; legal, financial).

 

We encourage you to learn more about the State of Iowa Employee benefits and costs at the State of Iowa Employee Benefits Website!

 

You have the freedom to flourish in Iowa – Apply now!

 

The Iowa Department of Transportation is an equal-opportunity employer. If you require a reasonable accommodation in completing any screening, interviewing, pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the selection process, please direct your request to the Affirmative Action & Equal Employment Opportunity (AA/EEO) Officer at: aa-eeo@iowadot.us.

Reasonable accommodation, such as an interpreter, translator, written materials, modified equipment/devices, ADA access, etc. This does not include scheduling needs.

 

The State of Iowa participates in E-Verify, a federal program that helps employers confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. Within the required timeframe, new hires will be verified through the E-Verify system to ensure authorization to work in the United States. The State of Iowa also complies with the federal Right to Work laws, which protect employees’ rights to work without being required to join a labor organization. For more information, please visit www.e-verify.gov.

 

 

Selectives

 

 

012 Archeology
6 months’ experience, 12 semester hours, or a combination of both.  Archeology is a main branch of anthropology and refers to the study of past and current cultures through the study of artifacts. 

OR

013 Architectural History
6 months’ experience, 12 semester hours, or a combination of both.  Architectural history refers to the field of study of architectural style which includes the theoretical basis of design and the evolution of design vocabularies and construction techniques

OR

277 History
6 months’ experience, 12 semester hours, or a combination of both where a knowledge of history and the ability to share/apply that knowledge were major competencies required by the job and where history was in some way applied as a major job function such as: 

  • Historian
  • Archivist
  • History teacher (where the bulk of the time was spent teaching history)
  • History professor or instructor 


     

 

Minimum Qualification Requirements

 

 

Applicants must meet at least one of the following minimum requirements to qualify for positions in this job classification:
 
1) Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a degree in civil/transportation/traffic engineering, environmental engineering, finance, business administration, supply chain management, data science, geography, economics, mathematics, community development planning, regional planning, urban planning, aviation (technology, management, or flight operations), or transportation planning. 
2) A total of four years of education and/or full-time experience, where one year of full-time work experience in civil/transportation/traffic engineering, environmental engineering, finance, business administration, supply chain management, data science, geography, economics, mathematics, community development planning, regional planning, urban planning, aviation (technology, management, or flight operations), or transportation planning equals thirty semester hours of accredited college or university course work (as described in number one).

For additional information, please click on this link to view the job description. (Download PDF reader)