Subsurface Utility Engineering Party Chief
Quick facts
- Type
- Full-time
- Location
- Knoxville, TN
- Skills
- Engineering
- Industry
- Engineering — 264 open jobs
- Apply
- Free to apply — never pay anyone for a job offer or visa sponsorship
Job description
Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson is a dynamic, 100% employee-owned consulting firm with more than 2,800 professionals, providing a full range of multidisciplinary engineering, architecture, information technology, and related services to public agencies and private clients throughout the United States. JMT is currently ranked #45 on Engineering News-Record’s list of the Top 500 Design Firms.
Position Summary: JMT is currently looking for an experienced SUE Party Chief to join the Underground Utilities, Land Surveying, and Mapping team in Knoxville, Tennessee!
Immigration sponsorship or support (e.g. H1B, F-1 CPT/OPT/STEM OPT) is not available for this position, except for qualified candidates eligible for the TN visa classification.
Essential Functions and Responsibilities
- Participates in pre-survey planning meetings with project managers, engineers, and contractor representatives
- Assigns and monitors work, and provides input for evaluation of members of field survey crew
- Instructs and trains survey crew in survey and mapping methods, use of equipment, and field safety procedures
- Completes daily report cards and field note sketches
- Provides time estimates for specific tasks
- Performs complex surveying calculations using calculator, computer, and coordinate geometry software such as AutoCAD
Nonessential Functions and Responsibilities
- Perform other related duties as assigned
Required Skills
- Must successfully complete and pass JMT's Motor Vehicle screening
- Valid Driver’s License Required
- Able to pass Background Check
- Ability to lead project assignments
- Team Attitude / Mindset
- Must be able to fully comprehend and interpret roadway and utility construction plans, and utility record drawings
- Use of multiple types of utility designating equipment
- Good organizational, written, and verbal communications skills.
- Knowledge of Vacuum Excavation and Ground Penetrating Radar equipment/procedures
- Able to work outdoors in all weather conditions
- Able to bend, kneel, lift and carry up to 50lbs as needed
- Able to work 7:00 am – 4:00 pm Monday – Friday (Minimum)
- Ability to travel required
Required Experience
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Minimum of five (5) years of experience in the successful application of multiple types of utility designating and locating equipment, with demonstrated ability to lead project assignments and supervise multiple crews
- Land Surveying experience a plus
Working Conditions
Work is performed in the field 90% of the time. Ability to extensively perform bending, kneeling, standing, shoveling, and lifting and carrying objects weighing up to 50 lbs as needed. Work may be conducted outside in heat/cold, wet/humid, and dry/arid conditions.
Work is performed within a general office environment 10% of the time. Office work is generally sedentary in nature, but may require occasional standing and walking. Lighting and temperature are adequate and there are no hazardous or unpleasant conditions caused by noise, dust, etc. within the office environment.
Some travel required.
Some night shift work required.
Benefits
JMT offers outstanding opportunities for career and professional growth. We are 100% employee-owned (ESOP) and offer outstanding health care coverage and other benefits, including:
- Affordable Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance
- Company paid Life and Disability Insurance
- Paid Time Off
- Paid Holidays
- Paid Caregiver Leave Program
- 401K Retirement Plan (Traditional and Roth options)
- Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
- Career Development Programs
- And more…
- Benefits | JMT
Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by state or federal law.
Qualifications:
- Must successfully complete and pass JMT's Motor Vehicle screening
- Valid Driver’s License Required
- Able to pass Background Check
- Ability to lead project assignments
- Team Attitude / Mindset
- Must be able to fully comprehend and interpret roadway and utility construction plans, and utility record drawings
- Use of multiple types of utility designating equipment
- Good organizational, written, and verbal communications skills.
- Knowledge of Vacuum Excavation and Ground Penetrating Radar equipment/procedures
- Able to work outdoors in all weather conditions
- Able to bend, kneel, lift and carry up to 50lbs as needed
- Able to work 7:00 am – 4:00 pm Monday – Friday (Minimum)
- Ability to travel required
Visa sponsorship record: Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson, Inc.
Sponsors actively| Fiscal year | H-1B LCAs | USCIS approvals | USCIS denials | PERM |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | 8 | 7 | 0 | — |
| FY2025 | 10 | 8 | 0 | — |
| FY2024 | 1 | — | — | — |
This exact kind of role (Engineers, All Other) isn't among the roles Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson, Inc. sponsored most often.
Roles they sponsor most
- water resources design engineer3 LCAs · median $81k
- facilities cm project engineer2 LCAs · median $88k
- structures design engineer2 LCAs · median $80k
- traffic design engineer2 LCAs · median $83k
- bridge project engineer1 LCA · median $103k
Full sponsorship history of Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson, Inc. →
Which visas can work for this job
Occupation: Engineers, All Other (SOC 17-2199) — estimated from the job title.
- H-1B cap-exempt employer
Regular cap-subject employer — a new H-1B needs to win the lottery in March (unless you already hold cap-counted H-1B status).
- TN (citizens of Canada and Mexico)
This kind of role may fit the USMCA profession “Engineer” — it depends on the actual duties. No lottery, no cap; you need the matching degree or license.
- E-3 (Australia) and H-1B1 (Chile, Singapore)
Same degree requirement as H-1B, but no lottery and a separate quota that is rarely filled.
- O-1 (extraordinary ability)
For candidates with awards, publications, press, a high salary or critical roles at distinguished organizations. No cap, no lottery; the employer files a petition.
- STEM OPT extension (F-1 students)
Requires an E-Verify employer. We didn't find this company in the E-Verify list — ask HR.
Salary vs prevailing wage
Engineers, All Other · Knoxville, TN. Annual prevailing wages set by the Department of Labor (OFLC).
| Level | Prevailing wage | H-1B lottery odds* |
|---|---|---|
| Level I | $65,229 | ~15% |
| Level II | $84,614 | ~31% |
| Level III | $104,000 | ~46% |
| Level IV | $123,386 | ~61% |
The listing has no salary, so we can't place it on a wage level. Ask the employer which wage level they'd file at: Level III–IV registrations get 3–4 entries in the H-1B lottery.
* Odds are DHS projections for the FY2027 wage-weighted lottery (actual results vary by year and employer). Since the FY2027 cap season the H-1B lottery is weighted by wage level: Level I = 1 entry, II = 2, III = 3, IV = 4. The level is set by the offered wage against the prevailing wage for the occupation and worksite. Separately, a $100,000 fee for new H-1B petitions for workers outside the US was announced in 2025; as of September 2026 a federal court ruling keeps it unenforceable while appeals continue — check the current status.
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor OFLC disclosure data (H-1B/H-1B1/E-3 LCA, PERM), OFLC prevailing wage data, USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub, E-Verify participating employers. Data loaded: LCA FY2024–FY2026, PERM, USCIS Data Hub, OFLC wages; updated 2026-10-03. Employers are matched by name, so records of companies with similar names can occasionally be mixed up. This is general information, not legal advice — talk to an immigration attorney about your case.