FCC Recruiting Engineering Talent

The FCC has launched an Honors Engineer Program to attract engineering students and recent grads to the commission to get in on the front lines of the digital transformation.

The one-year program is seen as a potential training ground for future FCC engineers.

Chairman Ajit Pai has long advocated for adding more engineering expertise to the FCC's roster.

“The digital revolution is rapidly transforming virtually every aspect of American life,” said Pai. “And it’s changing the FCC’s work, too. Many of the issues we confront today are technically complex. That makes it all the more important to bring the best engineering talent to the Commission."

Among the areas the students could have a hand in include 5G, IoT, ATSC 3.0, technologies to help the disabled, and the new broadband satellite services the FCC is authorizing to provide new competition and close the digital divide.

The candidates will be vetted for "academic achievement, technical skills, engineering and extracurricular activities, and demonstrated interest in government service and/or the communications sector."

Those candidates can apply online at https://fcc.usajobs.gov/.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.