LMR Performance Engineer

About Harris County and Universal Services

Harris County Universal Services (Universal Services) is transforming the way the County does business and seeking a Land Mobile Radio (LMR) Engineer to join our team.

Universal Services is the enterprise IT solutions center for the departments and offices of Harris County, providing Information Technology, Public Safety and Justice Technologies, 311 Constituent Engagement Services, Fleet Services, and Records and Information Governance Services.

Harris County is the third largest and most diverse county in the nation, with a population of more than 4.7 million. Harris County Commissioners Court, the County’s governing body, directs a budget of more than $4 billion providing essential services including flood control, infrastructure, healthcare, housing, and justice administration.

This is a great time to join Universal Services as we enhance critical services to Harris County residents and internal customers.

The Land Mobile Radio (LMR) Performance Engineer is responsible for the configuration, monitoring, maintenance, and operational integrity of Harris County’s Motorola digital trunked radio system. This role ensures the availability and reliability of land mobile radio (LMR) services for first responders and public safety users.

This position requires in-depth knowledge of Motorola public safety radio systems, IP networking, RF propagation, encryption, and in-building coverage systems. The successful candidate will play a lead role in troubleshooting, maintaining system performance, coordinating upgrades, and supporting interoperability across more than 50 regional partner agencies.

• Administer a Motorola ASTRO® 25 system, including zone controllers, prime site equipment, site controllers, RF sites (simulcast and ASR), and MCC 7500 dispatch consoles and logging recorder interfaces.
• Monitor system performance using Motorola-provided tools (e.g., Unified Event Manager, Performance Management, System Health Monitor, Unified Network Configurator).
• Manage system alarms and coordinate escalation with Motorola’s System Support Center (SSC) as needed.
• Coordinate and perform life‑cycle maintenance activities such as firmware upgrades, software refreshes, Windows Server patching on core and prime site infrastructure, and routine fail‑over testing of system redundancy.
• Collaborate with Motorola Technical Support and Field Services during SR roll outs and major network enhancements.
• Participate in testing and fail‑over exercises to verify system redundancy and reliability.
• Act as Tier III support for radio system outages, degraded performance, interference issues, and encryption/key management problems.
• Analyze RF issues using field test equipment (spectrum analyzers, service monitors, test sets) and software tools (Radio Management, Coverage Analysis).
• Perform root cause analysis and produce after‑action documentation for major system events.
• Assist in managing radio fleet‑map templates, talk group configurations, and subscriber profiles through Motorola Radio Management or CPS platforms.
• Support radio programming initiatives, encryption key loading (KVL 4000, KMF management), and template distribution.
• Work with the engineering team on capacity planning, frequency coordination, and coverage improvement initiatives.
• Maintain accurate and up‑to‑date technical documentation including IP addressing schemes, VLAN assignments, topology diagrams, change management records, and SR implementation logs.
• Ensure compliance with best practices such as Motorola R56 grounding and site standards.
• Interface with system users (dispatch centers, field personnel, IT staff) to resolve issues, collect feedback, and provide guidance.
• Develop internal SOPs and training documentation for junior staff and system users.
• Participate in project teams for system expansion, site upgrades, or integration of new technologies (e.g., LTE interoperability).
• Participate in on‑call rotation and support emergency operations during major events or disasters.
• Serve as a technical liaison to Harris County departments, municipal partners, and outside agencies.
• Support…