(1) The Director of Transportation, with the approval of the Oregon Transportation Commission, shall appoint a chief engineer. The chief engineer shall be a registered civil engineer and shall be qualified by technical training as well as by practical experience.
(2) The chief engineer may designate persons within the Department of Transportation who have full authority to perform any duty required or permitted by law to be performed by the engineer.
(3) The director may authorize the employment by the chief engineer of such staff engineers, engineering and technical assistants and such other help that in the chief engineer’s judgment may be necessary. Compensation, travel allowance and other expenses shall be fixed by the chief engineer with the approval of the director.
(4) This section is subject to any applicable provision of the State Personnel Relations Law.