Jobs
Temporary Employment
Temporary and seasonal jobs are available at most state parks and recreation areas, with varying durations of employment to include more opportunities during our peak season. A variety of opportunities are available, including park attendants, lifeguards, office assistants, naturalists, maintenance workers, and grounds keepers.
All seasonal positions at Hanging Rock State Park are listed below. Not all of them are currently open for hiring. Please check the top of the park's web pages for a green alert that lists which job applications are currently being accepted by park staff. If there is no green alert, that means the park has no vacancies; visit our general Jobs page to find currently open positions at other state parks.
Seasonal Positions
Job Information
This position is 40 hours a week and requires working weekends and some holidays. The position will last 11 months.
The pay is $15 per hour.
Duties and Responsibilities
The person selected for this position will work with other General Utility Workers to ensure that the park's facilities are clean and maintained. This team performs daily cleanup of the restrooms, picnic area, campground, parking lots, and other public facilities.
In addition to daily cleaning, the person selected for this position will perform ground maintenance, including but not limited to: mowing, weed eating, and trail maintenance.
Requirements and Qualifications
The right person for this position should have a can-do attitude, be willing to learn, and must be able to interact with the general public in a positive manner. Most of the work completed in this position is performed outdoors, in all weather conditions. Applicants must be able to work outside in hot weather for extended periods of time.
Applicants must possess a valid driver's license and be 18 years of age or older.
Job Information
This position is 40 hours a week and will last 11 months. Schedule is generally Monday to Friday but may have exceptions for holidays and some weekends and evenings as needed, to cover the needs of the park.
The pay is $17 per hour.
Duties and Responsibilities
Duties include providing excellent customer service, helping visitors with questions about the park, making reservations and gift shop sales, answering the phone, working the front desk, light cleaning, and other general administrative duties, such as copying and entering data.
All training will be provided.
Requirements and Qualifications
The ideal candidate will be cheerful and helpful and have some customer service experience.
Job Information
This position works 32 to 40 hours a week and runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Weekday, weekend, and holiday work is required, with 8-hour workdays.
The pay is $17 per hour. In-park housing is available for a nominal fee.
Duties and Responsibilities
Lifeguards are responsible for maintaining vigilant watch over swimmers from the beach and diving platform at the lakefront swimming area at Hanging Rock State Park.
The employee will be responsible for enforcing swim area regulations, communicating with patrons and other guards, and performing proactive guarding and water rescues as needed. The employee is also responsible for maintaining cleanliness in swim area and bathhouse facilities.
The employee will be directly supervised by the chief lifeguard and park ranger.
Requirements and Qualifications
Lifeguards must hold a current American Red Cross or equivalent lifeguarding certification, including CPR/AED.
Applicant must not have any criminal convictions, beyond minor traffic violations.
Deadline to Apply
Applications must be submitted by March 31, 2025.
Job Information
This position is 40 hours a week and runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Weekday, weekend, and holiday work is required, with 8-hour workdays.
The pay is $19 per hour. In-park housing is available for a nominal fee.
Duties and Responsibilities
The Chief Lifeguard is responsible for effectively working with other lifeguards to ensure duties are carried out and that the lakefront swimming area is operated in a safe manner for employees and patrons.
Work involves observing of swimmers from positions on the swim beach and diving platform, performing proactive guarding and water rescues as needed, enforcing swim area regulations, coordinating in-service training with other guards, overseeing the daily cleaning schedule, managing lifeguard rotations, and most importantly, being a leader, being willing and able to communicate, and working alongside and supervising lifeguard staff.
The employee will be directly supervised by a park ranger.
Requirements and Qualifications
The Chief Lifeguard must hold a current American Red Cross or equivalent lifeguarding certification, including CPR/AED.
Applicant must not have any criminal convictions, beyond minor traffic violations.
Deadline to Apply
Applications must be submitted by March 31, 2025.
Job Information
This position is 40 hours a week and runs from May to September.
Weekend and holiday work is required. Work days are typically 8 hours with 1 hour lunch.
The pay is $17 per hour.
Duties and Responsibilities
This position is responsible for assisting park rangers with grounds, facility, and trail maintenance; educational and interpretive programs; and resource management projects. Tasks include:
- Assist with general park area and facility cleanup
- Assist with opening and closing routines of park gates and facilities
- Assist in supervising other seasonal employees, where applicable
- Assist rangers in or lead environmental education programs
- Interact and provide information and customer service to visitors
- Assist with mapping and treating invasive plant species
- Assist with trail maintenance and natural resource management projects
This position will use a two-way/VHF radio. The Park Technician may also conduct other duties as assigned.
Requirements and Qualifications
N/A
Job Information
This position is 40 hours a week and runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Weekday, weekend, and holiday work is required, with 8-hour workdays.
The pay is $15 per hour.
Duties and Responsibilities
This position is responsible for selling drinks and snacks and/or swim tickets at the refreshment stand/bathhouse area at Hanging Rock State Park.
The employee will operate a cash register, make change, keep inventory stocked, provide park visitors with information, and maintain the bathhouse area and restrooms in a clean and sanitary condition.
The employee will be directly supervised by a manager and a park ranger.
Requirements and Qualifications
Applicant must not have any criminal convictions, beyond minor traffic violations.
Deadline to Apply
Applications must be submitted by March 31, 2025.
Job Information
This position is 40 hours a week and runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Weekday, weekend, and holiday work is required, with 8-hour workdays.
The pay is $17 per hour.
Duties and Responsibilities
This position is responsible for the management of bathhouse facilities, including supervision of fulltime seasonal refreshment stand or bathhouse fee collectors.
The employee will assist park ranger staff with creating work schedules, keep inventory stocked and operations running smoothly, operate a computer-based cash register and make correct change, count day’s receipts and turn in all cash and reports to the park ranger, provide and maintain clean facilities like bathrooms and the bathhouse, demonstrate how to properly operate boats for the public for safe use, use a two-way radio system between lifeguards and park staff, and provide visitors with information about Hanging Rock State Park.
The employee will be directly supervised by a park ranger.
Requirements and Qualifications
Applicant must not have any criminal convictions, beyond minor traffic violations.
Deadline to Apply
Applications must be submitted by March 31, 2025.
Job Information
This position is 40 hours a week and runs from May to September. Weekday, weekend, and holiday work is required, with 8-hour workdays.
The pay is $18 per hour. Housing is available for this position.
Duties and Responsibilities
This position is responsible for: conducting and leading educational, interpretive, and requested programs in the park, local schools and the community; development of educational and interpretive programs and their support materials; developing and instructing programs for special events, and requested programs by groups (scouts, schools, etc.); marketing educational programs to targeted groups through development and distribution of materials (brochures, flyers); working with rangers to make weekly interpretive schedules; delivering extraordinary customer service to all park visitors; and assisting with maintenance tasks such as visitor center and bathroom cleaning, lawn maintenance, trash pick-up on trails and around buildings, and other park needs.
Requirements and Qualifications
Applicants must have the ability to: work, walk and hike outdoors for extended periods of time in all weather conditions; stand and walk from 2-8 hours per day; lift and carry 50 + lbs. for short periods.
Preferred education and skills includes: associate or bachelor’s degree in a natural science, education or related field or a combination of field experience and college level course work; teaching experience in a formal and/or informal educational setting; knowledge of local flora and fauna and history of the area; completed the North Carolina Environmental Educator Certificate or training equivalent; comfortable speaking in groups of all sizes and ages; can work independently; current CPR and AED, first aid certifications.
The employee will be directly supervised by the lead interpretive ranger.
Permanent Employment
All permanent job listings are posted through the North Carolina Office of State Human Resources Online Job Application System.
Please note that most permanent employment opportunities have a very short posting period of only a few days. As such, permanent employment opportunities are not posted in this page.
The Online Job Application System allows you to create a "Get Job Alerts" link that will notify you via email when a position matching your interests and skills becomes available.
To use the Online Job Application System, you will need to create an account in order to submit an application for employment. Sign in or create a new account through the "Sign In" button at the top right of the page. There is a link at the bottom of the pop-up box to create a new account.