UPSC Recruitment 2026 (Advt No. 10/2026) — Assistant Executive Engineer, Research Officer & Other Posts, 34 Vacancies

The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has invited online applications for 34 vacancies across 7 specialist posts — Assistant Executive Engineer (Civil and Electronics), Assistant Director (Engineering), Superintendent Translation, Research Officer, Horticulture Development Officer and Soil Conservation Assistant — under Advertisement No. 10/2026. Engineering, law, science and horticulture graduates and postgraduates with relevant work experience are eligible. Applications close on 28 August 2026 for most posts, and on 4 September 2026 for the two posts specific to the Union Territory of Ladakh.

Who Should Apply

• Civil or Electronics/Telecom engineering degree holders with 2 years' supervisory experience — Assistant Executive Engineer (Civil/Electronics), 10 posts
• Civil or Mechanical engineering graduates with 2 years' experience — Assistant Director (Engineering), 1 post
• Law postgraduates, or law graduates with 4 years' relevant experience — Superintendent Translation (Hindi Branch), 1 post
• Master's degree holders in Geography, Geology or Geoinformatics with 5 years' research or teaching experience — Research Officer, 11 posts
• Bachelor's degree holders in Horticulture or Agriculture Science — Horticulture Development Officer, 4 posts (UT of Ladakh)
• Graduates in Agriculture, Horticulture, Soil Science or Agricultural Engineering — Soil Conservation Assistant, 7 posts (UT of Ladakh)

Eligibility & Age Limit

Each post under this advertisement has its own qualification and experience bar — none of these are entry-level fresher posts. Assistant Executive Engineer (Civil/Electronics) needs a relevant engineering degree plus 2 years of supervisory experience; Assistant Director (Engineering) needs a Civil/Mechanical engineering degree plus 2 years' experience; Superintendent Translation needs a Master's in Law (or a Bachelor's in Law with 4 years' experience); Research Officer needs a Master's in Geography, Geology or Geoinformatics with 5 years of research or teaching experience; and the two Ladakh-specific posts need a Bachelor's in Horticulture, Agriculture or an allied engineering/science field. Age limits also vary by post: Assistant Director is capped at 30 years (unreserved), while most other posts allow up to 35 years (unreserved), rising to 38 years for OBC and 40 years for SC/ST candidates on the posts that state these figures. PwBD candidates get additional relaxation of up to 10 years on top of their category relaxation.

Salary & Pay Scale

Most posts — both Assistant Executive Engineer streams, Superintendent Translation, and Research Officer — carry 7th CPC Level 10 (₹56,100–1,77,500 basic pay matrix). Assistant Director (Engineering) is Level 7 (₹44,900–1,42,400), and Horticulture Development Officer / Soil Conservation Assistant are Level 8 (₹47,600–1,51,100). Actual in-hand pay will be higher once Dearness Allowance, HRA and other central government allowances are added on top of basic pay — exact in-hand figures aren't stated in the notification itself. [VERIFY exact in-hand pay for your specific posting location.]

Important Dates

Application Fee

₹25 for General/OBC/EWS male candidates. No fee for women candidates of any category, and for SC/ST/PwBD candidates. Fee is payable online only and is non-refundable once paid.

How to Apply

1. Register or log in at the UPSC Online Recruitment Application (ORA) portal, upsconline.nic.in/ora.
2. Select Advertisement No. 10/2026 and the specific post you are eligible for.
3. Fill in personal, educational and experience details exactly as per your certificates.
4. Upload your scanned photograph, signature and required documents in the specified format.
5. Pay the application fee online (if applicable) and submit before the post-specific deadline.
6. Save and print the confirmation page for your records.

How Are Candidates Selected

UPSC first shortlists applications against the eligibility criteria for each post. Where a post attracts a very large number of eligible applicants, a Recruitment Test is conducted, and only those who clear it move forward. All shortlisted (or recruitment-test-qualified) candidates then appear for a Personality Test/Interview, which is the deciding stage for most of these posts since there is no common written examination.

Why This Job Matters

UPSC direct-recruitment specialist posts are permanent, pensionable central government positions that run outside the annual Civil Services Examination cycle — they are a route into government service for engineers, scientists and subject specialists who may never sit the CSE. With only 34 vacancies spread across 7 niche posts, competition per post is typically far lower than mass-recruitment exams like SSC or the CSE, though the requirement for 2 to 5 years of relevant experience means this notification is aimed at experienced specialists, not fresh graduates.

The FreshersLike Take

Best fit: candidates who already hold the exact engineering, law or science postgraduate qualification plus the specific years of experience each post demands — this notification rewards specialists, not fresh graduates. Who should think twice: if you don't already meet the stated experience requirement (2 to 5 years, depending on post), you are not eligible to apply at all — there is no fresher-track equivalent here. Practical tip: since the interview is often the deciding stage, and lower-applicant posts may skip the recruitment test entirely, keep your experience certificates consistent with what you state in the application — a mismatch at document verification disqualifies otherwise-eligible candidates.

Documents Required

• Educational certificates (degree/PG mark sheets and certificates) for the qualification claimed
• Experience certificates matching the years and domain of experience required for the post
• Category certificate (SC/ST/OBC-NCL/EWS/PwBD), if claiming reservation or a fee concession
• Recent passport-size photograph and signature in the prescribed format
• Valid photo ID and proof of date of birth

Important Links

Common Questions

What is the last date to apply for UPSC Advt No. 10/2026?

28 August 2026 (18:00 Hrs) for all posts except the two Union Territory of Ladakh posts (Horticulture Development Officer and Soil Conservation Assistant), which close on 4 September 2026.

Is this the same as the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2026?

No. This is a separate direct-recruitment notification (Advertisement No. 10/2026) for 7 specialist posts, unrelated to the Civil Services Examination or Engineering Services Examination cycles.

Can a fresher apply for these posts?

Generally no. Every post under this advertisement requires 2 to 5 years of relevant post-qualification experience, so this notification does not target candidates straight out of college.

Is there a written exam for all posts?

Not necessarily. UPSC conducts a Recruitment Test only for posts where it receives a very large number of applications; otherwise selection goes straight to a Personality Test/Interview.

What is the application fee?

₹25 for General/OBC/EWS male candidates. Women candidates of all categories and SC/ST/PwBD candidates are exempt.

Can I apply for more than one post in this advertisement?

[VERIFY — check the notification PDF directly for whether applying to multiple posts within Advt No. 10/2026 is permitted, since this wasn't confirmed from the sources checked.]