CIVIL ENGINEER

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Department of Agriculture

Job Summary

THIS IS AN OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT. This type of announcement provides the Forest Service with a readily available source of applicants when vacancies occur. Eligibility and qualifications will be verified when there is a vacancy for the location and grade for which you applied. Information on specific locations where jobs are being filled and the dates when applications are due for these locations can be found at https://fsoutreach.gdcii.com/Outreach.

MajorDuties

  • The responsibilities listed below are at the full performance level.
  • Develop and modify civil engineering plans and specifications for new construction.
  • Prepare or supervise the preparation of special design specifications, cost estimates, and design packages for engineering contracts.
  • Evaluate design objectives, identify economic and efficient procedures for civil engineering projects.
  • Determine a project's costs, methods, techniques, material, and equipment for effectiveness in reaching the organization?s objectives.
  • Provide technical advice as the contracting officer's representative to ensure contract compliance on projects.
  • Interpret contracts for contractors in order to resolve problems relating to contract plans, specifications, and materials that would not result in changes to schedule or budget.
  • Participate with Contracting Officer in pre-construction meetings to review contracts, discuss any contractual issues and resolve any difficult and complex problems with contractors.
  • Confer with contractor's representatives about construction practices and procedures.
  • Inspect civil engineering projects to ensure safety standards, health and regulatory requirements are followed.

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards. Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary. Basic Requirements for All Professional Engineering Positions, 0800 Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics. OR Combination of education and experience -- college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering.

The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following: Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT)1, or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions. Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)2 examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A. Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor's degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.) In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education in the amounts listed below. Specialized Experience Requirement: For the GS-09: You must have 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree (coursework directly related to the position being filled); OR successful completion of a 5-year program of study of at least 160 semester hours leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering and 1 year of appropriate professional experience; OR a combination of superior academic achievement and 1 year of appropriate professional experience; OR one year of specialized professional engineering experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 level; OR or an appropriate combination of specialized experience and education (only graduate education in excess of 18 semester hours may be used to qualify applicants for this grade level).Examples of specialized experience for this position are: Assisted in the design and development of routine construction drawings and specifications for projects with straightforward technical characteristics; Assisted with site visits to ensure construction was conducted in accordance with established contract specifications; and/or Assisted in gathering data used to monitor the progress of contractors in achieving contract requirements and project milestones such as performing basic surveys and investigations to establish baseline data used to initiate a requirements review. For the GS-11: You must have 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree (coursework directly related to position being filled); OR one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 level; OR an appropriate combination of specialized experience and graduate level education (beyond what is required for a master's degree, i.e., more than 36 semester hours leading to a Ph.D.)Examples of specialized experience are: Monitored day-to-day performance of an engineering contract by reviewing drawings for accuracy and adequacy, and evaluated requests for routine design deviations; Prepared civil engineering design criteria for smaller or less complex projects, included portions of structures such as bridges, retained walls, or structural pavement sections; Planned and conducted engineering projects according to clear and specified objectives such as developed technical data on materials, sizes, dimensions, and quantities and costs of materials to be incorporated in formal specifications; and/or Performed routine engineering safety related assessments, such as compliance with existing Federal and State laws, and organization safety regulations. Professional engineering experience is defined as nonroutine engineering work that required and was characterized by (1) professional knowledge of engineering; (2) professional ability to apply such knowledge to engineering problems; and (3) positive and continuing development of professional knowledge and ability. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENT: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. This requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Pay Range

$52,905.00 - $83,210.00

More information...

End Date: 

Wednesday, September 30, 2020