Job Summary

This position serves as a Design Engineer for the National Design Construction, and Soil Mechanics Center (NDCSMC), Conservation Engineering Division, in the Science and Technology (S&T) Deputy Area. The incumbent will serve as technical authority in the design of complex engineering practices and related specialty areas such as dams, pipes, storage structures and spillway structures. This position may be filled at the GS-13 or GS-14 level.

Major Duties

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. Time in grade: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. Basic Education Requirement: A. Degree: 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 B. 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 is demonstrated by one of the following: A) 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. B) 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. C) 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 "A" above. D) 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. In addition to meeting one of the Basic Requirements listed above, applicants must meet the following Minimum Qualifications Requirement in order to be considered: Specialized Experience: To qualify for the GS-13 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. This experience must include: 1) Performing design engineering work to develop designs, plans, or specifications for engineering jobs; 2) Performing the engineering review of engineering jobs developed by others; 3) Analyzing evolving design engineering technology including research results, theories, techniques, procedures, products or practices; 4) Advising personnel or partners on design aspects of engineering work; AND 5) Preparing reports which include analyses for management decision on engineering issues or situations. To qualify for the GS-14 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. This experience must include: 1) Providing authoritative technical guidance on engineering planning, design and construction of conservation practices that address natural resource; 2) Utilizing technical expertise in related fields (i.e. hydraulics, soil mechanics, engineering mechanics, structural analysis, environmental structure design, mathematics, etc.); 3) Identifying training needs of personnel and delivering training on both individual and group levels; and 4) Interpreting laws, regulations, policies, and rules in order to develop agency policy addressing design issues. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC FOR WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Note: There is no education substitution for specialized experience at the GS-13 or GS-14 level. For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=GS-PROF

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through Nationl 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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Pay Range

$98,336.00 - $151,061.00

More information...