PDF versionJob Summary
This position is located in San Juan, Puerto Rico with the Office of Construction and Facilities Management and serves as an entry-level Civil Engineer, Recent Graduate receiving developmental assignments to prepare for higher level duties.
Major Duties
The purpose of this position is to provide technical assistance to the supervisor or senior engineer in progressively responsible assignments for a segment of a complex project as well as specific general engineering duties. The training is intended to build upon and enhance the knowledge, skills and abilities previously obtained through higher education and experience, requiring a high degree of analytical ability and engineering knowledge pertinent to the needs of the Office of Construction and Facilities Management.
The incumbent will assist in providing professional construction management engineering services and conduct daily reviews to ensure that provisions of the construction contract are completed within the targeted timeline and within budget. The incumbent will also assist in providing professional oversight and/or project management for construction or maintenance efforts. Performs scheduling and layout of operations and inspection and surveillance of materials, methods and equipment used in construction plans and conduct projects according to clear and specified objectives. The incumbent will also conduct site visits and assist engineers in ensuring construction is conducted in accordance with established specifications.
This is an excepted service, developmental experience appointment expected to last at least 1 year under the VA Pathways Recent Graduates Program. The VA will require the selected applicant to complete a Participant Agreement in which it shall document the anticipated start and end dates for this developmental appointment.
The agency may noncompetitively convert a Recent Graduate who is a U. S. citizen to a term or permanent appointment in the competitive service, as long as the Recent Graduate successfully completes the VA's 1 year developmental program and meets the OPM Qualification Standards for the targeted occupational series. The incumbent provides professional civil engineering expertise in reviewing, inspecting and certifying the work performed for compliance with code requirements. Provides staff support in constructing, renovating, or modernizing structures such as medical facilities, cemeteries, nursing homes, clinics, etc. Assignments consist of specific and varied tasks designed to orient the incumbent to the practical application of engineering principles and theories in a large-scale construction work setting. Most assignments are completed and carried out under the supervision or observation of a senior engineering staff member.
Work schedule: Required to work Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
Compressed/Flexible Schedule: May be available.
Telework: Not available.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description Title/PD#: Civil Engineer (Recent Graduate)/81922A
The full performance level of this position is GS-13. At the lower grades, you will perform similar duties but under closer supervision.
Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.
Relocation Expenses: Not Authorized.
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required.
Physical Demands: The work requires regular and recurring field inspections that are completed on a day-to-day basis. Inspections require the physical ability to walk over rough terrain, crawl, and climb. The incumbent is subjected to constant noise from equipment which sometimes makes it difficult to hear. The incumbent must also be capable of working in conditions that have abnormal levels of dust and possible exposure to adverse weather conditions. Work within the construction area is hazardous and requires wearing a hard hat at all times.
Work Environment: The work does require regular and recurring high levels of noise, unpleasant odors, and exposure to adverse weather conditions.
Qualifications
RECENT GRADUATE PROGRAM:
· Recent graduates must have completed, within the previous two years, a qualifying associates, bachelor's, master's, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution. · Veterans unable to apply within two years of receiving their degree, due to military service obligation, have as much as six years after degree completion to apply.
Basic Requirement for Engineer: A. Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (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. Degree must be completed by May 2018.
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 professional 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:
1. Professional registration or licensure - Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT), 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.
2. Written Test - Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination, or any other written test required for professional registration, by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico.
3. 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 A above. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program.
4. Related curriculum - Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field may be accepted in lieu of a 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 the basic requirement above, to qualify for the GS-7 position you must also meet one of the qualification requirements listed below: Specialized Experience: 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. To qualify based on your work experience, your resume must describe at least one year of experience which prepared you to do the work in this job. One year of specialized experience which includes assisting in providing professional construction management engineering services and experience related to preparing portions of conventional engineering plans, designs, and/or design specifications; interpreting and explaining basic computations and calculations.
OR
Education: One full year of graduate level education in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as Engineering. OR Superior Academic Achievement: Successful completion (or completion no later than May 2018) of all the requirements for a bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A.). In order to be creditable under this provision, Superior Academic Achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled such as that identified in Education above. Superior Academic Achievement is based on: (1) Class Standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses;
OR
(2) Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) - Applicants must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on your official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.;
OR
(3) Honor Society Membership - Applicants may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achsnatl.org/). Grade point averages will be rounded to one decimal point. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0, and 2.94 will round to 2.9. NOTE: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) was taken on a pass/fail or similar basis, your S.A.A. claim must be based on class standing or membership in an honor society and you must provide evidence of your class standing or honor society membership with your application. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
Building and ConstructionCivil EngineeringComplianceConstruction, Structure 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; religions; 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
Pay Range
$54,438.00 - $67,409.00