PDF versionJob Summary
The Bureau of Safety & Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) works to promote safety, protect the environment, and conserve resources offshore through vigorous regulatory oversight and enforcement. For information about our bureau go to:http://www.bsee.gov/
Major Duties
This position is located within the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), Gulf of Mexico Region (GOMR), District Field Operations (DFO), Well Operations Section in Houma, or Jefferson LA or Angleton, TX.
Major Duties:
At the full performance level (GS-12) the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following:
Engineering Analysis
- Reviews oil, gas and Sulphur operations’ applications for permit to drill, applications for Permit to Modify (APMs), End of Operations Reports (EORs) and Well Activities Reports (WARs), etc. for correctness and compliance.
- Conducts engineering analysis of drilling, and workover equipment and operations on the Outer Continental Shelf and prepares engineering reports. Reviews and analyzes inspection reports prepared by others to compile statistics and trends of inspection results to identify areas for closer study.
Inspections, Accident/Incident Investigations
- Collaborates with supervisor, plans and schedules inspections of the full range of offshore facilities, including those with a record of safety violations or with new, modified, and advanced facilities, systems or components with no inspection precedents. Works with other district engineers to develop strategies for inspections.
- Conducts inspections as a team leader involving the full range of operations such as drilling, workover/completion, plugging and abandonment, environmental quality, hydrogen sulfide operations and activities on the OCS.
- Conducts or leads investigations of accidents involving offshore facilities or operations, including major, unusual or unprecedented in nature involving fires or explosions or severe disasters involving violations of law.
Compliance Reviews
- Conducts reviews of Incidents of Non-Compliance (INCs) for the purpose of recommending compliance reviews for possible civil penalties. Initiates compliance reviews and drafts reports.
- Resolves and completes inspections involving issues, referred by lower-level inspectors or engineers for which findings and decisions may serve as technical references or precedents and become the basis for regional and/or headquarters procedural or regulatory changes. Testifies at judicial hearings involving criminal penalties and sanctions.
Training
- Receives classroom and on-the-job training in oil, gas, or other mineral safety and environmental requirements. Attends selected training seminars, meetings, or other organizational activities.
When filled at the GS-05 or 07 level, the incumbent will perform the duties of the position under closer supervision than that described in the GS-12 position. The incumbent will be expected to gradually assume more complex duties and to work with greater independence until the level of performance described above is achieved.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SOME ENGINEERS: Occasional field visits to on-shore production facilities or offshore installations may require extended periods of walking, standing, bending, stooping, and climbing during the visit.
WORK ENVIRONMENT: Work is typically performed in an office environment with occasional field visits to on-shore production facilities or offshore installations. During field visits, some exposure to heavy equipment, chemicals and other potentially hazardous situations may occur. The incumbent is required to wear hard hats, safety glasses as part of the required personal protective equipment and take other safety precautions to mitigate any dangerous exposure.
BSEE has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.
Special Salary Rate Information: GS-05: $40,653 – $52,851 per annum. GS-07: $50,356 - $65,459 per annum. First time hires to the federal government typically start at the beginning salary in the range for their respective grade level.
Relocation expenses are not authorized. Travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will not be paid. Any travel, transportation, and relocation expenses associated with reporting for duty in this position will be the responsibility of the selected employee.
Security Clearance Required: You will be required to obtain and maintain a Public Trust Background Investigation if you are selected and hired for this position.
All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the vacancy announcement
This vacancy may be used to fill additional positions as vacancies become available.
Qualifications
To qualify for this position, you must meet the (1) Basic Educational Requirements AND (2) Specialized Experience for the grade to which you are applying. (Educational requirement can be met within 9 months of graduation) Note: You must submit your transcripts or other verification documents to verify that you meet the educational requirement. Failure to provide transcripts will result in you receiving an "Ineligible" rating.
(1) Basic Educational Requirement:
0881 Petroleum Engineer:
Please Note: This position requires specific educational coursework to qualify. You MUST provide transcripts in order to verify that the educational requirements have been met. **Students who expect to complete qualifying education within 9 months from the closing date of this announcement are eligible for consideration for this position**
You must meet the description in either A or B below to qualify for this position
A.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 must be demonstrated by one of the following: Professional registration or licensure. Written Test. Specified academic courses. Related curriculum. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following listed in the link below: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/petroleum-engineering-series-0881/ 2)
Applicants who meet the basic education requirements are fully qualified for the GS-5 grade level.
GS-7 Specialized Experience:
To qualify for the GS-7, you must meet either a, b or c described below:
A.Education: You may substitute education (education that is directly related) for experience at the GS-07 level if you have achieved: One year of progressively higher level graduate level education.
Superior Academic Achievement at the baccalaureate level in an engineering program (For more info: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4f)OR
Successful completion of a 5-year program of study of at least 160 semester hours leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering. B.Specialized Experience:
To qualify for the GS-07, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: 1) assisting with routine engineering assignments; 2) assisting in the maintenance of computer programs and databases utilized in engineering evaluations; 3) assisting with the compilation, analysis, and interpretation of basic engineering data.
-OR-
C.Appropriate Combinations of Graduate Education and Professional Experience: A combination of graduate level education and specialized experience that totals 100% of the requirement for the GS-07. OR
Applicants with an engineering bachelor’s degree who have appropriate experience as a technician equivalent to grade GS-5 may have such experience credited for grade GS-7 only on a month-for-month basis up to a maximum of 12 months. NOTE: This position requires a positive education requirement. Applications must provide transcripts in order to verify that the educational requirement has been met. This information must be received by the closing date of the announcement. Failure to provide this information will result in your receiving an “INELIGIBLE” rating.
Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualification Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions and is available at OPM's website:https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/num-ndx.aspAll qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
Pay Range
$40,653.00 - $65,459.00