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Civil Engineer (Geotechnical), GS-0810-11 (Direct Hire-GEB)

Department of the Interior
Bureau of Reclamation
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The vacancy announcement has been extended, and is scheduled to close on 08/29/2019. The cut off dates are 03/04/2019, 04/15/2019, 05/14/2019, 06/17/2019, 07/16/2019 and 08/07/2019.

Reclamation is seeking a career professional looking for an opportunity to capitalize on his/her expertise as a Civil Engineer (Geotechnical). You can make a difference in the West by assisting in meeting increasing water demands while protecting the environment.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
02/08/2019 to 08/29/2019
Salary
$88,442 to - $104,363 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Location
Few vacancies in the following location:
Denver, CO
FEW vacancies
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Travel is for site visits and meeting attendance.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Announcement number
BR-DO-2019-033
Control number
523888900

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This position will be filled under the Office of Personnel Management's Direct-Hire Authority and is open to All United States Citizens and U.S. Nationals. Veterans’ Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applications do not apply. Qualified veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position.

Duties

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-Responsible for detailed planning, development, and completion of assigned geotechnical engineering design and analysis projects, especially embankment dams.

-Assigns, prepares, or directs studies for embankment dams, earth fill structures, and structure foundations in connection with construction and performance problems.

-Initiates and prepares correspondence to the field and to outside agencies regarding the assigned geotechnical projects; contacts engineers in other groups for the purpose of coordinating data and information to be incorporated into the assigned project.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship or U.S. National
  • Suitable for Federal Employment, determined by background investigation
  • You must submit resume and supporting documentation (See How to Apply)
  • You must meet specialized experience requirements; (See Qualifications)
  • Submit transcript(s) to verify education requirements

You must meet all qualification requirements by the reporting date.  If a degree is not yet completed but will be by the reporting date (June, 2019), you MUST provide current transcripts with your application AND indicate on your resume and/or transcripts your anticipated graduation date.  Official transcripts that provide proof of qualifying education must be provided no later than June 30, 2019.

You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: Applications must first meet the Basic Education Qualification Requirements listed below:

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

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:

1. 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.

2. 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.

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 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.

4. 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.)
 
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT: In addition to meeting the Basic Education Qualification Requirements, applicants must have additional specialized experience as defined below:

DEFINITION OF SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE:  To meet specialized experience, your resume must describe experience that demonstrates the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities as defined below:

GS-11: One year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal Government. Specialized experience for this position includes preparation of designs, analysis, layouts, and preparation of construction documents for one or more of the following:  embankment dams, tailings dams, waste impoundments, foundations for concrete dams, levees, or underground excavation support.  In addition, the applicant should have experience in preparing technical reports, gathering and interpreting site geotechnical data, and developing and/or applying geotechnical computer programs. 

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.

SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE: Applicants may also qualify on the basis of education as follows:

GS-11: Three years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

Education

This position has a mandatory education requirement; you must furnish a copy of your transcript of college work completed (unofficial copy is acceptable). Transcripts must include the name of the college or university. Non-submission will result in you being rated not qualified for the position.

Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, applicants must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs.

Additional information

***This is an open continuous vacancy announcement opening on 02/08/2019 and closing on 04/08/2019. Applicants will be referred periodically throughout the announcement period, at any time a vacancy becomes available. The initial cut-off date for referral consideration is March 04, 2019 and thereafter, as vacancies occur. ***

Would you enjoy working on major embankment dam and water resource projects with senior geotechnical engineers at Reclamation?  Responsibilities include performing engineering services such as slope stability, seepage, and other geotechnical analyses, providing support for risk analysis, and preparation of design drawings and specifications.

The selected candidate(s) will have opportunities to work on a wide variety of project types. Although we predominantly perform dam safety evaluations and designs, we also provide geotechnical expertise for canals, pumping stations, buildings, bridges, roads, retaining walls, significant excavations, pipelines, and other civil projects.

LOCATION: Technical Services Center, Geotechnical Services Division, Geotechnical Engineering Groups, Lakewood, CO.

Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be authorized. The selectee(s) for the vacancy, if otherwise eligible and qualified, may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive to the selectee(s) of this vacancy will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed.

DOI uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify.

This position is designated as a NON-SENSITIVE position. It requires a fully completed and favorable adjudicated Low Risk Background Investigation (T1 (NACI)) that is current.  This is a condition of employment.

The Bureau of Reclamation has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. For more information visit: http://www.sss.gov.
 
Equal Employment Opportunity:  The United States Government does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, disability and genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, or other non-merit factor.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Human Resources (HR) will review resumes and transcript(s) if applicable, to ensure applicants meet the basic qualification requirements. We will evaluate each applicant who meets the basic qualifications on the information provided in the assessment questionnaire. Applicants determined best qualified will be referred to the selecting official.

 Applicants will be further evaluated on the following "Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs)" through your resume and responses to the online questions.

(1) Knowledge of the theories, principles, practices, and techniques of civil and geotechnical engineering concepts in order to prepare designs and analyses of embankment dams and other civil engineering structures.

(2) Teamwork and interpersonal skills.

(3) Ability to communicate technical information orally and in writing.

Applicants must make a fair and accurate assessment of their qualifications. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is apparent in your description of experience, competencies, skills, and/or education/training OR that your resume/application is incomplete, you may be rated ineligible or your score may be lowered.


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