Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

Engineering Technician (Civil) Design

Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has Engineering Technician (Civil) Design positions available in Western Federal Lands Highway Division (WFLHD) in Vancouver, Washington. Projects occur primarily on Federal Lands managed by other Federal agencies (e.g., National Park Service & U.S. Forest Service) & include multi-state areas.

This establishes an open continuous, NTE 6 months, announcement for Engineering Technician (Civil) Design. We will review applications on an as needed basis.

Overview

Help
Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
04/21/2020 to 10/21/2020
Salary
$46,156 to - $88,801 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 07 - 11
Location
Many vacancies in the following location:
Vancouver, WA
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Position involves travel.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time - Full Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
FHWA.WFL-2020-0032
Control number
566124400

Duties

Help

As an Engineering Technician (Civil) Design, you will:

  • Be a part of a cross-functional team that is responsible for the design of highway and bridge projects from the preliminary design stage through completion of the plans, specifications, and estimate package.
  • Establish the line and grade for proposed roadway alignments, determine location and size of drainage structures, develop erosion control and traffic control plans, and determine need and location for guardrail and other safety countermeasures.
  • Assemble plans package, including information from other technical disciplines, and specifications package, including developing project specific requirements.
  • Compute quantities and prepare engineer’s estimates.
  • Prepare exhibits, diagrams, and data for permit applications and public meetings.
  • Develop construction schedules to determine contract time.
  • Prepare a variety of written documents including trip reports, meeting minutes, and responses to project review comments.
  • Participate in cost comparison studies such as value engineering and value analysis studies.
  • Prepare data and documentation for use by contractors and contract administration personnel.
  • Participate in field reviews, partner meetings, and public meetings.

The ideal candidate is a design engineering technician with experience working both independently and with multi-discipline teams in developing, monitoring, and adhering to the design, budget, and schedule for assigned roadway construction projects, providing technical assistance from initial scoping through construction support, and addressing design engineering issues with a wide range of external contacts.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S.Citizen and eligible for consideration.
  • You must meet specialized experience to qualify.
  • Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
  • Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

  • SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
  • GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel.  A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
  • TIME-IN-GRADE: Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions contained in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
  • PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
  • DEU REQUIREMENTS: Applicants selected under delegated examining procedures may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet either the education or experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.

To qualify for the GS-07 on Experience, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-06,  it must include:

  • Experience assisting others perform simple projects or portions of projects, such as developing Plans Specifications and Estimates (PS&E) packages or performing quantity computations. 

To qualify for the GS-07 on Education alone, you must have at least 1 year of graduate-level education.

You can also qualify based on a combination of graduate level education and experience. This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts provided with your application, education must be directly related.

To qualify for the GS-09 on Experience, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-07, it must include:

  • Experience performing a variety of highway design technician activities such as developing portions of Plans, Specifications, and Estimates (PS&E) packages, identifying appropriate bid items, performing quantity computations, developing summary tables for project plans and price estimates, selecting and assembling special contract requirements (SCRs), or developing critical path diagrams for determination of construction contract time.

Please note that this specialized experience requirement can be met by qualifying experience at the second lower grade level (GS-7), since no intervening GS-8 level positions exist in the normal line of progression for this occupation in this organization/location.

Time in grade requirements for the GS-9 position can be met by experience at the second lower grade level (GS-7), since no GS-8 level positions exist in the normal line of progression for this occupation in this organization/location.

To qualify for the GS-09 on Education alone, you must have:

At least 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or have been awarded a master's or equivalent graduate degree.

You can also qualify based on a combination of graduate education and experience. This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts provided with your application, education must be directly related.

To qualify for the GS-11, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-09, it must include:

  • Experience providing design services, on a team in the development of highway improvement projects to reconstruct or rehabilitate highways or local roads (e.g., developing Plans, Specifications, and Estimates (PS&E) packages and layout drawings for highway designs).
  • Experience using highway-design software programs, including Computer-Aided Design (CADD) software and engineer’s estimating software.

Please note that this specialized experience requirement can be met by qualifying experience at the second lower grade level (GS-9), since no intervening GS-10 level positions exist in the normal line of progression for this occupation in this organization/location.

Time in grade requirements for the GS-11 position can be met by experience at the second lower grade level (GS-9), since no GS-10 level positions exist in the normal line of progression for this occupation in this organization/location.

You can also qualify based on a combination of higher level graduate education and experience. This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts provided with your application, education must be directly related.

NOTE: Graduate education or an internship meets the specialized experience required above GS-5 only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. One full year of graduate education meets the requirements for GS-7. Two full years of graduate education or a master's degree meets the requirements for GS-9. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended.

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.

For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link:  https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within six months of closing date of the announcement. Graduation transcript must be received before start date.

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

Additional information

Displaced employees may be eligible for ICTAP or CTAP priority consideration. For more information, please review the OPM Employee's Guide to Career Transition.

EEO STATEMENT: The Department of Transportation (DOT) maintains a model federal work environment that is free of discrimination. DOT ensures equal employment opportunity for employees and applicants for employment, regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), genetic information, age, disability, sexual orientation, or protected activity.

This vacancy may be used by any DOT agency to fill similar positions within 90 days.

This announcement will be opened continuously for 6 months.  Given our continuing need for professionals in this field, we will routinely review applications and refer the top candidates for potential interviews multiple times during the open period of the announcement. Following these dates, we will contact qualified applicants to schedule interviews. We will give equal consideration to all applications we receive.

How you will be evaluated

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

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/ application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level. 


To compete with U.S. Citizens:  If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be placed in one of four categories: Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze, which is based upon your responses to the vacancy questions. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference that have provided supporting documents will receive selection priority over non-veterans. The top rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position.


To compete with other competitive status government employees: If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be scored based on your responses to the vacancy questions. The top rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. If referred, all relevant documents including performance appraisals and awards submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the hiring official for review.

Eligible Federal employees also seeking consideration for noncompetitive reassignment for this position, must indicate interest in the assessment. In eligibility question 14: select Yes/Other/Former Incumbency of a Position brought into the Competitive Service. Noncompetitive federal candidates must have competitive status on a SF-50, meet minimum qualifications, have served at the same grade or higher, and held or exceeded the promotion potential of this position.

All applicants:  Your application will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. The answers you select in the on-line process must be substantiated in your application package.  If upon review, it is determined that your described work history, competencies, and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be updated on your behalf or you may not be referred to the selecting official. Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers. The Automated Staffing Office is ultimately responsible for determining your final rating.


To preview questions please click here.

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.