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Civil Engineer

Department of Agriculture
Forest Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is being concurrently announced under Pathways Recent Graduate program as announcement number 21-NCH-MRS-810-57-RG. Current federal employees may apply to both announcements. This position may be filled at the GS-05 or GS-07 grade level with promotion potential to the GS-09.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
04/06/2021 to 04/12/2021
Salary
$35,265 to - $56,790 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 5 - 7
Locations
Many vacancies in the following locations:
Porterville, CA
Harrisburg, IL
Bedford, IN
Albuquerque, NM
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
9
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
21-NCH-MRS-810-FS-LD
Control number
597501500

Duties

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  • Conducts preliminary surveys and site investigations to obtain baseline and field data on soils, topography, drainage, existing structures and utilities, and feasible layout of proposed roads, facilities or structures in relation to terrain.
  • Prepares design criteria for smaller or less complex portions of conventional roads, facilities, utility systems, or structures.
  • Prepares completed road designs involving drainage structures, base and surfacing analysis, and special structures using basic survey data.
  • Supervises inspection of construction operations for compliance with intent of design and specifications; interprets plans and specifications; confers with contractor representatives to resolve differences.
  • Computes quantities and makes cost estimates based on cost data and knowledge of project, terrain, and climate.
  • Plans and conducts civil engineering projects according to clear and specified objectives.
  • Develops programs for maintenance of facilities, which includes determination of necessity for, feasibility of, and extent of work required.
  • Observes and investigates construction at all stages to identify problems, take timely action to change designs within delegated authority, or recommend changes to solve problems.
  • Participates in field surveys and investigations of existing facilities and utility systems to ensure that maintenance and repair schedules and procedures conform to safety, health, and regulatory requirements
  • Investigates need for and prepares engineering data for change orders, considering conditions at work site, field measurements and computations, and local prices, sometimes discussing and working out details with contractor personnel.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • Successful completion of one year probationary period, unless previously served.
  • Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov
  • A mobility agreement may be required. You may be reassigned or relocated to any geographical location where your services are needed as determined by management.
  • This may be a bargaining unit position represented by the National Federation of Federal Employees, IAMAW.

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.

Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary.

Basic Requirement:
  1. 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
  1. 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.)
In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education in the amounts listed below.

Specialized Experience Requirement:

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 the GS-07: Applicants must have one full year of graduate level education (coursework directly related to position being filled); OR Superior Academic Achievement (click the link to determine if you are eligible: http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp); OR successful completion of a 5-year program of study of at least 160 semester hours leading to a bachelors degree in engineering; OR one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 level; OR an appropriate combination of graduate level education and specialized experience. Professional engineering experience for grades GS-07 and above is defined as non-routine engineering work that required and was characterized by (1) professional knowledge of engineering; (2) professional ability to apply such knowledge to engineering problems; and (3) positive and continuing development of professional knowledge and ability.

Examples of specialized experience are: Performed basic engineering analyses/evaluations of potential safety regulation deficiencies; interpreted/evaluated test conditions and results; assisted in designing/developing routine construction drawings/specifications for projects; used standard tables/formulas to perform engineering calculations; coordinated testing requirements/parameters; assisted with site visits to ensure construction was in compliance with established contract specifications; applied/adapted a variety of standard computation and analysis methods, including the use of statistical and graphics methods to present engineering data; assisted in gathering data by performing basic surveys/investigations.

Please note that Superior Academic Achievement can only be applied if you have graduated or completed (or expect to complete within 9 months) all the requirements for a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENT GS-07 ONLY: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. This requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement

Education

This position has a positive education requirement, as outlined above under basic qualifications. The term positive education requirement refers to an Office of Personnel Management (OPM) determination that the duties of a scientific, technical, or professional position cannot be performed by an individual that does not have the prescribed minimum education. For additional information on the qualification standards for the 0810 series, visit the OPM Qualifications Standard found at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf

These positions are located in the following locations: BU=Bargaining Unit; NON BU= Non Bargaining Unit

Positions in the following location are full performance GS-09 and NON-BU eligible: Bedford, IN and Albuquerque, NM,
For additional information about the duties of these positions, please contact:
Brad Lidell at at Richard.Lidell@usda.gov for Bedford, IN
Margaret OKeefe at peggy.okeefe@usda.gov for Albuquerque, NM

Positions in the following location are full performance GS-09 and BU eligible: Porterville, CA, Harrisburg, IL, Sheridan, WY, Santa Fe, NM and Taos, NM.
For additional information about the duties of these positions, please contact:
Marcos Rios at marcos.rios@usda.gov for Porterville, CA
Laura Lecher at laura.p.lecher@usda.gov for Harrisburg, IL
Jason Ruybal at jason.ruybal@usda.gov for Sheridan, WY.
Albert Martinez at albert.j.martinez@usda.gov for Santa Fe or Taos, NM

Selecting the "Location Negotiable after Selection" option in addition to selecting your preferred specific duty locations, implies your willingness to accept positions to alternative duty locations that may or may not have been indicated in this announcement. Selecting this duty location option may increase your chances of receiving an offer.

For additional information, please email intern@fs.fed.us

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL) or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.

Veterans who are preference eligible or who have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after three years or more of continuous active service are eligible for consideration under the Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA).

Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) provides current or former temporary and term employees the opportunity to compete for permanent competitive service positions. Individuals must have more than 24 months of service without a break between appointments of two or more years and the last temporary or term appointment must have been with the Forest Service. Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better. Part-time and intermittent service will be credited only for time actually worked. Non-pay status such as leave without pay is credited for up to six months in a calendar year; anything beyond six months is not credited. Applicants are responsible for providing sufficient information/documentation to determine if the 24 month criteria is met.

For more information on applying under special hiring authorities such as the Resource Assistant Program (RAP) and Public Land Corps (PLC), explore the different Hiring Paths on the USAJOBS website

PROMOTION POTENTIAL: If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied or guaranteed.

GOVERNMENT HOUSING: May be available.

DAYCARE AVAILABILITY: Forest Service daycare facilities are not available.

PROMOTION POTENTIAL: If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed.

RECRUITMENT/RELOCATION INCENTIVE: Recruitment or Relocation Incentive may be authorized. Final determination will be made at the time of job offer.

TELEWORK: This position may be eligible to telework up to four days per week, based upon the duties of the position. This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements.

How you will be evaluated

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

You will be evaluated based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the experience, education, and training you described in your application package, as well as the responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine the degree to which you possess the competencies listed below:

  • Building and Construction
  • Civil Engineering
  • Manages and Organizes Information


Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position.

If you meet the qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified, you will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Noncompetitive candidates and applicants under some special hiring authorities must meet minimum qualifications to be referred.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating may be lowered to more accurately reflect the submitted documentation. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action.

To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11081681

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