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Interdisciplinary General Engineer / Architect

Department of Veterans Affairs
Office of the Secretary
VETERANS AFFAIRS, OFFICE OF CONSTRUCTION AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT (CFM)
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located at the VA's Office of Construction and Facilities Management in San Juan, PR.

PAY SCALE FOR RUS:

$103,409 - $134,435

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
01/30/2024 to 02/08/2024
Salary
$103,409 to - $134,435 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
San Juan, PR
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
RP-24-VSF-12294799-113-DHA
Control number
773640800

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.201) for this occupation.

Duties

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The non-supervisory Resident Engineer (RE) is a member of the Department of Veterans Affairs (OVA) Office of Construction and Facility Management (CFM) on-the-ground team for a construction project, typically stationed on site though in some cases manages remotely with regularly recurring site visits. The construction contracts are mostly Design-Bid-Build or Design­Build though there are cases where other contract types could be utilized for construction delivery. CFM is always the owner of the construction project and serves as Construction Agent for most projects, however CFM does partner with various Non-Department Federal Entity (NDFE - e.g. GSA, USACE, etc) to serve as Construction Agent within both the Leasing and Major construction programs, when required or in the best interest of OVA.

RE functions include supporting the Senior Resident Engineer (SRE) by participating in design management with the CFM Project Manager (PM) and VA Medical Center (MC) stakeholders, when applicable; monitoring various ongoing construction activities and schedule for conformance with contract requirements; overseeing civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, or architectural aspects of construction; supporting processing of easements, pertinent deeds, local code requirements, and restrictions; supporting coordination of various phases of construction with the VAMC Director or assigned representative and staff to minimize disruption to ongoing hospital activities and for overall patient and worker's safety on the construction site. The RE may participate in coordination of utility service tie-ins and outages to minimize disruption to ongoing operations.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
Position Description Title/PD#: Interdisciplinary General Engineer / Architect-136480

The full performance level of this position is GS-13

Telework: Not Available
Remote: Not Available
Compressed/Flexible Work Schedule: Available
Physical Requirements: The work is primarily sedentary, with occasional travel.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
  • Subject to a background/suitability investigation
  • Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
  • May serve a probationary period
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc.
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
  • Duty Travel may be up to 25 % or less.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, using experience only, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
Basic Requirements:
A. Engineering 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 manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.
2. Written Test - Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering 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 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.)
OR
1. Degree: Architecture or related field that included 60 semester hours of course work in architecture or related disciplines of which at least (1) 30 semester hours were in architectural design, and (2) 6 semester hours were in each of the following: structural technology, properties of materials and methods of construction, and environmental control systems.
OR
2. Combination of education and experience - college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the arts and sciences underlying professional architecture, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of architectural principles, methods, and techniques and their applications to the design and construction or improvement of buildings. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by at least one of the following:

  1. Related Curriculum: Degree in architectural engineering may be accepted as satisfying in full the basic requirements, provided the completed course work in architectural engineering provided knowledge, skills, and abilities substantially equivalent to those provided in the courses specified in paragraph A. The curriculum for a degree in either architecture or architectural engineering covers function, esthetics, site, structure, economics, mechanical-electrical, and other engineering problems related to the design and construction of buildings primarily (but not exclusively) intended to house human activities. The courses required for a degree in architecture generally place emphasis upon planning, esthetics, and materials and methods of construction, while the courses for an architectural engineering degree place equal or greater weight on the technical engineering aspects such as structural systems, mechanical systems, and the properties of materials. Because of this difference in emphasis, persons with degrees in architecture may have a preference for work assignments that offer greater opportunities for them to express their artistic and creative abilities. As a result, they may be more concerned with planning and design aspects of architecture, and persons with degrees in architectural engineering may be more engaged in aspects emphasizing technical engineering considerations.
  1. Experience: An applicant lacking a degree in architecture must have had l year of experience in an architect's office or in architectural work for each year short of graduation from a program of study in architecture. In the absence of college courses, 5 years of such experience is required. This experience must have demonstrated that the applicant has acquired a thorough knowledge of the fundamental principles and theories of professional architecture.
GS-13: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular skills and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience include: Experience with facility planning and development process needed to initiate and execute major construction projects and determine the sufficiency of various requests and proposals; experience using a wide range of engineering concepts, principles, practices and methods applicable to varied and complex problems, projects, or studies that may include diverse and engineering or other conditions; resources utilization and management, related to engineering projects; coordinating and managing a full range of construction projects; communicating both orally and in writing with peers, subordinates, management, and also contractors, manufactures and construction site personnel; and experience applying various engineering codes and standards related to engineering design.

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.

Education

There is no educational substitution for the GS-13 and GS-14 level. However, you must meet the basic education requirements. (transcripts required)

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/.

If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education.

Additional information

VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

The following will be communicated to applicants for VA employment in a testing designated position and will also be included in all VA vacancy announcements for such positions: All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drugs use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/.

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

How you will be evaluated

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

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Applicants will be referred in the order in which they were received.

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