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Engineering Technician (Civil)

Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has Engineering Technician (Construction) positions available in Central Federal Lands Highway Division (CFLD). 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 posting establishes an open continuous 12 month announcement. The first review of applications will be 15 days from the opening date, then applications will be reviewed as needed.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
08/24/2023 to 08/23/2024
Salary
$86,962 to - $125,685 per year

The salary varies by location. To review the salary range for each location see the 'Other Information' section.

Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Locations
Many vacancies in the following locations:
Clovis, CA
Grand Junction, CO
Lakewood, CO
Carson City, NV
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—The position may be eligible for telework. This is not a full-time telework position or approved as a remote work position.
Travel Required
76% or greater - Position involves extensive travel to provide on-site administration of construction contracts. Work is primarily accomplished in the field.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time - Full Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
12
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
FHWA.CFL-2023-0036
Control number
745178900

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Duties

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As an Engineering Technician (Civil), you will:

  • Be responsible for day-to-day project activity coordination with the client or cooperating agency representatives, state and county units, local municipalities, and other interested groups.
  • Administer the construction contract by providing staff and contractor direction and control to ensure that CFLHD projects are constructed according to plans and specifications, reflect the intent of the design, and serve the needs of the client/public.
  • Be responsible for the attainment of established construction specification requirements. Determine the necessity for issuance of directives and contract modifications to the contractor.
  • Maintain/monitor fiscal control relative to the execution of the construction contract.
  • Be responsible for the measurement/documentation of work completed on a daily basis as well as the preparation of monthly progress estimates, final estimates, and the engineering, administrative, and technical reports required by contract provisions and agency policy.

The ideal candidate for this position has experience inspecting and administering all phases of highway construction contracts. The target applicants are mid to late career hires. These positions are perfect for Engineering Technicians who thrive on working with contractors on highway construction projects.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen and eligible for consideration.
  • Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.
  • Submit applicable documentation early for open period review consideration.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

  • SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
  • BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You will be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding.
  • 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: Current Federal employees and non-competitive selectees may need to complete a 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).
  • TELEWORK ELIGIBILITY: This position may be eligible for occasional and/or regularly scheduled telework.  The number of telework days approved will be determined by your immediate supervisor or manager following the agency’s telework policy and guidance. If participating in the telework program, you will be required to sign a telework agreement detailing agency telework policy requirements, working conditions, and expectations for the position.
  • GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel.  A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
  • DRIVER'S LICENSE: You must have a valid state driver’s license and be fully qualified to operate a government-owned vehicle.
  • TRAVEL: The position involves a significant amount of travel away from your duty station for extended periods of time.  Travel may often be to remote locations. You must be willing to travel for extended periods of time, often to remote locations.
  • PHYSICAL CONDITIONS: The work requires some physical exertion such as bending, crouching, climbing, lifting, and walking long distances. In addition, you will be exposed to varying weather and terrain conditions.

Qualifications

Individual Occupational Requirements for series 0802 (for positions at GS-4 or equivalent and above): This series covers technical positions supervising, leading, or performing work involving applying a practical knowledge of the methods and techniques of engineering or architecture; and construction, application, properties, operations, and limitations of engineering systems, processes, structures, machinery, devices, and materials.

Examples of qualifying specialized experience include technical work in: drafting, surveying construction estimating, physical science, mathematics, aerospace, architecture, chemicals, electrical or mechanical systems, mining, petroleum, or nuclear systems.

Experience in a trade or craft may be credited as specialized experience when the work provided intensive knowledge of engineering principles, techniques, methods, and precedents. Examples are trade positions with substantial developmental, test, or design responsibilities such as:

  • Planner and estimator who analyzed designs for production purposes.
  • Instrument maker or model maker who performed design or development work on devices fabricated.

For more information refer to: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/engineering-technical-series-0802/

To determine which grade(s) you are eligible for, review the following grade specific details.  You will be asked questions as part of your application but make sure to verify how you meet this experience in your resume, and/or upload the applicable education documents, or you may be deemed ineligible.  

For the GS-12: On Experience, you must have at least one year of specialized experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-11 grade levelwhich included:

  • Experience as the person in charge or equivalent responsible for the administration and inspection of Federal, State or local highway construction projects that included major operations such as grading, drainage, bridge construction, retaining wall construction, traffic flow and maintenance, and recycled or conventional paving; AND
  • Experience leading the work of staff performing highway construction project/inspection activities; AND
  • Experience coordinating with partners and project stakeholders in order to resolve issues related to highway construction projects.

You cannot qualify based on education at the GS-12 level, you must have experience.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will also be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

  1. Engineering Technical Knowledge - Knowledge of the concepts, principles and methods required to provide technical assistance.
  2. Contracting - Knowledge of how to administer contract requirements in order to ensure that projects are constructed in accordance with the plans, specifications, and requirements.
  3. Written Communication - Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience.
  4. Oral Communication - Makes clear and convincing oral presentations. Listens effectively; clarifies information as needed.

For all types of consideration, 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.

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

Additional information

This announcement will be open continuously for 12 months. Given our continuing need for professionals in this field, we will routinely review applications and refer candidates for potential interviews multiple times during the open period of the announcement. Note that the first review will be 15 days from the opening date of the vacancy. Following these dates, we will contact qualified applicants to schedule interviews. We will give equal consideration to all applications we receive. This announcement may close earlier.

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Salary ranges by location: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/

GS-12

91,753-119,280 Lakewood, CO

82,830-107,680 rest of us - Clovis, CA & Grand Junction, CO

91,220-118,586 Carson City, NV

84,437-109,769 Henderson, NV

83,634-108,724 Albuquerque, NM

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 two categories: Qualified and Well Qualified 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 upon 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. 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.


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