Civil Engineer (Area Engineer)

Summary

This position is located in a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service state, area, or field office within Oregon. The incumbent is responsible for providing technical guidance and leadership in the overall planning, design, installation, and maintenance of the engineering phases of soil and water conservation practices as well as watershed flood protection programs.

There is one vacancy, which may be filled at any of the following duty locations: Beavercreek, OR; Hillsboro, OR; Salem, OR.

Duties

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• Conduct quality assurance reviews of planned, designed, and constructed engineering projects in the assigned area.
• Coordinate the planning, design, and construction of engineering conservation practices, including water management, erosion control, flood control, and animal waste management.
• Plan and conduct pre bid site showings and approve construction schedules.
• Interpret engineering plans and specifications for contractors and resolve local level technical problems during construction.
• Monitor contractor work for compliance with contract requirements.
• Develop workload analyses, priorities, and scheduling recommendations aligned with the strategic plan for the assigned geographic area.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a US Citizen or US 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. If selected, you may be sent instructions on obtaining fingerprints. Please note we are unable to reimburse for any fees incurred.
• Probationary and Trial Period - Successful completion of a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period unless previous federal service is creditable. Refer to Next Steps for more information.
• Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
• This will require the operation of a motor vehicle operator on public and private roads during daylight and after dark if needed to perform the duties of the position, must possess and maintain a valid state motor vehicle operator's license.

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. If education is required or being used to qualify, you must submit a copy of your transcripts.

Basic Education Requirement:

Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree be in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) http://main.abet.org/aps/accreditedprogramsearch.aspx; 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

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 professional 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 licensureCurrent registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT), 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 Boards 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) examination, or any other written test required for professional registration, which is administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners 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 above. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described above.
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 a 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 relate curricula are not all-inclusive.)

In addition to meeting one of the Basic Requirements listed above, applicants must meet the following Minimum Qualifications Requirement in order to be considered:

Specialized Experience to qualify for GS-12: You must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. For this position, specialized experience is defined as:

• Providing engineering support for soil and water conservation projects. This includes planning, designing, and overseeing installation and maintenance of conservation practices; conducting site investigations, feasibility studies, and quality assurance reviews; monitoring contractor work for compliance with plans and specifications; interpreting engineering plans to resolve field issues; and contributing to workload analysis and project scheduling.

Note: There is no education substitution for the GS-12 level.

For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=List-by-Occupational-Series

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 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

College Transcript: If qualifying based on education, you must submit a copy of your college transcript with course number and department (i.e., Bio 101, Math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours, and grade earned. If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g., special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college to ensure proper evaluation.

Your education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to be credited toward qualifications. You may verify accreditation by visiting the U.S. Department of Education Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs website. We will verify your education accordingly.

Foreign Education: You must submit verification that education completed in a foreign institution, was recognized by an accreditation body accepted by the U.S. Department of Education. You must include a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) website. Your transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.

You may submit an unofficial copy of your transcript at the initial phase of the application process. However, if selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Please refer to the "How to Apply" section for instructions on submitting transcripts.

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. 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.

Physical Demands: Field work requires physical exertion such as long periods of standing, traversing steep slopes and rough construction sites, wading in streams and rivers, crossing fences and gates, recurring bending and stooping, jumping across shallow ditches, walking in soft, muddy, and slippery conditions, and lifting and carrying equipment and samples that weigh up to 50 pounds.

Work Environment: Work performed in an office setting Is in a properly lighted, ventilated, and climate controlled area. During field work, the employee is frequently exposed to adverse weather conditions. Protective gear and clothing such as a hard hat, boots, and gloves may be necessary during field visits and in the area of moving machinery. Exposure to noise levels common to construction sites with large earthmoving equipment can be expected. There will be exposure to disease carrying Insects and Irritating plants. Field work Is performed on a regular and recurring basis.

Telework: This position is eligible for telework as determined by the agency policy.

Incentives: Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be authorized.

Bargaining Unit: This is a non-bargaining unit position.

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Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.