Summary

This is a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) solicitation utilizing the DHA for Certain Personnel of the DoD Workforce to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service.

About the Position: at the full performance level, you will serve as a senior civil engineer. You will be responsible for individual soil investigations as well as coordinating the work of lower level engineers in soil investigation analysis.

Duties

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• At the full performance level, you will
• Determine solutions to problems of an advanced or unusual nature.
• Monitor the efforts of a group of engineers engaged in the soil investigation and design of foundations for pumping stations, highway and secondary bridges, flood gate structures, flood walls, buildings, and other civil works structures.
• Determine the critical limits and assumptions required to complete designs of foundations and embankments and prepares contract plans and
  specifications for the civil works structures.
• Make analysis of test results and considers various methods of compaction to determine criteria for profiling, placement and treatment of soils materials.
• Participate in conferences with engineers from other branches and divisions and with representatives of other government agencies and architect-engineer firms to obtain cooperation in conducting soils investigations.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• This position is situational telework only, including emergency and OPM prescribed "unscheduled telework." This is NOT a remote telework position. The duty station is Memphis, TN.

Qualifications

This is a developmental position and me be filled at any grade level, GS-7, GS-9, GS-11, or GS-12. If selected at the GS-7, GS-9, or GS-11, the target level for this assignment is a GS-12. The grade level selected will be based on your qualifications and responses to the questionnaire. Assignments at the GS-7/9/11 will become progressively more difficult and will be under closer than normal supervision until the full performance level is reached. Non-Competitive promotion to the target job may be effected provided you are sufficiently experienced; meet all necessary qualification requirements for promotion to the target job; and is performing the full scope of the major duties.

Who May Apply: US Citizens

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Please see Education section for Basic Education Requirement for Civil Engineers.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

GS-07 Minimum Qualifications:

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes 1) using a wide range of professional engineering concepts, principles and practices to assist in completing and monitoring assigned projects; 2) assisting in the design and construction of civil engineering structures or systems using established criteria or specifications; and/or 3) monitoring civil engineering projects and resources. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-05).

OR

Education: One full year of graduate level education in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: Civil Engineering. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)

OR

Superior Academic Achievement: In order to be creditable under this provision, Superior Academic Achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled, such as that identified in Education above. Superior Academic Achievement is based on:(1) Class Standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses; OR(2) Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) - Applicants must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on your official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.; OR(3) Honor Society Membership - Applicants may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achsnatl.org/).(Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 18. Add the two percentages.

GS-09 Minimum Qualifications:

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes 1) using a wide range of professional engineering concepts, principles and practices to complete assigned projects; 2) identifying civil engineering problems and recommending corrective action; and 3) performing field investigations and laboratory testing, monitoring instruments, assessing soil and foundation conditions, and analyzing and designing geotechnical features. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-07).

OR

Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: General Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; Civil Engineering; and Electrical Engineering. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.)

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages.

GS-11 Minimum Qualifications:

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes geotechnical engineering coordination with multiple engineering disciplines; performing soils and foundation investigations; supporting risk analysis or design evaluations using compiled data and reports; and coordinating or collaborating with others to ensure project completion/success. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-09).

OR

Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as Civil Engineering.

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages.

GS-12 Minimum Qualifications:

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes 1) conducting soil investigations to develop improved or new methods of using soils in, around and under civil work projects such as dams, reservoirs, levees, large pumping stations, bridges, highways, etc.; 2) making determination of critical failure surfaces in earth work under varying conditions of loading and soil conditions including ground water condition and stream stages; and 3) identifying and defining seepage problems. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-11).

Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For the GS-12, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience aloneno substitution of education for experience is permitted.

Education

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/

Basic Requirement for Civil Engineer:

Note: You must provide a copy of your transcript.

A. Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (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), 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) 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 A above. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program.

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 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.

Additional information

• One or more of the following incentives may be authorized per management's discretion: Advanced In-Hire Rate; and/or Advanced Leave Accrual.
• Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
• You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
• This position requires a 1 year probationary period during which the agency evaluates your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In making this determination, the agency may consider your performance and conduct; agency needs and in