Petroleum Engineer

Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement

$122K — $159K *
Houma, LA 70364In-Person
Energy & Utilities
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in engineering from an ABET-accredited program or equivalent education/experience
  • At least one year of specialized experience at the GS-12 level
  • Working knowledge of API regulations specific to workover/completion operations
  • Experience with subsea interventions and their components
  • Ability to analyze complex drilling operations and compliance matters

Responsibilities

  • Perform technical reviews of drilling permit applications and plans
  • Assess welding and burning plans for compliance with regulations
  • Conduct inspections of various drilling operations and facilities
  • Ensure compliance with activity schedules for suspended leases
  • Regularly visit oil & gas leases to monitor operational practices
  • Mentor lower-level engineers and staff on operational procedures
  • Provide expert testimony on petroleum engineering issues

Benefits

  • Access to a comprehensive federal employee benefits package
  • Opportunity for career advancement within the federal government
  • Potential for additional vacancies to be filled from this announcement
  • Eligibility for leave accrual based on prior related experience
  • Federal employee work-life balance initiatives
Full Job Description
You will serve as a Petroleum Engineer with Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. You will serve as a technical expert on oil and gas drilling operations. Salary Range Information (Per Annum.) GS-13: Step 1 $122,749 - Step 10: $ 159,575 First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate. Duties Help BSEE/BOEM Wide - This is a Merit Promotion announcement for career and career conditional BSEE/BOEM employees, Career Transition eligible (CTAP), and those who are eligible under the hiring paths listed above. Refer to Required Documents section for more information. Some of the major duties you will perform include, but are not limited to the following: 1. Performs technical reviews of applications for permit to drill, approval to change plans, alter casing programs, and plug and abandon new wells. 2. Provides technical reviews and assessments on new and/or revised welding and burning plans pertaining to drilling operations for compliance with the regulations and submits completed plan to the supervisor for approval. 3. Conducts inspections involving the full range of operations such as drilling, workover/ completion, plugging and abandonment, environmental quality, H2S and sulphur operations, and activities on the OCS that often include facilities with known safety and environmental problems or hazards. 4. Assures that leases under suspension of production are conducting operations in accordance with the approved activity schedule. 5. Visits oil & gas leases under District supervision on a regular basis to determine that proper operating practices are followed, particularly where unusual or unique problems have developed, and analyses of such drilling operations are beyond the scope of the inspectors, lower graded engineering staff, and platform operators. 6.. Mentors and provides technical leadership, expertise and guidance to lower-level engineers and other staff in the conduct of day-to-day operations, investigations, inspections, and audits. 7. Presents testimony as an expert witness on complex petroleum issues concerning drilling operations. Requirements Help Conditions of employment Must provide proof of U.S. citizenship. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service. Direct Deposit participation required. A financial disclosure report will be required within 30 days of appointment. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or a 2 year trail period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest. This probationary or trail period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary period or trail period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 08/27/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: Basic Educational Requirement AND Specialized Experience for the series to which you are applying. (1) Basic Educational Requirements: To be qualified for this position, you must meet either A or B below for the series to which you are applying. NOTE: This position requires specific educational coursework to qualify. You MUST provide transcripts (unofficial are acceptable) in order to verify that the educational requirements have been met. This information must be received by the closing date of the announcement. Failure to provide this information may result in you receiving an "INELIGIBLE" rating. A. 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. You must submit transcripts. -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 2. Written Test 3. Specified Academic Courses 4. Related Curriculum For further information on the adequacy of such background, demonstrated by one of the above listed, are found in the link below: Petroleum Engineering Series 0881 AND (2) Specialized Experience To qualify for the GS-13, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: 1. Analyzing and evaluating exploration and development operations that involve workover/completion activities. 2. Has working knowledge of American Petroleum Institute (API) incorporated documents identified in CFR 250.198 as it pertains to workover/completion operations. 3. Experience with subsea intervention and their individual components. 4. Meets with operators and contractors/vendors to discuss and resolve complex workover/completion issues. Must Meet 2 out of 4 Volunteer Experience: 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. Education This position does not allow substituting education for experience. This position has a mandatory education requirement. You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work. Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications Additional information Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement. Related Non-Federal experience or related experience as retired members of the uniformed services may be credited towards computing entitlement to leave accrual, at managerial discretion, providing that experience meets certain criteria. This provision allows new employees to earn annual leave at a higher rate than would otherwise be allowed. (5 Code of Federal Regulations, 630). All DOI employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here, DOI Ethics Prohibitions | U.S. Department of the Interior. Expand Hide additional information 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 Help 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. Review our 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.

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