Civil Engineer

Summary

About the Position: Responsible for soil design problems, subsurface investigations, soil testing, and interpretation for levee and earth dam projects. This is a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) solicitation utilizing the DHA to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service.

Duties

• •Duties are listed at full performance grade level, GS-12:
• •Perform engineering analysis and design relative to soils selection, slope stability and under seepage impacts on earth and masonry structures.
• •Select engineering characteristics of soils for design of earth structure and foundations.
• •Review results of previous tests on similar soils for comparison. Study performance of structures constructed with or on same type of soil.
• •Review publications to locate new applications.
• •Conduct design analysis to determine stability of slopes.
• •Select areas to be studied considering height and composition of embankment or cut and/or depth and characteristics of foundation.
• •Use complex mathematical analysis method to determine hydraulic forces affecting earth and masonry structures.
• •Apply engineering judgment and an established method of analysis to recommend location and size of berms or pressure-relief wells.
• •Develop extent of soils data required for project under consideration.
• •Perform technical assistance work in support of plans and specifications preparation and field construction operations involving soils, concrete, or other materials
• •Make field inspection of soil conditions during construction of projects.

Qualifications

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. Basic Requirement for Civil Engineer (0810 Series): 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 that 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. Qualifications at the GS 05 Level: No specialized experience needed. You must meet the basic education/experience requirements for all engineering positions listed in the Education Section of this announcement. In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below: Specialized Experience GS-07: One year of specialized experience which includes learning engineering analysis and design related to soils selection, slope stability, and/or under-seepage impacts on earth and masonry structures. 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: engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a degree in engineering OR Superior Academic Achievement: Successful completion of all the requirements for a bachelor's degree with 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: 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 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.; (3) Honor Society Membership - Applicants may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the appro