General Engineer

Summary

This position is located at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Plains Area (PA), National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, KS. The mission of the Engineering Project Management Group is to oversee and ensure all NBAF systems and facilities are functional, ensuring the maintenance, replacement and repair are accomplished and documentation is updated and available.

Duties

• •Serves as a project manager and Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for all assigned projects.
• •Works with the Engineering Project Manager Supervisor in providing support in the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of NBAF facilities and systems projects.
• •Manages project integration, scope, cost, schedule, quality, resources, communications, risk, procurement, and stakeholders.
• •Provides engineering and project management resource in support of the overall mission; and develops and/or reviews project packages for contract award while managing project through commissioning and close-out.
• •Provides multi-disciplinary engineering resource and project support for facility operations including maintenance, repair, and construction of NBAF infrastructure for architectural, civil, electrical, and mechanical components.
• •Utilizes engineering and project management computer programs to develop and/or review performance work statements, design drawings (AutoCAD and Revit), specifications, and cost estimates (RS Mean) and SpecsIntact, Costworks, etc.
• •Manages and oversees A-E design services task orders to include plan/ submittal reviews, payment evaluations, recommendations to the Contracting Officer (CO), and contractor evaluations.
• •Implement financial management and budget procedures to prepare financial estimates and budgets related to facilities and systems design and repair.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. Please see Education section for basic education requirement. AND In addition to the basic requirements, all applicants must also meet the following minimum qualification requirements: GS-12 Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position are: Qualifying experience for GS-12 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-11 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience providing engineering support for the planning, design, construction, and maintenance of facilities and systems projects; preparing cost estimates for assigned projects (such as escalation and inflation factors, description, and justifications); Developing, managing and scheduling facility construction or repair and service contracts; preparing formal contract documents for project procurement, evaluating and negotiating contractor proposals; and providing direct contractual oversight on projects for biocontainment facilities. Physical Demands Physical activity includes entering confined spaces, climbing ladders, stooping, bending and lifting up to 50 pounds with appropriate help. Some work may involve wearing personal protective equipment, including a respirator (N-95 or PAPR) or fully encapsulated positive pressure suit while entering infectious disease laboratories or animal facilities areas. Travel is required to attend meetings and conferences. Work Environment Work is performed in a variety of environments from typical offices to laboratories and biocontainment spaces. The work involves occasional exposure to potential biological hazards, chemical or process odors and fumes, electrical hazards, hot or cold environments, equipment noise, and heights. The incumbent is required to wear full face respirator when working in biological control areas; facial hair restrictions may be required in order to comply with proper operation of personal protective equipment. The health status of personnel is monitored periodically using biologic and serologic test and physical examinations. Restrictions against contact with birds and livestock outside the laboratory may apply after entering high security animal facilities that are working with disease agents foreign to the United States. Conditions of Employment Motor Vehicle or Commercial Driver's License Required. Drug Test Required. Financial Disclosure Required. Department of Justice (DOJ) Security Risk Assessment (SRA) approval is required. National Agency Check with Inquiries (NACI) clearance is required. Immunizations may be required. Respirator fitting and certification is required. To comply with USDA personnel security requirements and requirements of the Federal Select Agent Program (FSAP) for access to information and areas with Biological Select Agents and Toxins (BSAT), including Tier One Select Agents at NBAF, the incumbent must meet the following: Pre-employment and random testing of substances of abuse; Participation in and adherence to the facility's Occupational Health Program; Participation in and adherence to the facility's Personal Reliability Program; The ability to obtain/maintain favorably adjudicated Background Investigations or Security clearances (required by USDA); The ability to obtain/maintain a favorable Security Risk Assessment (required by FSAP). This is a Public Trust Position and requires that the incumbent be a United States Citizen. As a condition of employment, the requirements listed above must be met. The mission of NBAF includes research, diagnosis and training for animal diseases foreign to the United States (U.S.) for the purpose of protecting American agriculture and domestic food sources from their potentially devastating effects. NBAF is vital to successfully protecting U.S. agriculture from the intentional or non-intentional introduction of foreign animal diseases such as Foot-and-Mouth disease. The position supports the biocontainment facilities and may require entry into biosafety level (BSL) 3, 3 enhanced, 3 Ag and BSL-4 labs. The incumbent must demonstrate the physical and psychological capability to conduct normal duties that are appropriate to their position. To prevent the transmission of disease out of biocontainment and retention of the position, the incumbent must meet the following medical standards in a pre-employment medical examination conducted after the receipt of a preliminary job offer and on a periodic basis: Ability to shower out of biocontainment one or more times per day; Not have any skin condition which would prevent this; Body piercings must be able to be removed prior to entry; External medical assist devices must have the ability to be removed prior to entering or not impede the ability to enter biocontainment, and the individual must still be able to shower out safely without assistance; Ability to follow instructions regarding decontamination from biocontainment; Any medical condition which could create an unsafe environment for the individual or his/her co-workers, such as: insufficient control of a medical disorder which could result in sudden loss of consciousness; and inadequate vision and hearing required for safety in a laboratory environment. Medical confidentiality will be maintained by the examining physician and only fitness (or unfit) for duty determination will be indicated. The incumbent will also be required to pass periodic fitness for duty physicals. In addition, a medical clearance will be required in the event that it becomes necessary to enter an area where an air purifying respirator or other respiratory protection is requ