CIVIL ENGINEER

Summary

This position is located in an Area or State Office, USDA, Rural Development (RD). The incumbent performs a variety of assignments requiring professional experience and technical competence in civil engineering activities, procedures, principles, techniques and evaluations utilized in the performance of supervised rural credit and development programs.

This is not a remote position. The selectee must report to an office in Albuquerque, NM.

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Duties

• Advises and consults with private groups, public bodies and state and/or Federal agencies on the civil engineering aspects of projects financed by RD loan and grant programs.
• Provides technical guidance for project eligibility and priority.
• Reviews and concurs with Agreements for Engineering Services, construction project preliminary plans, drawings, designs, specifications and cost estimates.
• Assists staff in any technical or construction-related matters. Trains consulting engineers on RD policies and requirements.
• Works with staff, applicants and their consultants with respect to the suitability of proposed PERs as well as other documents associated with applications for funding and projects approved for funding.
  
  

Requirements

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.
• Successful completion of one year probationary period, unless previously served.
• Direct Deposit - Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https~//www.e-verify.gov/.
  
  

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.

Time in grade~

Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. In addition to meeting the basic requirements qualified applicants must possess~

For the GS-11 grade level~ Applicants must possess one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level; or its non-Federal equivalent that demonstrates~ Experience assisting in the review of construction project preliminary plans, drawings, designs, specifications and cost estimates; advising/consulting with private groups, public bodies and other agencies on civil or environmental engineering and architectural aspects of projects; assisting in providing advisory and technical services in the engineering, planning and design process for projects that may include single housing, wastewater facilities, businesses, community facilities. OR 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. OR A combination of graduate level education beyond the second full year of graduate level education and specialized experience that together meets the qualification requirements for this position.

For the GS-12 grade level~ Applicants must possess one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level; or its non-Federal equivalent that demonstrates~ Experience reviewing construction project preliminary plans, drawings, designs, specifications and cost estimates. Advising/consulting with private groups, public bodies, and other agencies on civil or environmental engineering and architectural aspects of projects. Extensive experience providing advisory and technical services in the engineering, planning and design process for projects that may include single or multifamily housing, wastewater facilities, businesses, and community facilities. There is no substitution of education for specialized experience at this grade level.

NOTE~ To be considered for this position, you must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements for the GS-0810 series set forth in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards by the closing date of the announcement. A copy is available at~ https~//www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards

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

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education

Basic Requirements~ A. Degree~ Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must~ (1) lead to a 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 ORB. 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~

• Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern( EI), Engineer in Training (EIT)1, 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.
• Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) 2 examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
• 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 under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A.
• 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, maybe 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. (The above examples of related curricula are not all inclusive.)
  
  

Additional Information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL)~ Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP or RPL eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP 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 applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.


To be eligible for appointment to this position, the new hire must be cleared to come on board once the results of the fingerprint check, review of the OF-306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and the candidate's Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing (eQIP) entries have been reviewed and determined to be satisfactory. This position requires a favorable credit check as part of the background investigation.

• If selected, you will be required to submit Form OGE-450 within 30 days of your initial appointment date, and annually thereafter. Selectee is subject to financial Disclosure Requirements in accordance with 5 CFR, Part 2635, Sub part E regarding business or personal transactions with applicants, borrowers, or business contacts who have or who are seeking business with this Agency. Selectee must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance. If selected you will be subject to a National Agency Check and Inquiry (NACI) and a credit report.
• If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed.
• Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc) should contact~ USDA's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).
  
  

This position may be eligible to telework up to four days per week, based upon the duties of the position. This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements.

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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.

Rural Development

1400 Independence Ave SW

Washington, DC 20250

US