Civil Engineer/Agricultural Engineer

Summary The incumbent assists the area/zone or similar engineer and is responsible for providing basic technical guidance in the overall planning, design, installation, and maintenance of the engineering phases of soil and water conservation practices. This position is supervised by a District Conservationist or Engineer but always with technical guidance provided by an engineer and under the Engineering Job Approval Quthority (EJAA) of the State Conservation Engineer. Responsibilities Coordinates and supervises the planning, design and construction of engineering practices such as water management, animal waste management erosion control, flood control, and other conservation practices needing engineering guidance. Recommends changes in designs, specifications, and schedule to accommodate conditions at the construction site, availability of materials, or to expedite construction. Plans and conducts pre-bid site showing, approves construction schedules, monitors work for compliance with plans and specification and contract requirements. Directs and performs site investigations and feasibility studies, field checks and field construction. checks for conservation practice installations. Coordinates and conducts necessary quality assurance reviews of planned, designed, and constructed engineering projects in the assigned area or state. Serves as or directs the Contracting Officers Representative (COR). Provides technical guidance and training to personnel in the area of all engineering practices and in the use and care of engineering equipment. Requirements Conditions of Employment 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. Basic Requirements: A. Degree: A bachelors or higher degree in Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelors 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. 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: 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 Boards 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) 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 bachelors 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 bachelors 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. In addition to meeting the basic requirements, you must also meet the minimum qualification requirements below: GS-7: Specialized Experience: 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Examples of specialized experience include: Assisting with field investigations and surveys for the implementation of conservation measures; and Utilizing engineering surveying equipment to gather and analyze field data for fundamental engineering projects. OR Superior academic achievement (S.A.A.): A bachelors degree curriculum directly related to the work of the position. To qualify for S.A.A., you must have ONE of the following: (1) standing in the upper third of your college class or major subdivision at the time you apply; (2) grade point average of B (3.0 on a 4.0 scale) or its equivalent for all courses completed, either (a) at the time of application or (b) during the last 2 years of your undergraduate curriculum; (3) B (3.5 on a 4.0 scale) or its equivalent for all courses completed in a related discipline, either (a) at the time of application or (b) during the last 2 years of your undergraduate curriculum; OR (4) election to membership in one of the national honorary scholastic societies that meets the requirements of the Association of College Honor Society. OR Education: 1 year of graduate education in engineering or related field. OR Combination of Education and Experience: Only graduate education beyond 1 year (18 semester hours) may be combined with specialized experience. GS-9: Specialized Experience: 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Examples of specialized experience include: Providing engineering guidance for the planning, design, and construction of soil and water conservation practices. Conducting quality assurance reviews of engineering projects to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of products and services for internal and external customers; and Preparing engineering designs and specifications, including preliminary and final drawings, for review by senior engineer to ensure accuracy and compliance with standards. OR Education: 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a masters degree or masters or equivalent graduate degree in engineering or related field which provided the competencies necessary to do the work. OR Combination of Education and Experience: Only graduate education beyond 1 year (18 semester hours) may be combined with specialized experience. GS-11: Specialized Experience: 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Examples of specialized experience include: Providing technical engineering guidance on soil and water conservation issues affecting farmers, landowners, and other parties. Managing the planning, design, and construction of engineering aspects for soil conservation practices and watershed flood protection programs; and Performing site investigations, feasibility studies, and field construction checks for conservation practice installations. OR Education: 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in engineering or related field. OR Combination of Education and Experience: Only graduate education beyond 2 years (36 semester hours) may be combined with specialized experience. Combining Education and Experience: A combination of graduate education and experience, as described above, may be used to qualify for this position. This combination must have equipped you with the necessary knowledge and/or experience to successfully perform the duties of this position. Combinations of experience and education must total at least 100% as outlined in OPM Qualifications policy. For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here: Professional and Scientific Positions. Education If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements: You must submit a copy of your transcripts to include course number, title, completion and grade. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g. special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college for that particular course to ensure you are properly evaluated. Please note that qualifications determinations are based solely on the information submitted for each particular vacancy announcement. Important: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. Click on this link for more information. Failure to provide all of the required documents/information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating. Additional Information Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP 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/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100. Promotion Potential: 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. Physical Demands: The work requires some physical exertion such as long periods of standing, traversing steep slopes and rough construction sites, reaching, bending and stooping, jumping across shallow ditches, walking in soft, muddy and slippery conditions, and lifting and carrying equipment and samples that weigh up to 50 pounds. Work Environment: Work is typically performed in the field and in an office setting. Frequent trips to field sites involve exposure to construction equipment and the environment, and extreme temperatures of hot and cold. Protective gear and clothing such as a hard hat, boots, and gloves may be necessary during field visits and in the area of moving machinery. Exposure to noise levels common to construction sites and exposure to disease carrying insects and irritating plants while in the field. Fieldwork is performed on a regular basis. PLEASE NOTE: In the interest of filling these positions as efficiently as possible, we are requiring the following: If called for an interview, applicants must be available to interview within 3 business days of being contacted. If a tentative job offer is extended, selectee will have 2 business days in which to accept or decline. This position is eligible for telework within the local commuting area of the position and other flexible work arrangements. Current USDA policy includes telework for an 8-hour workday, 4 days per week; other flexibilities are possible dependent upon availability and/or the position and its associated duties. Employee participation is at the discretion of the supervisor. Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be authorized.