Duties

Summary

The Civil Engineer serves as a Geotechnical Engineer in the Geotechnical Section of Technical Services Branch, Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division (EFLHD), Federal Highway Administration, located in Sterling, Virginia. The EFLHD is responsible for the Federal Lands Highway design and construction programs in the eastern half of the United States.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

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At the full performance level, the Civil Engineer (Geotechnical):

• Provides sound Geotechnical engineering recommendations and assistance.

• Serves as technical specialist in the fields of geotechnical engineering including geology, subsurface investigations, foundation engineering, slope stability, land and rock slide remediation, ground improvement, and other geotechnical-related aspects.

• Manages multiple geotechnical projects simultaneously, delivering on time and within budget. Acts as COTR on technical contracts for engineering services.

• Plans, coordinates, supervises, and participates in geotechnical investigations. Is familiar with geotechnical programs and software.

• Prepares detailed and comprehensive geotechnical reports and memoranda that includes, among other things, subsurface conditions and geotechnical evaluation and recommendations.

• Communicates in person and in writing, within a team environment. Communicates with co-workers, employees of partner agencies, consultants, and personnel from other interested parties.

• Provides on-the-job training to new employees, cooperative education students, highway engineer trainees, and other developmental employees as assigned.

• Conducts, oversees, and manages field and materials source investigations as they relate to the design and construction of highways.

The ideal candidate for this position has experience in the field of geotechnical engineering, slope stability/landslide repair and retaining wall design and is interested in a career where they have the opportunity to plan, coordinate, supervise and participate in geotechnical investigations for roadways and structures with the responsibility to manage projects' schedule and budget.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Position requires occasional travel.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
12

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must meet specialized experience to qualify.
• Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date.
• Review Required Documents Section as documents are required by closing date
• Announcement also advertised U.S. Citizens: FHWA.EFL-2020-0006

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

• SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
• GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel. A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
• PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
• TIME-IN-GRADE: - Federal applicants must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade to satisfy time-in-grade restrictions contained in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
• BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You will be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding.

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must (1) meet the Education Requirement for the series, (2) provide a copy of transcripts for verification, AND (3) meet either the education or experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.

MANDATORY EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:

All applicants must meet one of the following requirements to qualify for consideration for an engineering position:

A. Successful completion of a degree in engineering that: (1) has at least one program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET); or (2) that included differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced that first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials; (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials; 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 or training: college level education, training and/or technical experience that has 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).
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, and Puerto Rico.
3. Specified academic courses - Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences which included the courses as specified in Paragraph A above.
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 bachelor's degree in engineering, provided the applicant had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. There should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering type experience. This must be clearly described in your resume.

For more specifics, please see the OPM qualifications standard for GS-800: All Professional Engineering Positions qualifications at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf

EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

FOR THE GS-09, to qualify on Education alone, you must have:

• Two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree OR
• Master's or equivalent graduate degree OR
• LL.B. or J.D., if related

FOR THE GS-09, to qualify on Experience, you must have one year of equal or equivalent specialized experience, which includes:

• Experience as an engineer performing highway engineering work such as geotechnical design or subsurface exploration.
• Experience reviewing engineering design standards and regulations.
• Experience conducting analytical investigations using the scientific method, modeling and computational analysis.
• Experience articulating information through various venues such a discussions, meetings, fact sheets, reports, design documentation, briefings, and presentations.

You can also qualify based on a combination of education and experience.

FOR THE GS-11, to qualify on Education alone, you must have:

• 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. This must be fully supported by transcripts, that you provide with your application.

FOR THE GS-11, to qualify on Experience, you must have one year of equal or equivalent specialized experience, which includes:

• Experience in various geotechnical aspects of transportation projects including the coordination of subsurface field investigations, geotechnical design analysis, and preparation of geotechnical memos and reports.
• Experience providing recommendations for foundations, slope stability and retaining walls systems to include cost considerations and constructability.

You can also qualify based on a combination of higher level graduate education and experience.

FOR THE GS-12, to qualify on Experience, you must have one year of equal or equivalent specialized experience, which includes:

• Experience in all geotechnical aspects of transportation projects which include the coordination of subsurface field investigations, performance of geotechnical design analysis, and preparation of geotechnical memos and reports.
• Experience in determining foundations, slope stability and retaining walls systems to include cost considerations and constructability, while also determining the best approach to carry out to completion.

You cannot qualify on education at this level, you must have 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.

For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within six months of closing date of the announcement. Graduation transcript must be received before start date.

Other applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.









Education

See Qualifications section.

Additional information

Displaced employees may be eligible for ICTAP or CTAP priority consideration. For more information, please review the OPM Employee's Guide to Career Transition .

EEO STATEMENT: The Department of Transportation (DOT) maintains a model federal work environment that is free of discrimination. DOT ensures equal employment opportunity for employees and applicants for employment, regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), genetic information, age, disability, sexual orientation, or protected activity.

This vacancy may be used to fill similar positions within 90 days for these locations.

*PLEASE NOTE: Given our continuing need for professionals in this field, we will routinely review applications and refer the top candidates for potential interviews multiple times during the open period of the announcement. Reviews and referrals of applications will be completed on an as needed basis.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/ application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level.

If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be scored based upon your responses to the vacancy questions. The top rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position.

Your application will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. The answers you select in the on-line process must be substantiated in your application package. If upon review, it is determined that your described work history, competencies, and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be updated or you may not be referred to the selecting official. Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers. If referred, all relevant documents including performance appraisals and awards submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the hiring official for review. The Automated Staffing Office is ultimately responsible for determining your final rating.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

ALL Applicants must provide a resume that fully supports the required specialized experience and was created within USA Jobs Resume Builder and respond to the vacancy questions by the closing date of the vacancy.

The following is a list of documents that are only required based on the type of position and consideration for which you are applying.

TRANSCRIPTS - Transcripts are REQUIRED if there is a stated education requirement for the series OR if you are substituting education for experience. The transcripts need not be official, but must show that you meet the stated education requirements, including specific major or class requirements.

• If you are applying to an engineering position and are qualifying based on possessing a current Professional Engineer (PE) license, or passing the Engineer in Training (EIT) exam, please provide a copy of PE license or written documented proof of passing the EIT.
• If you have previously held a government position in the same series as this position, you may be able to provide an SF-50 showing that you have already qualified and worked in the federal service in this series.

PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS/INCENTIVE AWARDS: If applicable, performance appraisals and/or Incentive award documentation may be submitted and will be forwarded to the selecting official as support in consideration of your application in the evaluation process. To receive due weight, you must submit a recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable (do not submit a performance plan) and/or incentive award documentation dated within the last 18 months (i.e. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increases, etc.).

VETERANS: Your last DD214, Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty, that shows the type of discharge and all dates of active duty is required to verify your eligibility. It need not be official.

• If you are applying to a vacancy opened to all US Citizens under category rating and wish to be considered as a preference eligible, you need to submit a copy of your DD214.
• If you are claiming preference eligibility as a disabled veteran, you must submit proof of entitlement of this preference which is normally a valid letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs certifying to the present existence of the service-connected disability and indicating the percentage of your disability. An SF-15 is desired, but not required.
• If you are applying to a vacancy opened Status and you are requesting consideration under Veteran's Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) ( https://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/shav/#veoa ), you need to provide a copy of your last DD214, which verifies your military service dates, reason for separation, OR certification of separation that shows a discharge date within 120 days of the closing of this announcement, and eligibility for consideration under the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act.

STATUS APPLICANTS: If seeking eligibility consideration as status/agency/DOT employee, you must provide proof of eligibility in the form of an SF-50. Your SF-50 must verify the highest grade held competitively, full performance level of position, and eligibility as a status applicant. Please do not submit an Award SF-50, as these are often incomplete and do not verify grade or status eligibility.

NON COMPETITIVE APPLICANTS: If requesting concurrent consideration for Non-competitive (NC) appointment eligibility, you must provide the appropriate SPECIAL APPOINTING AUTHORITY DOCUMENTS, such as PCS orders (military spouse) describing move & marriage certificate; letter from VA or DD214 describing 100% disability of spouse; letter from State Vocational Office certifying disability (schedule A), etc. For more information, visit military spouse NC appointments or Persons with Disabilities NC appointments.

DISPLACED EMPLOYEES: If requesting consideration under the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency CTAP program (ICTAP), you must meet the well qualified standards for this vacancy (meeting minimum requirements for position and scoring at least an 85 or falling in the Gold Category) and provide all of the following documents:

• your most recent performance appraisal,
• the proof of eligibility letter from the Agency, and
• your most current SF-50, displaying current series and grade.

Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position. Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents. Uploading documents to USAJobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system. You must verify that the documents are in the system with your application prior to final submission.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

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 .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.