The incumbent serves as a Branch Chief in the Mine Waste and Geotechnical Engineering Division (MWGED) within MSHA's Technical Support Directorate. MWGED is responsible for providing expert engineering and technical support services in the fields of mine waste disposal, tailings dams, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, mining under or near bodies of water, and other safety problems in the fields of mining and civil engineering. This position is OUTSIDE the bargaining unit.

Duties

Typical duties for a Supervisory Civil Engineer, GS-0810-13 include: Serves as an expert and provides technical assistance to MSHA and State enforcement personnel, DOL/MSHA Solicitors, mine industry personnel, and other government agencies in the field of mine waste handling and disposal in the following areas: dam construction and operation, geotechnical engineering, rock mechanics, structural engineering, surface haulage, and mining under or near bodies of water. Plans, initiates, researches, conducts in-office evaluations, laboratory investigations, and field investigations at both surface and underground coal and metal and nonmetal mine operations to solve urgent and/or complex mine safety problems. Prepares reports and general guidelines to resolve problems and technical issues resulting from citations and to support MSHA's Enforcement program. Develops engineering guidelines in support of MSHA's Enforcement program. Improves engineering methods for conducting surface and underground mine investigations as they relate to areas of Division responsibility. Reviews and interprets the results of investigations conducted by the Division and evaluates the usefulness of the information. Publishes technical and professional papers and results of studies and investigations to advance the state-of-the-art in areas of Division responsibility which has a widespread impact because they represent the current policy and position of the Agency. Plans, prepares, and conducts talks and presentations in areas of Division responsibility before national or international audiences composed of recognized authorities. Serves as an instructor for training courses or special seminars for MSHA, other government, industry, and university officials and prepares the material presented. Supervises and directs a group of engineers, scientists, and technicians that direct or conduct technical investigations related to engineering problems. Plans, assigns, directs, and reviews the work of subordinate employees. Provides advice, counsel, and instruction to employees on technical and administrative matters. Ensures employees are kept informed on all matters that affect their employment. Identifies training needs and ensures that appropriate training is provided. Ensures that Agency, Center, and Division policies and procedures are followed. Recommends promotions, awards, and disciplinary actions when necessary. Hears and resolves formal and informal complaints from employees.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Must be at least 16 years old.
• All personnel must undergo a background investigation for access to DOL facilities, systems, information and/or classified materials before they can enter on duty.
• Requires a probationary period if the requirement has not been met.
• Subject to financial disclosure requirements (OGE 450 Filer)
• Requires a valid driver's license.
• Requires a supervisory probationary period if the requirement has not been met.

Qualifications

In addition to the basic education requirement, applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-12, in the Federal Service. See "Education" for the basic education requirement. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the candidate with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position being filled. Specialized Experience for this position is defined as performing professional engineering and technical support services in the fields of mine waste disposal, tailings dams, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, mining under or near bodies of water, and other safety problems in the fields of mining and civil engineering. Examples of qualifiying specialized experience include (applicants must meet 4 of the 6 bullets): Experience in geotechnical/civil engineering in the following areas: soil and rock mechanics; soil dynamics; engineering geology; stability of mining dams, slopes, dumps, refuse piles; rock fall hazards. Experience evaluating slope monitoring data; subsidence analysis; and analyzing mine conditions related to breakthrough potential or inundations. Experience in the field of earthquake science and the evaluation of mining dams for seismic stability and deformation. Experience coordinating or conducting accident and field investigations. Possessing strong qualitative and quantitative analytical and evaluation skills. Experience applying the principles and regulations of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977; Title 30, U.S. Code of Federal Regulations; Agency policies, objectives, missions, organizational structure, precedent-setting decisions, and administrative procedures relating to enforcement, accident and field investigations.

Education

In addition to meeting the Specialized Experience Requirement, applicants must meet the Basic Education Requirement/Individual Occupational Requirement:

Individual Occupational Requirements 0810 Civil Engineer

Basic Educational Requirements: A degree in professional engineering. To be acceptable, the curriculum must:
(1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; 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,

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)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.
2. 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.
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 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.
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 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.)

For additional information on the education requirements, please visit: OPM All-Professional Engineering Positions, 0800

Any applicant falsely claiming an academic degree from an accredited school will be subject to actions ranging from disqualification from federal employment to removal from federal service.

If your education was completed at a foreign college or university, you must show comparability to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States and comparability to applicable minimum coursework requirements for this position. Click Evaluation of Foreign Education for more information.

Transcripts must be in English.

Contacts

• Address Mine Safety and Health Administration 200 Constitution Avenue NW Washington, DC 20210 US
• Name: Karen Goulet
• Phone: 214 909-8870
• Email: [email protected]