This is an engineering position located in support of a large complex geographical area in the state. The incumbent serves as an engineer responsible for providing technical guidance and leadership in the overall planning, design, installation, and maintenance of the engineering phases of soil and water conservation practices as well as watershed flood protection programs.

Duties

Provides technical guidance and leadership in the overall planning, design, installation and maintenance of the engineering phases of soil and water conservation practices as well as watershed flood protection programs. Assimilates information, develop sound conclusions and make appropriate recommendations in keeping with NRCS objectives and the needs of other groups and agencies. Serves as the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) or Government representative for the administration of construction contracts. Assists field personnel in carrying out a sound engineering program and in providing training to other staff, agencies, organizations and contractors. Makes recommendations to leadership on training needs. Assists in the organization of statewide engineering trainings and provides on-the-job training to field staff. Makes periodic quality reviews of engineering work for completion with policies, procedures and/or specifications. Reviews and checks engineering planning, design, and construction work of NRCS staff. Works within a team concept to develop and implement ways to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of the products and/or services provided to internal and external customers.

Requirements

• 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. If selected you will be sent instructions on obtaining fingerprints. Please note we are not able to reimburse any fees incurred for fingerprints.
• 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 E-Verify at https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• Must possess and maintain a valid state motor vehicle operator's license for the type of vehicle(s) operated to perform the duties of this position.

Qualifications

All applicants must meet all qualifications by the closing date of this vacancy announcement. Basic Education Requirement: A. Degree. Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree be in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) http://main.abet.orci/aps/accreditedprogramsearch.aspx 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 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 professional 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 (El), 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 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) examination, or any other written test required for professional registration, which is administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners 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, provide the applicant has had a 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.) AND Minimum Qualification Requirement: Specialized Experience: To qualify for the GS-11 applicants must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through federal service, which is in or directly related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Examples of specialized experience include: providing technical engineering guidance on soil and water conservation issues affecting farmers, landowners, and other parties; and/or planning, designing, and coordinating the engineering phases of soil conservation practices and watershed flood protection programs. OR Possess 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 of study. OR Possess a combination of graduate-level 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. Specialized Experience: To qualify for the GS-12 applicants must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through federal service, which is in or directly related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Examples of specialized experience include: Formulation of engineering planning, design and construction of conservation practices that address natural resource protection; Coordinating and conducting quality assurance checks through site investigations and feasibility studies, recommending changes when necessary; Identifying training needs of personnel and delivering training for both individual and group levels. Note: There is no education substitution for specialized experience at the GS-12 grade level. 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

You must submit a copy of your college transcripts or a list of college courses with credit hours, dates completed, and grades received to verify all education requirements (i.e. substitution of education and/or basic education requirement). 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. You must document all requirements on every vacancy; we cannot use previous determinations as a basis for rating. All required information must be received by the closing date of this announcement, and non-submission of all required documents/documentation will result in non-consideration. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted. This information must be received by the closing date of this announcement. Non-submission of these documents will result in non-consideration.

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. Applicants must, therefore, only report attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation via this link. All education claimed by applicants will be verified accordingly. 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.

Contacts

• Address Natural Resources Conservation Service 1400 Independence Ave SW Washington, DC 20250 US
• Name: Darleen Vaterlaus
• Phone: 503-273-2427
• Email: [email protected]