CIVIL ENGINEER / AGRICULTURAL ENGINEER

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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. 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.
• Physical Demands: Some physical exertion such as long periods of standing, traversing steep slopes and rough construction sites, recurring bending, jumping across ditches, and lifting and carrying equipment that weigh up to 50 pounds.
• Work Environment: Field sites involve exposure to construction equipment and the environment and extreme temperatures of hot and cold. Protective gear/clothing (hard hat, boots, gloves) may be needed at field sites and in areas of moving machinery.
• This position may be eligible for telework within the local commuting area of the position. Current USDA policy includes telework for an 8-hour workday, 4 days per week. Employee participation is at the discretion of the supervisor.
• Work Environment: Exposure to noise levels common to construction sites with large earthmoving equipment can be expected. There will be exposure to disease carrying insects and irritating plants.
• 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.
  
  

Qualifications

TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-07 level is required to meet time-in-grade for the GS-09 level. One year at the GS-09 level is required to meet time-in-grade for the GS-11 level. (Please submit your SF-50 that shows Time-in-Grade eligibility and reflects your title, series, and grade. No Award or General Adjustment SF-50's will be accepted). Time-in-grade requirements also apply to VEOA applicants having held a GS position in the past year. See additional information.

Basic Requirements:

Degree: Must have a bachelor's or higher degree in Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's 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

Combination of Education and Experience: Must have a 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 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 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, 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.) (Must submit copy of transcripts and/or licensure and/or proof of passing written test.)
  
  

In Addition To Meeting One Of The Basic Requirements Listed Above, Applicants Must Meet The Following Minimum Qualifications Requirement In Order To Be Considered:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required specialized experience and/or education for the respective grade level(s) in which you are applying:

GS-09

Specialized Experience: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties:

• Assisting with designs, drawings, and specifications on engineering practices with natural resources conservation;
• Collecting field data to ensure adequacy of the data; and
• Participating in meetings regarding engineering projects in collaboration with other personnel.
  
  

(Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience)

OR

Education: Must have 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Master's degree or Master's or equivalent graduate degree in engineering or other directly related discipline. (Must submit transcripts)

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: Combination of the above-described education and specialized experience such that they total 100% when combined. To determine your combination, first compute your experience as a percentage of the experience listed above; then determine your education as a percentage of the education listed above; then add the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent. Note: Only graduate level education beyond 1 year or 18 semester hours may be combined with specialized experience. (Must submit transcripts.)

GS-11

Specialized Experience: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties:

• Preparing designs, drawings, and specifications on engineering practices within natural resources conservation;
• Collecting and processing field data to ensure adequacy of the data;
• Assisting with on-the-job training to field office staff to improve engineering skillset and performance;
• Collaborating with team members to develop ways to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of engineering products and services; and
• Assisting with the quality review of conservation engineering projects.
  
  

(Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience)

OR

Education: Must have 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in engineering or other directly related discipline.

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: Combination of the above-described education and specialized experience such that they total 100% when combined. To determine your combination, first computer your experience as a percentage of the experience listed above; then determine your education as a percentage of the education listed above; then add the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent. Note: Only graduate level education beyond 2 years or 36 semester hours may be combined with specialized experience. (Must submit transcripts.)

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

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.

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.

Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov)

The OPM Qualification Standards for this position can be found at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=List-by-Occupational-Series

Additional information

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.

This position is open to Competitive Merit Promotion, Non-Competitive, and Special Hiring Authority eligibles. You must meet the requirements for one of the below categories to be eligible.

• A current permanent competitive service employee; former Federal employee who achieved career status in the competitive service; or former Federal employee who served on a career conditional appointment without achieving career status in the competitive service who was separated less than three years ago. You must submit an SF-50 that reflects career or career-conditional (Tenure field is 1 or 2); AND status in the competitive service (Position Occupied field is 1). Please submit your SF-50 that shows Time-in-Grade eligibility and reflects your title, series, and grade. No Award or General Adjustment SF-50's will be accepted.
• A Veteran applying under the Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA), must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing an honorable discharge. To be eligible, a veteran must be honorably separated and either a preference eligible or have substantially completed 3 or more years of active service. NOTE: Time-in-grade requirements also apply to VEOA applicants having held a GS position in the past year.
• A 30% or more Disabled Veteran. You must submit your DD214, a completed SF-15, and letter from the VA dated 1991 or later.
• Military Spouses. You are eligible if: 1) you are the spouse of an active duty member of the Armed Forces; 2) you are the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces who retired or separated with a disability rating of 100 percent; or 3) you are the un-remarried widow or widower of a member of the Armed Forces killed while in active duty status.Please submit supporting documentation to be considered (e.g. active duty orders, marriage verification, SF-15, DD-214, disability letter from VA, etc.
• Schedule A: USDA welcomes and encourages applicants from persons with disabilities and is firmly committed to satisfying its affirmative obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to ensure that persons with disabilities have every opportunity to be hired and advance on the basis of merit. Documentation of eligibility under Schedule A can be obtained from a licensed medical professional; a licensed vocational rehabilitation specialist (i.e. state or private); or any Federal agency, state agency, or agency of the District of Columbia or a U.S. Territory that issues or provides disability benefits. This letter must be separate from any Veterans Preference documentation.
• A Former Peace Corps or VISTA Volunteers Appointment. Please submit documentation to be considered.
• Veterans eligible for a Veterans' Recruitment Appointment (VRA). You must submit a copy of your DD-214. (only applies to positions at the GS-11 level and below).
• Other non-competitive authorities (please see announcement language for applicable authorities)
• A current or former Land Management Bureau employee who has served at least 24 months under a time-limited competitive appointment who is eligible for appointment under the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act.
  
  

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