Engineering Technician

Duties

• Conducts surveys using hand instruments such as hand levels and compasses. Conducts simple traverse surveys using staff compass and tape.
• Measures small land areas using rod, tape, and hand level to obtain rough estimates of yardage to be excavated. Operates manual and electronic recording and measuring devices.
• Reports to the chief-of-party any instances of inadequate recording and operation that affect the survey and equipment operation. Takes soundings involving the use of a lead-line to measure depths in areas of sedimentation.
• Records data which requires specialized skills to make difficult manual computations.
• Performs a variety of standardized engineering tests in accordance with established methods; e.g., sieve analysis, slump, density and moisture. Recommends rejection of material that does not meet specifications.
• Evaluates and records findings. Uses elementary algebra and geometry.
• Calculates earthwork quantities. Prepares notes for ADP input.
• Performs simple corner searches and land line ties with maps in the field.
• Inspects portions of conventional construction operations such as line and grade of roads, excavation and concrete footings of steel structures.
• Also inspects the placement of members and hardware in the erection of steel structures, and the quantity, quality, and placement of gravel for road construction.
• Contact with contractors includes obtaining routine information on changes in operations, processes, safety practices, or schedules.
• Checks for contract compliance with obvious contract regulations. Writes daily diaries and inspects reports. Takes and reduces field notes.
• Recommends corrective action where need is obvious and accepts material and workmanship in clear-cut situations.
• Performs basic computations of contract estimates of costs for materials and work.
• Uses stake-out notes to mark right-of-way clearing limits. Analyzes and presents engineering data in accordance with established methods.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Direct Deposit Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of your choosing.
• Must be 18 years of age.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-Verify.

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the and requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the

Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary.

GS-04: For the GS-4 level: Applicants must have six months of any type of work that demonstrated the ability to perform the work of the position, or experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation AND six months of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-3 grade level; OR an associate's degree or two years of successfully completed education above high school that included at least 12 semester hours in any combination of courses such as engineering, engineering or industrial technology, construction, physics, drafting, surveying, physical science, or mathematics (at least 3 of the 12 semester hours must have been in drafting if the position has been designated by a drafting area of specialization); OR combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience. The education must have been obtained in an accredited business, secretarial or technical school, junior college, college or university.

Examples of General Experience includes: Performed farm/ranch labor, such as feeding and tending livestock or general maintenance of farm/ranch facilities; Worked in a greenhouse or nursery moving, watering, and tending plants and performing other general labor tasks; Fed and watered animals, such as in a laboratory, pet store, or zoo; Any work experience, paid or unpaid. Unpaid experience, for example, may be regular volunteer work, such as at a park, hospital, community sports league, etc.

Examples of specialized experience include: Technical work in drafting, surveying construction estimating, physical science, mathematics, aerospace, architecture, chemicals, electrical or mechanical systems, mining, petroleum, or nuclear systems.

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.

To receive consideration for this position, you must provide updated required documents and meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Additional information

PLEASE NOTE: This vacancy is being used to fill positions for FY2025 Temporary Employment Hiring season. The expected start date for this position will be between October 20, 2024 to December 29, 2024.

By selecting the "Location Negotiable" option during the application process, implies your willingness to be considered for any official duty location listed on this announcement and/or those duty locations not listed for this Regional announcement. Pay rates vary depending on location. The salary shown is for the Rest of the U.S. See for additional information on pay rates.

This position is temporary, has a Not-to-Exceed date and will be filled for up to 6 months or as a not to exceed (NTE) 1 year, however an extension of the appointment may be possible without further competition. The appointment may also end early due to lack of work or lack of funds.

Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other groups within the Region who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in any of the geographic location(s) listed on the announcement. Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration.

The duty station for this position will be at one of the duty locations listed in this announcement. Salary range as shown is the locality pay Rest of U.S. (RUS). Pay rates vary by location. Please visit the for additional information on pay rates.

The USDA Forest Service has legislative authority to recruit and fill Permanent (Career/Career-Conditional), Temporary, and Term Appointments under the USDA Demonstration Project. Under this authority, any U.S. citizen may apply.

: To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP eligible must meet the agency's definition for a quality candidate as provided in the How You Will Be Evaluated section of this announcement to be considered.

If you are retired from the Federal Government and are selected for this vacancy, your retirement annuity may be offset from your pay.

This position is not eligible for telework.
Availability of government housing and federal day care facilities will vary by location.

Positions filled from this announcement may be a bargaining or a non-bargaining unit position represented by either NFFE, AFGE or NAGE.

• Benefits
  
  A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. .
  
  Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

You will be evaluated in accordance with the category rating procedure as defined in the USDA Demonstration Project Plan. Applicants who meet the basic minimum qualification requirements established for the position will be placed in the Eligible category. Eligible applicants will be further evaluated against criteria for placement in the Quality category. This evaluation is based on the level of your experience, education, and/or training as determined by your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire. Applicants with veterans' preference are listed ahead of applicants who do not have veterans' preference within each category.

Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements established for the position will be referred to the selecting official.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

• Benefits
  
  A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. .
  
  Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
• Required Documents
  
  As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you're a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you're eligible under their policies.
  
  The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, illegible fax transmissions, delays in the mail service, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
  
  : 1) personal information such as name, address, contact information; 2) education; 3) detailed work experience related to this position as described in the responsibilities section including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment (day/month/year); title, series, grade (if applicable); 4) supervisor's phone number and whether or not the supervisor may be contacted for a reference check; 5) other qualifications.
  
  If education is required or you are using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts that include your name along with the name of the Institution. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.
  
  Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP or ICTAP priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330.
  
  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.
  
  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 .
  
  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.

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