Civil Engineer

Clarification from the agency

This position will be filled under the Office of Personnel Management's Direct-Hire Authority and is open to All United States Citizens and U.S. Nationals. Veterans' Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applications do not apply. Qualified veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position.

Duties

Duties listed below are at the full performance level (GS-12):

Directs/prepares cost estimates at various levels such as appraisal, feasibility, percent design, Preval, and IGCE for heavy civil water resource and power projects.

Reviews cost estimates prepared in regional and area offices, project offices, or by A/E firms, for sufficiency of quantities, omissions of pay items, and adequacy of unit prices.

Directs and/or prepares OM&R cost estimates for special studies and life cycle cost estimate tasks.

Analyzes bids received from contractors for construction to determine reasons for variations, if any, between the IGCE and the low bid, and prepares comments to the contracting officer regarding acceptability of bids.

Participates as a member of the price evaluation and negotiation team when the services of a cost estimator are requested by the contracting officer.

Reviews reports, both internally and externally developed, including but not limited to Planning Studies, special studies, design studies, cost price analysis, white papers, and any other critical reports containing cost estimates, data, references, or requirements to assure appropriate applicability and sensitivities are addressed when referencing cost estimates.

Manage multiple cost estimating tasks and deliverables and monitors expenditures versus budget and ensures completion by agreed deadlines.

Performs special studies and evaluations on personal initiative, for the purpose of expanding the state-of-the-art of cost estimating.

Studies new developments and techniques in preparing construction cost estimates. Develops methods of cross-checking or independently verifying costs obtained from an analysis of the job. Keeps informed of new construction and manufacturing methods and techniques which may affect construction costs.

Maintains liaison with Design personnel, and others on matters related to the preparation of cost estimates and on correspondence related to their preparation.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

You must be a U.S. Citizen or U.S. National.
You must be suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation.
You must submit a resume and supporting documentation (see Required Documents).
Current permanent Federal employees who are selected from this announcement may be required to serve a probationary period.
You must meet any minimum education and/or experience requirements (see Qualifications).
You must submit transcript(s) to verify education requirements (see Qualifications/Education).

Qualifications

In order to qualify for the Civil Engineer GS-0810-11, you must meet BOTH the Basic Qualification Requirement and the Additional Requirements. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience.

BASIC QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT

A. Degree: 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-
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 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) 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.
-or-
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.
-or-
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.
-or-
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.)

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ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT The HR Office must be able to determine that the applicant meets the following education or specialized experience requirement - this information must be clearly supported in the resume. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

GS-11 Specialized Experience:
One full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Examples of specialized experience include preparing cost estimates for the construction of large projects (heavy civil works), including one or more of the following features: pumping plants, power plants, earthen dams, concrete or RCC dams, pipelines, water treatment plants, buildings, roads, or hazardous waste remediation projects; Construction inspection or oversight responsibility on construction project(s).
- or-
Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: engineering, engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, geology or other related field of study.
-or-
Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages.

GS-12 Specialized Experience:
Applicants must have one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Examples of specialized experience include preparing all levels of construction cost estimates from planning to Independent Government Cost Estimate (Engineers Estimate or Contractor Bid Proposal Estimate) for the construction of heavy civil works. Specific experience in preparing unit price and detailed construction cost estimates associated with the following: pumping plants, power plants, earthen dams, concrete or RCC dams, and pipelines, water treatment plants, wastewater treatment plants, buildings, roads, and hazardous waste remediation projects. Responsible for preparing planning level cost estimates for multi-million-dollar project(s). Construction oversight responsibility and inspection on a portion of heavy civil multi-million-dollar project(s). There is no substitution of education for 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, 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.

You must meet all requirements, including any selective placement factors if applicable, by 05/16/2024.

Education

This vacancy announcement allows substituting education for experience at the GS-11 grade level.
You must submit a copy of college transcript(s) (unofficial copy is acceptable) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include the name of the college or university and date the degree was conferred. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not-qualified for the position.

This position does not allow substituting education for experience at the GS-12 grade level.

This position has a mandatory education requirement. You must submit a copy of college transcript(s) (unofficial copy is acceptable) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include the name of the college or university and date the degree was conferred. Non-submission will result in being rated not-qualified for the position.

You will be required to provide official college transcripts to verify educational qualifications, if selected. An official transcript must be sent directly from the University's Registrar's office and must be provided from the institution awarding the degree. Academic transcripts certified by notary publics are NOT official. Official transcripts must be submitted prior to reporting to work as a condition of employment. Failure to submit official transcripts may be grounds for dismissal or rescission of the job offer.

Accreditation: Only education from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education is acceptable to meet education requirements or to substitute for experience, if applicable. For additional info, refer to the and .

Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. For additional info, refer to the .

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