This is a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) solicitation using the DHA for Certain Personnel of the DoD Workforce. About the Position: You will serve as the Dam Safety Subject Matter Expert. This job announcement will fill multiple vacancies at the full performance level GS-14 and may be filled at any of the duty locations listed on the announcement. The location must be negotiated and agreed upon by both the losing and the gaining organization prior to the selectee receiving a firm job offer.
Who May Apply: US Citizens In order to qualify, you must meet the education and experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. Basic Requirement for Civil Engineer (Structural, Geotechnical, Hydraulic): A. Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (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: 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. 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, or 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 A above. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program. 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 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. Basic Requirement for Geologists: A. Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in geology, plus 20 additional semester hours in any combination of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological science, structural, chemical, civil, mining or petroleum engineering, computer science, planetary geology, comparative planetology, geophysics, meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, physical geography, marine geology, and cartography. OR B. Combination of Education and Experience: Course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. (Note: Acceptable experience may have been gained through geological field or laboratory work that provided a means of obtaining professional knowledge of the theory and application of the principles of geology and closely related sciences, e.g., geophysics, geochemistry, or hydrology. Such work generally must have involved making close observations, taking samples, handling various types of instruments and equipment, assembling geologic data from source materials, and analyzing and reporting findings orally and in writing. In some situations, professional scientific experience in other fields may be accepted in part as professional geological experience. Such experience must have been preceded by appropriate education in geology or by professional geological experience, and must have contributed directly and significantly to the applicant's professional geological competence. To receive credit for geological experience obtained in positions that are not full-time professional geological positions, the applicant is responsible for indicating clearly the actual time or percentage of time devoted to geologic duties within such positions, and for giving adequate descriptions of the geologic functions.) Please Note: In order to confirm that you meet education requirements, you MUST include a copy of your transcripts with your application package. Failure to include a copy of your transcripts may result in non-referral to the hiring manager. In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below: Specialized Experience at the GS-14: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service. This experience, in a relevant technical discipline such as Structural, Geotechnical, Hydraulic, or Geologic engineering, includes: leading multi-disciplinary teams in the analysis and design of complex features for dams, levees, or similar large-scale water-retaining structures; performing formal technical reviews of engineering analyses and design documents to ensure compliance with agency criteria; and providing expert technical guidance and mentorship to other senior engineers on complex engineering and safety issues. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-13).
Serves as a Dam Safety Subject Matter Expert (SME) and principal advisor on complex engineering issues related to dam and levee safety.
Develops engineering publications, criteria, and guidance for Corps-wide application.
Manages the technical portion of analyses and studies prepared by internal teams, Architect-Engineer firms, or other contractors.
Performs agency technical reviews of major rehabilitation and safety modification reports to ensure compliance with established criteria and sound engineering principles.
Develops advanced engineering models and analytical tools to support risk-informed decisions for dam and levee safety.
Leads multi-disciplinary teams (Structural, Geotechnical, Hydraulic, or Geologic) in the evaluation of complex infrastructure performance and risk.
Leads a subordinate staff of engineers and technicians by assigning, coordinating, and reviewing their work.
Provides expert consulting services and technical training to USACE districts and other federal agency personnel.