Civil Engineer

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 11/16/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted.

An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: Basic Educational Requirement AND/OR Specialized Experience for the series to which you are applying.

Basic Educational Requirements: In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following: 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. 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. 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, 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.) Professional License Must have a 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.

Specialized Experience: To qualify for this position at the GS-14 grade level: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: planning, organizing, and managing geotechnical engineering projects or programs, including scheduling, coordinating resources, and ensuring timely, deliverables.

Reviewing and overseeing the development of technical products (such as designs, analyses, reports, or studies) to ensure accuracy, adequacy, and compliance with standards. Applying professional engineering/science knowledge relevant to civil, mechanical, electrical, or general engineering. Providing technical direction, leadership, mentorship, guidance, training, and advice to engineers and technicians and other internal and external stakeholders. You must include hours per week worked.

Volunteer Experience: 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.

Determine how risk methodology is applied to decisions regarding the safety and operation of significant and high-hazard dams and apply risk analysis to prioritize evaluation and modifications of Reclamation's inventory of dams. Oversee the technical application of risk analyses and the development of technical, scientific, economic, and engineering guidelines and studies related to the evaluation, analyses, modification design and construction associated with existing dam facilities .

Collaborates with the Dam Safety Program in the development, interpretation and revision of guidance and technical standards in risk analysis methodology for Reclamation and DOI. Advises senior leadership on national and internationally controversial and/or significant technical issues that affect Reclamation's inventory of dams. Represents Reclamation national and international organization and society meetings and workshops. Provides technical oversight and guidance for the peer review of dam safety studies.

Develops training and mentors subject matter experts and other technical staff responsible for facilitating risk analyses and the engineers performing the risk analysis in the use of these tools . Technically reviews and approves highly complex designs and analytical studies for embankment dams. Determines if computation methods and design practices are in conformance with state-of-the-art engineering, identifies deficiencies, and determines what measures should be taken to correct deficiencies.

Advances the state-of-practice in geotechnical engineer through development of design standards, planning studies, dam modifications and safety parameters, and develops methods and the quality review standards.