Civil Engineer (Highway) - Direct Hire SME

Summary This position is located in the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Federal Lands Highway (FLH) Division and supports the Division as a construction project engineer responsible for managing moderately complex construction projects or multiple smaller construction projects. The projects occur primarily on Federal Lands managed by other Federal agencies such as the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service and include a multi-state area. Learn more about this agency Duties As a Civil Engineer (Highway), you will: Provide on-site administration of construction contracts. Ensure projects are constructed according to plans and specifications. Administer projects by providing engineering guidance to the contractor, the client agency, and other project personnel. Ensure engineering and technical specification requirements are met and work is accomplished according to the contract documents. Determine the need for and issue directives to the contractor as provided for in the contract and in conformance with Division policies and procedures. Foresee possible problems and take appropriate action.  Oversee a range of assigned activities such as materials testing, project schedule, progress estimates, surveys, traffic control, environmental controls, and construction methods. Make recommendations to the project engineer if construction methods and safety measures do not comply with the contract. Determine the acceptability and quality of the day-to-day work. Document daily activities and ensure project files are kept up-to-date and complete. Identify possible changes needed and obtain field data as needed. Prepare contract modifications and, as approved by the project engineer, issue directives and contract modifications. Develop independent government estimates and drafts contract modification documents, including pre-negotiation memorandums and negotiation memorandums. Prepare on-site correspondence. Carry out the day-to-day project activity and coordinate with contractor staff, co-workers, partner or cooperating agency representatives, State and county officials, local municipalities, property owners, local utilities, and other interested parties, and resolve issues and problems that arise. Maintain public relations through contacts at the local level. The ideal candidate for this position is a seasoned mid-career engineer with experience independently and effectively serving as a project engineer in charge of complex Construction projects responsible for ensuring compliance with contract specifications, providing guidance and technical direction to lower-level project staff, and providing construction operations input from preliminary design stages through construction of the project. Requirements Conditions of employment You must be a U.S. citizen & meet specialized experience to qualify Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date Required documents must be submitted by the closing date. Direct Hire Authority/SME will be used to fill this position CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance the organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service. GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel.  A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only. PROBATIONARY PERIOD: Applicants may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed). CERTIFICATIONS: FAC-COR certification is required within 1 year. BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION:  You may be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding. Qualifications To meet the basic qualifications for this position, you must (1) meet the Mandatory Education Requirement for the series, (2) provide a copy of your transcripts or other applicable documentation for verification, AND (3) meet the specialized experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.  For the GS-11:  On Experience, you must have at least one year of specialized experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-09 grade level, which includes: Experience as an engineer on a highway construction project overseeing a range of assigned activities such as materials testing, project schedules, progress estimates, surveys, traffic control, environmental controls, and construction methods; AND Experience coordinating with contractor staff, co-workers, and other stakeholders to resolve day-to-day issues and problems that arise. Or on Education, you must have 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree OR Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. You can also qualify based on a combination of higher level graduate education and experience. This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts, provided with your application. For the GS-12:  On Experience, you must have at least one year of specialized experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-11 grade level, which includes: Experience as the project engineer in charge or equivalent responsible for the administration and inspection of Federal, State or local highway construction projects that included major operations such as grading, drainage, bridge construction, retaining wall construction, traffic flow and maintenance and recycled or conventional paving; AND Experience leading the work of staff performing highway construction project / inspection activities; AND Experience coordinating with partners and project stakeholders in order to resolve issues related to highway construction projects.  You cannot qualify on Education alone at the GS-12; you must also have experience.  KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas: Civil Engineering - Knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, and methods required to plan, design, construct, operate, and maintain facilities such as buildings, transportation systems, water and sanitary systems, and other public works systems. Project Management - Knowledge of the principles, methods, or tools for developing, scheduling, coordinating, and managing projects and resources, including monitoring and inspecting costs, work, and contractor performance. Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas, or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, considering the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately. Written Communication - Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience. For all types of consideration, 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. Education All applicants must meet the requirements under A or B to qualify for applying to an engineering position. 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: Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT)1 , 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, 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). Note: Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within six months of the closing date of this announcement. If selected, the final transcript must be received before your start date. Other applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Additional information The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Transportation and its Operating Administrations from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to the Department of Transportation by email at, [email protected]. To learn more, please visit our page at: The Fair Chance to Compete Act | US Department of Transportation  Qualified CTAP/ICTAP candidates receive priority and will be referred to the hiring manager. Expand Hide  additional information Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution. 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. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits. Review our benefits 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.