Civil Engineer (Highway) Design - DIRECT HIRE - Federal Highway Administration

Summary This position is in the Design Branch of Western Federal Lands Highway Division. Supports the Division as a senior designer with responsibility for the development of plans, specifications, and estimates (PS&E) packages for the most complex, advanced projects relative to the design of highways and bridges. Projects occur primarily on Federal Lands managed by other Federal agencies (e.g., National Park Service & U.S. Forest Service) & include multi-state areas. Responsibilities As a Civil Engineer (Highway) Design, you will: Develop the design and monitor the budget and schedule for assigned projects and have responsibility for the project from initial scoping through construction support. Manage workload by setting and adjusting short-term priorities, as required, to meet changing project needs and information. Generate and evaluate geometric design alternatives and develop sound design concepts. Assess the impact of standard exceptions/compromises to established engineering principles and practices and conceptualize acceptable design exceptions and mitigation strategies, as necessary, to meet customer needs. Develop plans, specifications, and estimates {PS&E) packages that clearly define the work, are biddable, and emphasize context sensitivity, safety, and constructability. Identify appropriate bid items, perform quantity computations for all facets of highway design, and develop summary tables for project plans and price estimates for all work items for assigned projects. Prepare appropriate design documentation, provide quality control reviews on PS&Es prepared by other designers. Interpret, apply, and communicate the laws, regulations, policies, and guidance related to highway design. Assist in the development of plans for accomplishing business objectives and implementing quality initiatives, including assisting in the formulation and establishment of policies, standards, guidelines, and priorities for team operations. Identify, recommend, and/or use appropriate technologies for gathering data during PS&E development. Improve the quality of highway design work using new technologies and process improvements. Collaborate with internal staff and outside agencies. The ideal candidate is a mid-career design engineer with experience working both independently and with multidiscipline teams in developing, monitoring, and adhering to the design, budget, and schedule for assigned roadway construction projects, providing technical assistance from initial scoping through construction support, and addressing design engineering issues with a wide range of external contacts. 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 will be used to fill this position CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT: SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service. BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You will be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding. PCS/RELOCATION/RECRUITMENT: Permanent Change of Station (PCS), Relocation, and Recruitment Incentive authorization varies by position/selection and a?service agreement may be required. PROBATIONARY PERIOD: Applicants may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed). GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel. A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only. TELEWORK ELIGIBILITY: This position may be eligible for occasional and/or regularly scheduled telework. The number of telework days approved will be determined by your immediate supervisor or manager following the agency's telework policy and guidance. If participating in the telework program, you will be required to sign a telework agreement detailing agency telework policy requirements, working conditions, and expectations for the position. Qualifications To determine which grade(s) you may be eligible for, review the following grade specific details. You will be asked a few questions as part of your application but make sure to verify how you meet this experience in your resume, or you may be deemed ineligible. 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 included: Experience providing engineering design services, on a team, in the development of highway improvement projects to reconstruct or rehabilitate highways or local roads (e.g., developing Plans, Specifications, and Estimates (PS&E) packages and layout drawings for highway designs); AND Experience using highway-design software programs, including Computer-Aided Design (CADD) software and engineer's estimating software. 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 have a combination of 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 included: Experience providing engineering design services, construction support, and technical assistance in the development of highway improvement projects (e.g., developing Plans, Specifications & Estimates (PS&E) packages and layout drawings for projects involving interstate, primary, urban, or Federal Lands' roads and highways; reviewing contractor submittals; resolving construction issues; or addressing exceptions to design standards); AND Experience using highway-design software programs, including Computer-Aided Design (CADD) software and engineer's estimating software. Although you must first meet the mandatory education requirement, you cannot qualify for the GS-12 grade based on education, you must meet the specialized experience, which is cited above. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will also 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. Transportation Engineering- Knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, and methods applicable to planning, designing, and constructing of transportation systems including traffic analysis, signal analysis, highway capacity, pavement design, bridge construction, planning of transportation projects, environmental analysis of transportation facilities, and transportation network analysis. Oral Communication- Make clear and convincing oral presentations. Listens effectively; clarifies information as needed. Written Communication- Write 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. Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply to the GS-11 grade based on education 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. Education To meet the basic qualifications for this position, you must (1) meet the Mandatory Education Requirement for the series, AND (2) provide a copy of your transcripts or other applicable documentation for verification and (3) meet the specialized experience requirements for each grade you are applying to. Please review the following information before proceeding with the application process: (1) All applicants must meet the education 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 the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET); or (2) that included differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced that first year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials; (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials; 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 or training: college level education, training and/or technical experience that has 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). 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 which included the courses as specified in Paragraph A above. 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 had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. There should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering type experience. This must be clearly described in your resume. For additional information, please refer to the OPM qualifications standard for GS-800: All Professional Engineering Positions qualifications at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf. (2) Upload the appropriate document(s) to your application for verification purposes. (3) Specialized Experience: 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, FairChanceAct@dot.gov. To learn more, please visit our page at: The Fair Chance to Compete Act | US Department of Transportation This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate. Qualified CTAP/ICTAP candidates receive priority and will be referred to the hiring manager.