Civil Engineer (Hydraulics)

Summary You will serve as a Civil (Hydraulics) Engineer in the Hydraulics Section of Technical Services Branch, Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division (EFLHD), Federal Highway Administration, located in Ashburn, Virginia. The EFLHD is responsible for the Federal Lands Highway design and construction programs in the eastern half of the United States. Responsibilities As a Civil Engineer (Hydraulics), you will: Perform hydraulic analyses for bridge and culvert locations and waterway design. Estimate peak rates of flow at appropriate design recurrence intervals for optimum design of bridges, culverts, and channels. Determine type, size, and spacing of inlets; size, shape, and slope of drainage systems; and select methods to minimize scour, erosion, and water pollution at structure sites and in roadway ditches and slopes. Coordinate water quality programs. Select stream sampling stations and parameters, determine frequency of monitoring, analyze data, and prepare water quality reports. Communication: Consult with and advise highway and bridge design engineers on the solution of complex drainage problems encountered in highway planning, design, and construction. When required, write or review hydraulic reports summarizing computations for presentations to internal and external customers. Serve as a technical specialist in the use of hydrologic/hydraulic software for determining peak flows and storm volumes, and for sizing culverts, storm drain systems, bridge waterways and detention ponds. Stay abreast of, and evaluate potential use of, new hydrologic/hydraulic software, design technologies and/or construction technologies. The ideal candidate for this position will be an experienced engineer who is proficient in open channel flow design, stormwater design, hydraulic modeling and has experience in the bridge and highway/construction fields. The candidate will possess good communication skills to work with internal and external customers. This position is ideal for a technically oriented employee who wishes to further broaden their technical skills on a wide variety of hydraulic and stormwater management designs. 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. GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel. A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only. 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). TELEWORK: 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. BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You will be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding. 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. 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 requirements for each grade you are applying to. Please review the following information before proceeding with the application process: 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. For the GS-11: you must have at least one year of specialized experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-09 grade level, which included: Experience performing river and bridge hydraulics analysis using various software applications such as the Hydrologic Engineering Centers River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) computer model; and Experience applying professional civil engineering principles, concepts, and practices involving hydraulics, such as or related to drainage structures, bridge hydraulics, or watersheds. To qualify for the GS-11 on Education alone, 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: you must have at least one year of specialized experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-11 grade level, which included: Experience performing river and bridge hydraulics analyses using various software applications such as the Hydrologic Engineering Centers River Analysis Systems (HEC-RAS) computer model, conducting bridge scour analyses, performing culvert hydraulic analysis and design, designing roadway drainage features and experience with 2-dimensional modeling systems such as SMS/FESWMS or other advanced applicable modeling techniques; AND Experience applying Storm Water Management (SWM) design regulations and Best Management Practices (BMP) environmental site design for construction projects. For additional information, please refer to the OPM qualifications standard for GS-800: All Professional Engineering Positions qualifications at: (3) Upload the appropriate document(s) to your application for verification purposes. (Refer to 'Required Documents' section for additional guidance). 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. Transcripts are required for this position. 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. Hydraulic Engineering - Knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, and methods applicable to analysis of the flow of fluids (open channel and pressure flow), estimation of river stages, and design of hydraulic structures, drainage structures, pipes, navigation facilities, reservoirs, locks, and dams. Written Communication - Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience. Oral Communication - Makes clear and convincing oral presentations. Listens effectively; clarifies information as needed. 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). For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link: Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within six months of closing date of the announcement. Graduation transcript must be received before start date. Other applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Education 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 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). 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, . 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.

Created: 2024-10-30