Summary About the Location: This position is with Engineering Division, Geotechnical Branch located in Los Angeles California. Relocation/Recruitment and student loan incentives may be authorized. Responsibilities Engages in the complete design aspects of soils and other earth materials used in the construction and repair of civil works (CW), Interagency and International Support Services (IISS), and military (MIL) projects. Projects include rock and earth-filled dams, levees, retention walls, diversion channels, pavements, and foundation parameters for other structures. Personally performs work of the unit, or provides direction to other involving those projects with unusual design requirements or features requiring application of unprecedented methods or practices. Incumbent performs work with considerable freedom from technical control in selecting methods and procedures and in coordinating work performed by other engineers assigned. Completed work is reviewed for compliance with policy, application of sound engineering practices, regulations, and effectiveness in coordinating work area assigned. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Who May Apply: US Citizens In order to qualify, you must meet the educational and/or 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 (Geotechnical): 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: 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, or 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 A above. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program. 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 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. Specialized Experience GS-09: One year of specialized experience which includes 1). Prepare geotechnical or general civil reports during planning and design stages of projects. AND 2). Preparation of design plans to meet design criteria. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-7). Specialized Experience GS-11: One year of specialized experience which includes 1). Complete geotechnical or civil works studies and design. AND 2.) Inspect geotechnical or other civil works phases of design/construction work at project sites. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-9). Specialized Experience GS-12: One year of specialized experience which includes working with soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering related to military and/or civil works projects such as analysis of slope stability and seepage, and design of geotechnical aspects or features of dams and/or levees. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-11). In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below: You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency in the following areas: Education FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration. You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship. One year trial/probationary period may be required. Direct Deposit of Pay is required. Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees. If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet. This is a(n) Engineers and Scientist (Resources and Construction) Career Field position Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement. When you perform a Civilian Permanent Change of Station (PCS) with the government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers the majority of your entitlements to be taxable. Visit https://www.dfas.mil/civilianemployees/civrelo/Civilian-Moving-Expenses-Tax-Deduction/ for more information. Permanent Change of Station (PCS) allowances may be authorized, subject to the provisions of the Joint Travel Regulations and an agency determination that a PCS move is in the Government Interest.