Department: Department of the Army
Location(s): Chicago, Illinois, Louisville, Kentucky, Detroit, Michigan, Buffalo, New York, Cincinnati, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Nashville, Tennessee, Huntington, West Virginia
Salary Range: $73939 - $163155 Per Year
Job Summary: About the Position: This job announcement will fill multiple vacancies for a Civil Engineer (Geotechnical) at the full performance levels (FPLs) of GS-11, GS-12 and GS-13. 4 GS-13 positions are Dam Safety Production Center (DSPC) vacancies and may be filled at any of the duty locations listed on the announcement. The location must be negotiated and agreed upon by both the losing and the gaining organization prior to the selectee receiving a firm job offer."
Major Duties:
Qualifications: This job announcement will fill multiple vacancies at the full performance levels (FPLs) of GS-11, GS-12, GS-13. Applicants selected at the FPL level are not eligible for promotion to a higher grade without competition or a valid non-competitive eligibility. This is not a developmental job announcement Who May Apply: Only applicants who meet one of the employment authority categories below are eligible to apply for this job. You will be asked to identify which category or categories you meet, and to provide documents which prove you meet the category or categories you selected. See Proof of Eligibility for an extensive list of document requirements for all employment authorities. Current Department of Army Civilian Employees Current Department of Defense (DOD) Civilian Employee (non-Army) Domestic Defense Industrial Base/Major Range and Test Facilities Base Civilian Personnel Workforce Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act Military Spouses, under Executive Order (E.O.) 13473 Non-Department of Defense (DoD) Transfer People with Disabilities, Schedule A Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Reserve (MR) and National Guard (NG) Technician Eligible Priority Placement Program, DoD Military Spouse Preference (MSP) Eligible Priority Placement Program, DoD MR and NG Preference Eligible Tech Receiving Disability Retirement Priority Placement Program, DoD Retained Grade Preference Eligible Reinstatement Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA) of 1998 In order to qualify, you must meet the education and 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 ENGINEER AT ALL GRADE LEVELS (GS-11, GS-12, GS-13): 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)2 examination or any other written test required for professional In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below: TO QUALIFY FOR THE FPL GS-11: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes: Assisting basic geotechnical analyses, including settlement, shear strength, and permeability evaluations, to support designs for civil works projects; gathering and analyzing subsurface and lab data to characterize soil and rock conditions; and preparing preliminary technical reports and estimates under supervision. OR Successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work of the position, such as (Civil Engineering and other Engineering degrees). (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.) OR Have the specialized experience as described in A, but less than one year; and have at least two years of graduate education as described in B, but less than the required three years. The computed percentage of the requirements must total 100% (To compute the percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then, divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.). (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.) TO QUALIFY FOR THE FPL GS-12: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes: Conducting geotechnical analyses for routine foundation, slope stability, and seepage problems using standard engineering software; planning and documenting limited-scope subsurface investigations and coordinating lab testing; and drafting sections of design reports and plans/specs under senior review. GS-12: Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted. TO QUALIFY FOR THE FPL GS-13: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes: Leading geotechnical design tasks for complex features and coordinate multi-discipline inputs for design documentation reports and plans/specs; developing scopes and overseeing investigations and conducting lab tests programmatically to ensure cost, quality, and schedule alignment; and providing Quality Assurance and District Quality Control reviews, mentor junior staff, and resolve construction-phase issues using instrumentation data or geotechnical expertise. GS-13: Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For this job, you must meet the qualification requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted. TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENT: Applicants who have held a General Schedule (GS) position within the last 52 weeks must have 52 weeks of Federal service at the next lower grade or equivalent: For GS-11 - 52 weeks at the GS-09 For GS-12 - 52 weeks at the GS-11 For GS-13 - 52 weeks at the GS-12 .
How to Apply: Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: Click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. As a reminder, your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. For additional information, refer to the 'Required Documents' section. To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12837244 Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on 12/08/2025. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. For more general information, system requirements, reasonable accommodation information, and to request assistance regarding the USA Hire Assessments, review the following resources: https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/sections/28980562523540-USA-Hire-Assessments To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: Click on this: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.
Application Deadline: 2025-12-08