Civil Engineer (Hydraulics)

Civil Engineer (Hydraulics)

Department: Department of the Interior

Location(s): Lakewood, Colorado

Salary Range: $88.81 - $88.81 Per Hour

Job Summary: The Bureau of Reclamation is seeking a career professional looking for an opportunity to capitalize on their expertise as a Civil Engineer (Hydraulics). Make a difference in the West by assisting in meeting increasing water demands while protecting the environment. Duty Location: Lakewood, Colorado

Major Duties:

• Duties -Evaluates a wide range of hydraulics and sediment transport problems in rivers and reservoirs to determine the causes of river erosion or sedimentation problems and recommendations for sustainable solutions to engineering problems. Understands relationships between river processes and natural or human disturbances and provides technical recommendations for river design features, reservoir sediment management, and ecosystem restoration. Determines types and levels of bathymetric data collection, numerical modeling, reservoir sedimentation, or river design research and guidelines needed to evaluate alternatives and meet client needs. -Leads the development and application of new methods in the interrelated aspects of river hydraulics and sedimentation by performing, directing, and coordinating complex analysis or research with engineers and scientists. Serves as a technical expert on developing engineering standards for data collection, analysis, and design related to river and reservoir hydraulics and sedimentation problems. -Serves as a senior technical expert on hydraulics and sediment transport data collection, modeling, or analysis best practices by providing technical checking and peer review of products developed. -Serves as Team Leader/Project Manager for complex engineering investigations that evaluate resource management problems associated with sediment erosion and deposition in rivers and reservoirs related to environmental factors or human disturbances. Plans and executes project requirements by (a) developing Project Management Plans; (b) assembling interdisciplinary teams and coordinating/directing work; (c) monitoring work progress, schedule of deliverables, and budget expenditures; and (d) regularly reporting progress to ensure successful project delivery. -Serves as a senior technical expert and provides oral presentations and training on engineering analyses or state of the art research related to river design, ecosystem restoration, and reservoir sedimentation to peers, program managers and stakeholders at coordination meetings, design briefings, or other technical briefings. Effectively accommodates a wide variety of audience settings by explaining technical information in a credible but understandable manner. -Serves as a senior technical expert to produce and lead written reports that effectively and accurately evaluate engineering problems associated with river hydraulics and sediment transport. Effectively communicates the causes of river migration or sedimentation problems and recommends solutions with appropriate technical evidence. -Leads or contributes to technical guidelines, journals or professional papers that promote knowledge transfer and mentoring of new research applications in hydraulics and sediment transport data collection, numerical modeling, or linkages to ecosystem restoration.

Qualifications: Applicants must meet BOTH the Basic Education Requirement and the Specialized Experience Requirement: Applicants must first meet the Basic Education Qualification requirement for the series in which they request consideration for, as defined below: Basic Education Requirement To be eligible for consideration, you must first meet the Basic Education Requirement for this position, having a 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: 1. 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. Or 2. Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) 2examination 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. Or 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 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. Or 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 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.) Please submit both undergraduate and graduate level transcripts, as applicable, to meet Basic Education qualification requirements. Additional Specialized Experience Requirement: In order to be rated as qualified for this position, the HR Office must be able to determine that you meet the specialized experience requirement - this information must be clearly supported in the resume. To qualify at the GS-14 grade level, you must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to at least the GS-13 level in federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) that demonstrates the following knowledge, skills, and abilities: Conducting engineering investigations of rivers and reservoirs for ecosystem restoration, reservoir sedimentation, or river design; field data collection in rivers or reservoirs; numerical modeling and coding tools of hydraulics and sediment transport in rivers or reservoirs; participation in research related to the physical aspects of rivers or reservoirs; oral presentations; technical reports, guidelines, or best practice documentation; project management, including the formulation of study plans (scope of work, schedule, and budget), leading small teams, and monitoring expenditures. 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. You must meet all Eligibility and Qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors if applicable, by 03/16/2026.

How to Apply: Applications (resume, assessment questionnaire, and supporting documentation) for this vacancy MUST be received online BEFORE midnight Eastern Time (Washington, DC time) on 03/16/2026. To apply, click the blue APPLY ONLINE button at the top of the page. Do not submit photographs with the application package. Documents with photographs may not be seen by hiring officials - applicant must remove any images from badges, licenses, etc.

Application Deadline: 2026-03-16