Civil Engineer/Agricultural Engineer
Summary
This position is located in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), New Jersey State Office and reports to the State Conservationist.
The incumbent serves as an area engineer and is responsible for providing technical guidance and leadership planning, design, installation, and maintenance of the engineering phases of soil and water conservation practices as well as watershed flood protection programs.
Learn more about this agency
Duties
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Requirements
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Conditions of employment
Qualifications
In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.
Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. If education is required or being used to qualify, you must submit a copy of your transcripts.
This is an interdisciplinary position and may be filled in any of the job series listed below.
Basic Education Requirement for 0810/0890 series:
A. Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree be in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) http://main.abet.org/aps/accreditedprogramsearch.aspx as a professional engineering curriculum; 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 Experiencecollege-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional 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 licensureCurrent 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 Boards 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, which is administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and 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 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.
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, provide the applicant has had a 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.
In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education listed below.
Specialized Experience Requirement
Specialized Experience for the GS-11 Grade Level: To qualify for the GS-11 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to the following: applying engineering knowledge and expertise in developing moderate to complex engineering designs, performing quality assurance activities for construction activities, writing technical reports, and participating in technical reviews of other engineering work.
OR
Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience for the GS-11 level: 3 year(s) of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a PH.D or equivalent doctoral degree in engineering or related field of study;
OR
Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of graduate-level education and experience, as described above, may be used to qualify for this position. This combination must have equipped you with the necessary knowledge and/or experience to successfully perform the duties of this position. Combinations of experience and education must total at least 100% as outlined in OPM Qualifications policy.
Specialized Experience for the GS-12 Grade Level: To qualify for the GS-12 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to the following: applying engineering knowledge and expertise in developing complex engineering designs, performing project management and oversight for complex construction sites, writing technical reports on complex engineering topics, and completing technical reviews of other other engineering work.
Note: There is no education substitution for the GS-12 level.
For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications…
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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Time-in-Grade Requirement: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. You must meet this requirement by the closing date of this announcement.
Education
College Transcript: If qualifying based on education, you must submit a copy of your college transcript with course number and department (i.e., Bio 101, Math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours, and grade earned. If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g., special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college to ensure proper evaluation.
Your education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to be credited toward qualifications. You may verify accreditation by visiting the U.S. Department of Education Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs website. We will verify your education accordingly.
Foreign Education: You must submit verification that education completed in a foreign institution, was recognized by an accreditation body accepted by the U.S. Department of Education. You must include a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) website. Your transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.
You may submit an unofficial copy of your transcript at the initial phase of the application process. However, if selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Please refer to the "How to Apply" section for instructions on submitting transcripts.
Additional information
Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Reemployment Priority List (RPL): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP or RPL eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.
Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period.
Promotion Potential: If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed.
Physical Demands: The work requires some physical exertion such as long periods of standing, traversing steep slopes and rough construction sites, recurring bending and stooping, jumping across shallow ditches, walking in soft, muddy and slippery conditions, and lifting and carrying equipment and samples that weigh up to 50 pounds.
Work Environment: Work is typically performed in an office setting. Frequent trips to field sites involve exposure to construction equipment and the environment, and extreme temperatures of hot and cold. Employees will be required to wear hard hats and observe necessary precautions on scaffolding, in trenches, and in the area of moving machinery. Exposure to noise levels common to construction sites with with large earth moving equipment can be expected. There will be exposure to disease carrying insects and irritating plants.
Telework: This position is eligible for telework as determined by the agency policy.
Incentives: Recruitment and/or Relocation incentives may be authorized.
Bargaining Unit: This is a non-bargaining unit position.
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Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
Benefits
Help
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
This position is located in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), New Jersey State Office and reports to the State Conservationist.
The incumbent serves as an area engineer and is responsible for providing technical guidance and leadership planning, design, installation, and maintenance of the engineering phases of soil and water conservation practices as well as watershed flood protection programs.
Learn more about this agency
Duties
Help
- Supervises planning, design and construction of engineering practices such as water management, animal waste management, erosion control, flood control, wetland creation of restoration, and other conservation practices needing engineering guidance.
- Directs the type, scope, and intensity of field investigations and surveys needed for the practice implementation.
- Makes periodic on-site inspections of the engineering work for technical adequacy and adherence to standards and policy.
- Prepares or reviews field designs and preliminary and final drawings and specifications on agricultural engineering practices.
- Directs and prepares designs, preliminary and final drawings and specifications on complex engineering practices.
- Provide technical guidance and training to personnel in the assigned area and throughout the state on all engineering practices and in the use and care of engineering equipment.
Requirements
Help
Conditions of employment
- You must be a US Citizen or US National.
- Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
- Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. If selected, you may be sent instructions on obtaining fingerprints. Please note we are unable to reimburse for any fees incurred.
- As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
- Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
- Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov.
- Must possess and maintain a valid state motor vehicle operator's license for the type of vehicle(s) operated to perform the duties of this position.
Qualifications
In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.
Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. If education is required or being used to qualify, you must submit a copy of your transcripts.
This is an interdisciplinary position and may be filled in any of the job series listed below.
Basic Education Requirement for 0810/0890 series:
A. Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree be in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) http://main.abet.org/aps/accreditedprogramsearch.aspx as a professional engineering curriculum; 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 Experiencecollege-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional 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 licensureCurrent 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 Boards 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, which is administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and 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 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.
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, provide the applicant has had a 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.
In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education listed below.
Specialized Experience Requirement
Specialized Experience for the GS-11 Grade Level: To qualify for the GS-11 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-9 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to the following: applying engineering knowledge and expertise in developing moderate to complex engineering designs, performing quality assurance activities for construction activities, writing technical reports, and participating in technical reviews of other engineering work.
OR
Substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience for the GS-11 level: 3 year(s) of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a PH.D or equivalent doctoral degree in engineering or related field of study;
OR
Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of graduate-level education and experience, as described above, may be used to qualify for this position. This combination must have equipped you with the necessary knowledge and/or experience to successfully perform the duties of this position. Combinations of experience and education must total at least 100% as outlined in OPM Qualifications policy.
Specialized Experience for the GS-12 Grade Level: To qualify for the GS-12 level, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level or higher in Federal service, or comparable experience not gained through Federal service. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to the following: applying engineering knowledge and expertise in developing complex engineering designs, performing project management and oversight for complex construction sites, writing technical reports on complex engineering topics, and completing technical reviews of other other engineering work.
Note: There is no education substitution for the GS-12 level.
For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications…
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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Time-in-Grade Requirement: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. You must meet this requirement by the closing date of this announcement.
Education
College Transcript: If qualifying based on education, you must submit a copy of your college transcript with course number and department (i.e., Bio 101, Math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours, and grade earned. If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g., special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college to ensure proper evaluation.
Your education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to be credited toward qualifications. You may verify accreditation by visiting the U.S. Department of Education Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs website. We will verify your education accordingly.
Foreign Education: You must submit verification that education completed in a foreign institution, was recognized by an accreditation body accepted by the U.S. Department of Education. You must include a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) website. Your transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.
You may submit an unofficial copy of your transcript at the initial phase of the application process. However, if selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Please refer to the "How to Apply" section for instructions on submitting transcripts.
Additional information
Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Reemployment Priority List (RPL): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP or RPL eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.
Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period.
Promotion Potential: If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed.
Physical Demands: The work requires some physical exertion such as long periods of standing, traversing steep slopes and rough construction sites, recurring bending and stooping, jumping across shallow ditches, walking in soft, muddy and slippery conditions, and lifting and carrying equipment and samples that weigh up to 50 pounds.
Work Environment: Work is typically performed in an office setting. Frequent trips to field sites involve exposure to construction equipment and the environment, and extreme temperatures of hot and cold. Employees will be required to wear hard hats and observe necessary precautions on scaffolding, in trenches, and in the area of moving machinery. Exposure to noise levels common to construction sites with with large earth moving equipment can be expected. There will be exposure to disease carrying insects and irritating plants.
Telework: This position is eligible for telework as determined by the agency policy.
Incentives: Recruitment and/or Relocation incentives may be authorized.
Bargaining Unit: This is a non-bargaining unit position.
Expand Hide additional information
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
Benefits
Help
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.