Interdisciplinary

Summary

This is a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) solicitation utilizing the DHA for Certain Personnel of the DoD Workforce to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service.

About the Position: Serves as a cost engineer with responsibility for developing cost estimates for all phases of large and complex civil works, support for others, HTRW and military projects, preparing estimates for in-house designs and reviewing estimates prepared by Architect-Engineer (A-E) firms.

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Duties

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• Prepares detailed Independent Government cost estimates
• Develops direct cost pricing by selecting the methods of construction and preparing a detailed plant, equipment, labor and material cost breakdown.
• Performs research and compiles pricing information on materials and equipment.
• Prepares initial estimates for use in developing conceptual proposals, planning purposes, preliminary designs, additive alternatives, modifications, claims, negotiations, awards, terminations, 8-A contracts, etc.
• Studies and interprets basic design data and reviews completed plans and specifications to identify discrepancies or to detect omissions.
• Maintains liaison with contractors, suppliers and manufacturer's representatives.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• This position requires the incumbent be able to successfully complete a National Agency Check with Inquiries (NACI) background investigation. A background investigation and credit check are required.
• This position has a Temporary Duty (TDY) or business travel requirement of 15% of the time.
• This position requires you to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE450) upon entry, and annually thereafter.
• This position requires the incumbent to possess or be able to obtain a Driver's License within 30 days of employment.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens

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 the Natural Resources Management and Biological Series 0401 Series:

A. Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.

OR

B. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Basic Requirement for the Architecture 0808 series:

A. Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in architecture or in a related field that included 60 semester hours of course work in architecture or related disciplines of which at least (1) 30 semester hours were in architectural design, and (2) 6 semester hours were in each of the following: structural technology, properties of materials and methods of construction, and environmental control systems.

OR

B. Combination of Education and Experience: College-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the arts and sciences underlying professional architecture, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the architectural principles, methods, and techniques and their applications to the design and construction or improvement of buildings. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by at least one of the following: (1) Related Curriculum - Degree in architectural engineering provided the completed course work in architectural engineering provided knowledge, skills, and abilities substantially equivalent to those provided in the courses specified in statement A above, or (2) Experience: 1 year of experience in an architect's office or in architectural work for each year short of graduation from a program of study in architecture. In the absence of any college courses, 5 years of such experience is required. This experience must have demonstrated that you have acquired a thorough knowledge of the fundamental principles and theories of professional architecture.

Basic Requirement for the General Engineering 0801, Civil Engineering 0810, Environmental Engineering 0819, Mechanical Engineering 0830, and Electrical Engineering 0850 Series:

Please see education section below.

Basic Requirement for the General Physical Science Series, 1301:

A. Degree: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics.

OR

B. Combination of education and experience education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Basic Requirement for the Chemistry Series, 1320:

A. Degree: physical sciences, life sciences, or engineering that included 30 semester hours in chemistry, supplemented by course work in mathematics through differential and integral calculus, and at least 6 semester hours of physics.

OR

B. Combination of education and experience course work equivalent to a major as shown in A above, including at least 30 semester hours in chemistry, supplemented by mathematics through differential and integral calculus, and at least 6 semester hours of physics, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Basic Requirement for the Geology Series, 1350:

Please see education section below.

(NOTE: Applicants MUST submit/upload a copy of the transcripts with the application package. For application purposes, unofficial transcripts are acceptable.)

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

GS-11:Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes meeting TWO OF THE FOLLOWING: 1) Assist in negotiating construction costs with stakeholders such as, architects, engineers, and contractors; 2) Provide input on architect/engineering construction cost estimates; and 3) Assist in the review of design specifications/plans to recommend corrections or changes.

This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-09) or equivalent level.

OR

Education: 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 do the work of the position, such as: Engineering or Architecture.

OR

Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages.

GS-12:Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes meeting THREE OF THE FOLLOWING: 1) Prepare architect/engineering construction cost estimates; 2) review design specifications/plans to recommend corrections or changes; 3) negotiate with contractors on scopes of work and cost estimates for projects; and 4) provide cost analysis during both the pre-design and construction phases of military and/or civil works projects.

This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-09) or equivalent level.

GS 12 ONLY- *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 aloneno substitution of education for experience is permitted.*

Education

Basic Requirement for the General Engineering 0801, Civil Engineering 0810, Environmental Engineering 0819, Mechanical Engineering 0830, and Electrical Engineering 0850 Series:

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.

Basic Requirement for the Geology Series, 1350:

A. Degree: geology, plus 20 additional semester hours in any combination of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological science, structural, chemical, civil, mining or petroleum engineering, computer science, planetary geology, comparative planetology, geophysics, meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, physical geography, marine geology, and cartography.

OR

B. Combination of education and experience course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.(Note: Acceptable experience may have been gained through geological field or laboratory work that provided a means of obtaining professional knowledge of the theory and application of the principles of geology and closely related sciences, e.g., geophysics, geochemistry, or hydrology. Such work generally must have involved making close observations, taking samples, handling various types of instruments and equipment, assembling geologic data from source materials, and analyzing and reporting findings orally and in writing. In some situations, professional scientific experience in other fields may be accepted in part as professional geological experience. Such experience must have been preceded by appropriate education in geology or by professional geological experience, and must have contributed directly and significantly to the applicant's professional geological competence. To receive credit for geological experience obtained in positions that are not full-time professional geological positions, the applicant is responsible for indicating clearly the actual time or percentage of time devoted to geologic duties within such positions, and for giving adequate descriptions of the geologic functions.)

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:

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.
• This position requires a 1 year probationary period during which the agency evaluates your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In making this determination, the agency may consider your performance and conduct; agency needs and interests; whether your continued employment supports organizational or Government goals; and whether it promotes the efficiency of the Federal service. Continued employment requires written certification that it advances the public interest.
• Direct Deposit of Pay is required.
• This position requires you to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE450) upon entry, and annually thereafter.
• 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 an Engineers and Scientists (Resources and Construction) Career Program position aligned under the Construction, Analysis, Science, Infrastructure & Engineers (CASIE) Career Management Directorate.
• Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
• Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
• Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is not authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest.
• Student Loan Repayment MAY be authorized.
• Advanced in Hire MAY be authorized.
• Relocation / Recruitment Incentive MAY be authorized.
• Advanced Leave Accrual MAY be authorized.
• Position(s) will be filled at the GS-11 or GS-12 grade level.
• This is a full-time permanent developmental position. Selectee will be required to complete 52 weeks before being promoted to the next higher grade level. This position has promotion potential to the higher-grade GS-12 when requirements have been completed and when recommended by management.

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.

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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.

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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.