Civil Engineer

Summary

This position is with Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), Technical Support, Mine Waste & Geotechnical Engineering Division.

MSHA works to prevent death, illness and injury from mining; promote safe and healthful workplaces for U.S. miners. MSHA carries out the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine Act) as amended by the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act of 2006.

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Duties

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The responsibilities described are for the full performance level GS-12. At developmental grade levels, assignments will be of more limited scope performed with less independence, and limited complexity.

• Employs basic and advanced engineering concepts and applied research techniques in executing duties and transfers the results of highly theoretical or complex studies to practical applications.
• Review engineering plans for dams and other mine waste disposal facilities.
• Evaluate problems in geotechnical engineering such as soil or rock slope stability, rockfalls, foundations, and retaining walls.
• Analyze structural engineering problems related to the safety of mine structures such as preparation and processing plants, storage facilities, and bulkheads.
• Analyze safety problems related to mining operations such as haul roads, subsidence, or mining near bodies of water.
• Conduct field and accident investigations in areas of Division responsibility to make observations and collect data that will allow an assessment of conditions or the cause of an accident to be determined.
• Develop and deliver technical training on topics related to the Division's mission.
• Serve as an expert witness in both civil and criminal litigations to provide engineering expertise and services to defend the agency's position.
• Advise the supervisor of developing issues and trends related to areas of Division responsibility.
• Provide input to developing a strategy to correct the issue or improve the condition.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Must be at least 16 years old.
• Requires a probationary period if the requirement has not been met.
• Candidate required to obtain the necessary security/investigation level.
• Subject to financial disclosure requirements.
• Requires a valid driver's license.

Qualifications

In addition to the basic requirements as described in the Education section, your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience and/or additional education requirements defined below. If qualifying based on experience, be sure these types of examples are evident in your resume.

Specialized Experience is the experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position successfully, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level.

For this position, specialized experience is defined as professional engineering work the demonstrates a thorough comprehensive knowledge of concepts, principles, and practices of engineering in the mining industry including knowledge of rock mechanics concepts and methods of experimental stress analysis, underground mining equipment, and a comprehensive knowledge of long-wall mining as practiced in the United States.

GS-7:

Must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-5 that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, experience and skills to successfully perform the duties of the position.

Specialized experience must include the following:

• Assisting with the design of civil engineering projects
• Writing and reviewing engineering related reports to ensure compliance with requirements.

OR

Applicants must have one full year of graduate level education (coursework directly related to position being filled);

OR

Superior Academic Achievement:

Class standing Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Engineering, based on completed courses.

Grade-point average (G.P.A.) Applicants must have a grade-point average of:

• 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or
• 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.

Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. Membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision. ( Proof of membership must be submitted. )

OR

Successful completion of a 5-year program of study of at least 160 semester hours leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering;

OR

An appropriate combination of graduate level education and specialized experience as described above.

GS-9:

Must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, experience and skills to successfully perform the duties of the position.

Specialized experience must include the following:

• Working on projects with regular guidance from senior engineers, collecting data through field activities,
• Assisting with the preparation of reports, plans, and other project documentation.
• General experience with soil and rock mechanics, foundation engineering, earth dam design, hydrology, hydraulics and structural mechanics.

OR

Possess a master's or equivalent graduate degree with course work directly related to the position being filled that provided the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of this position; OR, Possess two (2) full years of progressively higher level graduate education with course work directly related to the position being filled that provided the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of this position;

OR

Successful completion of a 5-year program of study of at least 160 semester hours leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering and 1 year of appropriate professional experience. Professional engineering experience is defined as nonroutine engineering work that required and was characterized by (1) professional knowledge of engineering; (2) professional ability to apply such knowledge to engineering problems; and (3) positive and continuing development of professional knowledge and ability.

OR

Possess a combination of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in or related to the work of this position and graduate level education (only graduate education in excess of 18 semester hours may be used to qualify applicants for this grade level) with course work directly related to the position being filled that provided the specific knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position.

GS-11:

Must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, experience and skills to successfully perform the duties of the position.

Specialized experience must include the following:

• Experience in the areas of soil and rock mechanics, foundation engineering, earth dam design, hydrology, hydraulics, and structural mechanics.
• Experience in the mining industry, including mining and processing methods.
• Experience of testing procedures used to determine the engineering properties of construction materials, including metals, soil, rock, and mine waste materials.

OR

Possess a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree that provided the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of this position; OR, Possess three (3) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree with course work directly related to the position being filled that provided the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of this position;

OR

Possess a combination of Specialized Experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in or related to the work of this position and graduate level education an appropriate combination of specialized experience and graduate level education (beyond what is required for a master's degree, i.e., more than 36 semester hours leading to a Ph.D.) with course work directly related to the position being filled that provided the specific knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position.

GS-12:

Must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, experience and skills to successfully perform the duties of the position.

Specialized experience must include the following:

• Experience in the areas of soil and rock mechanics, foundation engineering, earth dam design, hydrology, hydraulics, and structural mechanics.
• Experience in the mining industry, including mining and processing methods.
• Experience of testing procedures used to determine the engineering properties of construction materials, including metals, soil, rock, and mine waste materials.
• Experience conducting accident and field investigations.

There is no substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience at the GS-12 grade level.

Education

You must meet the Basic Requirements to qualify for Civil Engineer GS-0810, as described below.

Transcripts must be submitted to verify education requirements.

Basic Requirement: 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), 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, 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, 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.)

Any applicant falsely claiming an academic degree from an accredited school will be subject to actions ranging from disqualification from federal employment to removal from federal service.

If your education was completed at a foreign college or university, you must show comparability to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States and comparability to applicable minimum coursework requirements for this position. Click Evaluation of Foreign Education for more information.

Additional information

Applicants must meet all legal and regulatory requirements. Reference the Required Documents section for additional requirements.

The mission of the Department of Labor (DOL) is to protect the welfare of workers and job seekers, improve working conditions, expand high-quality employment opportunities, and assure work-related benefits and rights for all workers.

Refer to these links for more information: GENERAL INFORMATION, REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS, ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION, FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

As a condition of employment, all personnel must undergo a background investigation for access to DOL facilities, systems, information and/or classified materials before they can enter on duty: BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION

This position is inside the bargaining unit. If the duty location is within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, the position will be included in the Local 12, AFGE bargaining unit. If the duty location is outside the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, the position will be included in the NCFLL bargaining unit.

This position is subject to the confidential financial disclosure requirements of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-521). Therefore, if selected, you will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) to determine if a conflict or an appearance of a conflict exists between your financial interest(s) and your prospective position with DOL. This information will be required annually.

All MSHA employees and their spouses, and minor children are prohibited by regulation from having any interest, direct or indirect, in any mine or mining company that may be directly affected by the work of MSHA through its investigations, technical research, or other activities. These interests are prohibited under the Department of Labor's Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct Regulations at 5 CFR 5201.105. Certain MSHA employees are required to file a financial disclosure report. For questions, please contact Wendy Elschide at View email address on click.appcast.io or View phone number on click.appcast.io.

Based on agency needs, additional positions may be filled using this vacancy.

The Department of Labor may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government to attract highly qualified candidates. Click for more information on Pay, Leave, and Workforce Flexibilities.

The Fair Chance Act (FCA) prohibits Federal agencies from requesting an applicant's criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment. If you believe a DOL employee has violated your rights under the FCA, you may file a complaint of the alleged violation following our agency's complaint process Guidelines for Reporting Violations of the Fair Chance Act.

Note: The FCA does not apply to some positions specified under the Act, such as law enforcement or national security positions.

All Department of Labor employees are subject to the provisions of the Drug-Free Workplace Program under Executive Order 12564 and Public Law 100-71.

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.