Engineering Technician

Summary Reclamation is seeking a career professional looking for an opportunity to capitalize on their expertise as a Engineering Technician. Make a difference in the West by assisting in meeting increasing water demands while protecting the environment. Duty Location: Boise, Idaho Responsibilities Developes and uses state-of-the-art methods with PCs, CADD, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and other specialized engineering software to accomplish duties; Works with and maintaining contacts with higher graded technicians, computer specialists, engineers, geologists to accomplishing duties.; Utilizes Autodesk Data Platform (ADP) and Computer Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) systems to develop methods to accomplish engineering-oriented work; Prepares narrative statements explaining methodology of calculations and sources of data as needed; Exercises judgment and making recommendations to engineer on most effective plans for accomplishing the project purpose. Requirements Conditions of Employment Must be a U.S. Citizen or National. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service. Direct Deposit participation required. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest. This probationary or trial period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will 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. Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary or trial your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 10/07/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: BASIC REQUIREMENTS: You must meet the minimum basic specialized experience requirements for Engineering Technical Series, GS-0802 positions. In addition, you must have at least one year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the next lower level in the federal service. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE (for positions at GS-4 or equivalent and above): Examples of qualifying specialized experience include technical work in: drafting, surveying construction estimating, physical science, mathematics, aerospace, architecture, chemicals, electrical or mechanical systems, mining, petroleum, or nuclear systems TRADE: Experience in a trade or craft may be credited as specialized experience when the work provided intensive knowledge of engineering principles, techniques, methods, and precedents. Examples are trade positions with substantial developmental, test, or design responsibilities such as: Planner and estimator who analyzed designs for production purposes. Instrument maker or model maker who performed design or development work on devices fabricated. -or- CERTIFICATION: Engineering technicians may be certified by the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies, an organization sponsored by the National Society of Professional Engineers. Certification by the Institute will be helpful as a measure of the technician's quality of experience. EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: (OPM Operating Manual, Qualification Standards for Technical and Medical Support Positions, GS-0802 & IOR). For the GS-09 Level: Applicants must have one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-08 grade level in the Federal service (obtained either in the private or public sectors) performing at least three (3) of five (5) of the following: 1) preparing general layouts, for electric, civil and mechanical engineering design drawings; 2) preparing general layouts, for geology drawings.; 3) using general topographic data to prepare survey drawings; 4) performing engineering computations and checking computations performed by division engineers by compiling and computing quantities from final drawings; and 5) utilizing Autodesk Data Platform (ADP) and Computer Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) systems to develop methods to accomplish engineering oriented work. For the GS-10 Level: Applicants must have one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service (obtained either in the private or public sectors) performing at least four (4) of five (5) of the following: 1) utilizing Autodesk Data Platform (ADP) and Computer Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) systems to develop methods to accomplish engineering oriented work.; 2) identifying and evaluating alternative engineering plans for accomplishing project purposes established by engineers; 3) listing and extracting engineering data from records, specifications, drawings, tabulations, etc.; and 4) receiving direction from Reclamation engineers/geologists and higher graded technicians when significant deviation from standard practices are required. For the GS-11 Level: Applicants must have one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-10 grade level in the Federal service (obtained either in the private or public sectors) performing the following: 1) developing and using state-of-the-art methods with PCs, CADD, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and other specialized engineering software to accomplish duties; 2) working with and maintaining contacts with higher graded technicians, computer specialists, engineers, geologists to accomplishing duties; 3) utilizing Autodesk Data Platform (ADP) and Computer Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) systems to develop methods to accomplish engineering oriented work; 4) preparing narrative statements explaining methodology of calculations and sources of data as needed; and 5) exercising judgment and making recommendations to engineer on most effective plans for accomplishing the project purpose. Volunteer Experience: 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. Education Physical Demands: The work is primarily sedentary, although there is some walking in offices, production areas, utility plants, maintenance, and work areas. Work may involve carrying lightweight items, such as briefcases, notebooks, test equipment, and work papers or may involve operating a motor vehicle. The work does not require any special physical effort or ability. The work requires some physical exertion, such as long periods of standing; walking over rough, uneven, rocky, or slippery surfaces; recurring bending, crouching, stooping, stretching, climbing, or similar activities; recurring lifting of light to moderately heavy items weighing less than 50 pounds (i.e., 23 kilograms), such as testing or measuring equipment; and/or regular visits to construction, industrial, marine, or other outdoor sites. The work requires considerable and strenuous physical exertion, such as: frequent climbing of tall ladders, staging, or scaffolding in dry-dock and vessel areas; working in areas where footing can be treacherous (e.g., on rocky banks of bodies of fast-water, slippery docks, or steep hillsides); lifting heavy objects weighing 50 pounds (i.e., 23 kilograms) or more; and frequent crouching or crawling in restricted areas. Work Environment: The work area is usually an office setting adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts requiring normal safety precautions. Work involves regular and recurring exposure to moderate risks and discomforts, such as the following: dust, strong odors, or fumes from fuels, chemicals, or engine exhaust; high levels of noise and vibration, dust, grease, electrical hazards, uncovered moving parts of machinery, moving machinery; or outdoor conditions involving moderate exposure to rain, cold/hot weather, icy streams, and rivers. The work environment requires the employee to stay alert continually and to take special safety precautions including wearing special protective items of clothing. The work environment involves high risks of exposure to potentially dangerous situations or unusual environmental stress requiring a range of safety and other precautions where conditions cannot be controlled (e.g., working at great heights under extreme outdoor weather conditions). Additional Information Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement. Promotion to the full performance level is neither guaranteed nor implied and will be based solely on your ability to satisfactorily perform the work of the position, existing work at the higher grade level, and recommendation by the position's supervisor. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. ( If otherwise eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information visit: Recruitment Incentive or Relocation Incentive. A continued service agreement may be required if it is determined you are eligible for a permanent change in duty station (PCS), recruitment, or relocation incentive. All DOI employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here, DOI Ethics Prohibitions | U.S. Department of the Interior.