Civil Engineer/Agricultural Engineer

US Natural Resources Conservation Service; Concord (NH); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

US Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in New Hampshire is seeking an Area Engineer to oversee NRCS engineering activities for a specified geographic area. The incumbent will lead engineering planning, design and evaluation, supervise quality assurance, and provide technical assistance and training to staff within the Area.

The position requires a thorough understanding of engineering principles, professional licensure or registration as applicable, and the ability to coordinate with

Qualifications

• ABET-accredited engineering degree or equivalent.
• Combination of education and experience meeting engineering foundations is acceptable per standards.
• Specialized experience and/or education as defined for GS-12 level including engineering planning, design, and construction of conservation practices.

Responsibilities

• Serve as Area Engineer for an assigned geographical area.
• Assist area-wide engineering staff.
• Responsible for NRCS engineering activity in the Area including training, quality assurance, and technical assistance.

Skills

Engineering knowledge

Training

Quality assurance

Technical assistance

Education

ABET-accredited engineering degree

Job description

This position is located in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), New Hampshire State Engineering.

The primary purpose of this position is to serve as Area Engineer for an assigned geographical area. The incumbent assists area-wide engineering staff and will be responsible for all NRCS engineering activity in the Area including training, quality assurance, and technical assistance. 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.

This is an interdisciplinary position and may be filled in any of the job series listed below.

Basic Requirement: GS-0810/0890-12:

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.

B. Combination of Education and Experience:

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 (Must submit proof of registration or licensure with you application);
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 (Must submit proof of passing written test with your application);
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 (Must submit transcripts);
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.) (Must submit transcripts)

In addition to meeting one of the Basic Requirements listed above, applicants must meet the following Minimum Qualifications Requirement in order to be considered:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required specialized experience and/or education for the respective grade level(s) in which you are applying:

Specialized Experience Requirement

For the GS-12 grade level: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in federal service or comparable experience not gained through federal service. Examples of specialized experience include formulation of engineering planning, design and construction of conservation practices that address natural resource protection (such as livestock water development, floodwater protection, soil erosion, animal waste control, water quality protection, and ground/surface water conservation);analyzing and managing engineering workload; identifying training needs of personnel and delivering training on both individual and group levels; and recommending technical policies and procedures that strengthen the agency's ability to deliver quality resource conservation.

Note: There is no education substitution for specialized experience at the GS-12 grade level.

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.