Engineering Technician (Petroleum).

Bureau of Land Management; Dickinson (ND); On-site; USD 42,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

The Bureau of Land Management in Dickinson, ND seeks a Petroleum Engineering Technician to perform on-site inspections of oil and gas operations and to enforce applicable laws and permits. You will document findings, coordinate with engineers, and issue orders when violations occur.

The role requires meeting GS-06/07/08 qualifications, preparing formal enforcement documentation, and maintaining records in government databases. Travel to field sites is expected as part of the duties.

Qualifications

• Specialized experience documenting observations, recommendations, and compliance actions.
• Graduate-level study related to petroleum engineering with transcripts.
• Hours per week must be stated to qualify.

Responsibilities

• Inspect oil and gas operations for compliance with laws and approvals.
• Perform on-site inspections of drilling, production, environmental work, and abandonment.
• Prepare Written Orders and INCs when violations are noted during inspections.
• Complete follow-up inspections and gather evidence for potential legal actions.
• Document inspections and enforcement actions in government databases.

Skills

Monitoring systems

Drilling equipment

Safety compliance

Engineering collaboration

Education

Graduate study in petroleum engineering or related field

Job description

Duties

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

• Perform inspections of oil and gas operations and enforces all appropriate laws, rules, and regulations as well as the terms and conditions specified in the various approvals.
• Perform on-site compliance inspections for all phases of oil and gas operations, specifically: drilling and work-over, production, environmental, and plugging and abandonment.
• Prepare documentation after compliance inspection(s) are complete and issues Written Orders and Incidents of Non-Compliance (INC) when problems or violations are noted during inspection(s).
• Complete follow-up inspections to determine if compliance was met by operators and recommends further action as necessary. If required, prepare documents for evidence in legal contests.
• Utilize applicable government databases to document inspections and completes enforcement actions as applicable within the database.

Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

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
• Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment.
• An applicant appointed to this position must possess (or obtain within 30 days of entrance on duty) and maintain a US Government Motor Vehicle Operator’s Identification Card.
• You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority.
• A financial disclosure report will be required within 30 days of appointment.
• You must successfully complete the BLM Petroleum Engineering Technician (PET) Certification Program and continue service in the Federal Government for 2 years from the date of obtaining certification.
• PET certification is required at the GS-10 and GS-11 grades and must be maintained.
• You cannot hold an active real estate license, nor can you have an interest or hold stocks in firms with interest in Federal Lands.
• You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
• You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 1-3 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated.

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.

Qualifications

*Additional Requirements located under qualifications*

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 period 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 - 09/16/2026-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.

To qualify for this position at the GS-06 grade level:

Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as performing duties such as:

• Applies standardized rules and procedures, requiring extended training or experience to determine and select the most efficient methods.
• Documents observations, recommendations, compliance, noncompliance, and occasional verbal communications, through preparation of forms and data base entries for review by supervisor or more senior technician.

You must include hours per week worked.

Education: Successful completion of at least one full year of graduate education directly related to the work of this position (i.e., major study in petroleum engineering or a related field). You must include transcripts.

Combination of education and experience as listed above. To combine education and experience, first take the percentage of 1 year course of study completed in graduate school. Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week and transcripts.

To qualify for this position at the GS-07 grade level:

Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-06 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined perfroming duties such as:

• Utilize monitoring systems for drilling fluids;
• Operate and maintain drilling and production equipment;
• Safety compliance (i.e. follow procedures, check surface casing, and check cementing operations);
• Work closely with engineers and other technical teams to optimize production methods.

You must include hours per week worked.

Education: Successful completion of at least one year of GRADUATE education directly related to the work of this position (i.e., major study in petroleum engineering or a related field). You must include transcripts.

Combination of education and experience as listed above. … You must include hours per week and transcripts.

To qualify for this position at the GS-08 grade level:

Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined perfroming duties such as:

• Utilize monitoring systems for drilling fluids;
• Operate and maintain drilling and production equipment;
• Safety compliance (i.e. follow procedures, check surface casing, and check cementing operations);
• Work closely with engineers and other technical teams to optimize production methods.
• Review regulations related to the petroleum industry.

You must include hours per week worked.

Education: Successful completion of at least Two full years of graduate education or a master's degree; education must be directly related to the work of a petroleum engineering technician (i.e., major study in petroleum engineering or a related field). You must include transcripts.

Combination of education and experience as listed above. … You must include hours per week and transcripts.

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

You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

Foreign Education

To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit:

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 supervision.

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:

Physical Demands

The duties of this position may require hiking into unusually rugged areas to inspect abandoned sites. PETs are subject to call 24 hours a day and may be required to work long non-stop tours-of-duty, occasionally in excess of thirty (30) hours. Some work is sedentary, although much of the job requires overnight field trips which involve physical activity on irregular terrains and work at physically demanding job sites. Work involves climbing up and down ladders and steep stairways. A large part of the time is spent driving to work sites that are located in isolated areas. This work environment requires the use of hard hats, hard-toe boots, safety glasses, ear protection equipment, poisonous gas detection equipment, and cold weather gear and/or a respirator may also be required.

Work Environment

The duties of this position requires walking under and around heavy derrick and hoisting equipment and piping and around other potentially hazardous operating equipment. Work environment involves exposure to extreme weather conditions, hostile flora and fauna, hazardous explosive fumes, poisonous gasses, toxic chemicals, high frequency noises, high-pressure and high temperature equipment, detonating devices, and moving machinery.

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.

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.

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.