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Civil Engineer (Coastal Engineer) (RECENT GRADUATE)

Department of the Army
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Los Angeles Engineering Division
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Summary

About the Position: This position may be filled either as a developmental position or at the target grade.

This position is being filled under the Direct Hire Authority for Post-Secondary Students and Recent Graduates.

Recruitment incentives, including student loan repayment, may be offered to highly qualified candidates.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
04/13/2021 to 04/27/2021
Salary
$61,019 to - $95,980 per year

GS-09 $61,019 - 79,323 GS-11 $73,827 - 95,980

Pay scale & grade
GS 9 - 11
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Los Angeles, CA
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel 20% for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
WTKC219576254802HS
Control number
598160200

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

DIRECT HIRING AUTHORITY - POST- SECONDARY & RECENT GRADUATES

Duties

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  • Prepares coastal hydraulic analyses of storms, waves, tides, surf zone processes, littoral processes, wave run-up, wave overtopping and their effects.
  • Performs professional engineering work to develop one or more of the major features of a coastal engineering or related project.
  • These projects include, but are not limited to breakwaters, jetties, revetments, groins, seawalls, navigation channels, dredging, port and harbor operations, beach nourishment, wetlands, lagoons, and estuaries.
  • Confers with engineers, planners and environmental specialists to define the nature and scope of problems and project objectives, and to jointly develop plans of study to address coastal engineering issues.
  • Perform field inspections and investigations for orientation, observing field conditions, gathering first-hand technical data, direction of field reporting activities, witnessing, or conducting tests.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • A trial or probationary period may be required in accordance with agency policy.
  • Must have a driver's license or be willing to obtain and maintain a valid state driver's license.
  • This position have occasional strenuous field work and site visits which may involve hiking on breakwaters and jetties; activities in the surf zone, etc.
  • Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: To be eligible for consideration you must meet the definition of recent graduate as defined below.

Recent Graduate: a person who was awarded a degree by an institution of higher education not more than two years before the date of the appointment of the applicant. Exception: For a person who has completed a period of obligated service in a uniformed service of more than four years, the degree may be awarded by an institution of higher education not more than four years before the date of the appointment of the applicant.

Applications will also be considered from current students who expect to complete qualifying education within 9 months from the date of application. Successful completion of education will be verified before an applicant can be appointed.

In order to qualify, you must meet the education requirements described below, or have current student status and expect to meet the education requirements within 9 months of application. 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 education and experience.

Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Basic Requirement:

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.

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

GS-09:
Specialized experience: One year of specialized experience which includes providing engineering support to senior engineers performing at least one of the following coastal engineering tasks: hydrodynamic evaluations of coastal storms, waves, near shore wave processes, and tides; analyses of littoral sediment transport processes and sediment budgets; evaluation of in-situ coastal structures (such as breakwaters, jetties, harbors) and development of coastal structure design solutions; design and evaluation of small craft harbor and/or deep draft port operations; and/or development of dredging plans and dredge quantity estimates for harbors or rivers. (or, a master's in Coastal engineering). This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-07).
OR
Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 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: Coastal Engineering
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%.

GS-11:
Specialized experience: One year of specialized experience which includes bearing the responsibility for and performing at least one of the following coastal engineering tasks: hydrodynamic evaluations of coastal storms, waves, near shore wave processes, and tides; analyses of littoral sediment transport processes and sediment budgets; evaluation of in-situ coastal structures (such as breakwaters, jetties, harbors) and development of coastal structure design solutions; design and evaluation of small craft harbor and/or deep draft port operations; and/or development of dredging plans and dredge quantity estimates for harbors or rivers. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-09).
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: Coastal Engineering.
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%.

Education

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

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.
  • Direct deposit of pay is required.
  • This is a Career Program (CP) 18 - Engineers and Scientists position.
  • Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
  • Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
  • When you perform a Civilian Permanent Change of Station (PCS) with the government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers the majority of your entitlements to be taxable. Visit https://www.dfas.mil/civilianemployees/civrelo/Civilian-Moving-Expenses-Tax-Deduction/ for more information.
  • If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.
  • Permanent Change of Station (PCS) allowances may be authorized, subject to the provisions of the Joint Travel Regulations and an agency determination that a PCS move is in the Government Interest.
  • Relocation or Recruitment incentive may be authorized if found in the best interest of the Government.
  • Recent Graduates will be appointed to a permanent, career or career-conditional appointment in the competitive service.
  • May be selected at any grade level with non-competitive promotion potential to target grade. Non-competitive promotion potential to the target grade is based on time-in-grade requirements and demonstrated ability to perform the higher graded duties.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. If, after reviewing your résumé and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.

Veterans and Military Spouses will be considered along with all other candidates.

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