Summary You will serve as a Hydraulic Engineer in the Hydraulics Team of the Technical Services Branch, Central Federal Lands Highway Division (CFLHD), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), located in Lakewood, Colorado. CFLHD is responsible for the Federal Lands Highway program in fourteen western states, providing hydraulic engineer assistance to each CFLHD branch. Responsibilities As a Civil Engineer (Hydraulics), you will: Conducts hydrologic, hydraulic, geomorphologic analysis for supporting design of bridge structures, floodplain encroachments, bank stabilizations, highway drainage structures, aquatic organism passage structures, channel restoration and water quality improvement structures in support of transportation-related project delivery and construction. Conducts hydraulic analysis for location and design of culverts, under drains, channel protection, channel changes, and roadway ditches. Conducts hydrology studies to determine estimated peak rates of runoff at appropriate design recurrence intervals for optimum design of bridges, culverts, and channels. Serves as a technical resource to other offices within FHWA and to outside agencies. Stays abreast of state of the art and state of the practice within the hydraulics and hydrology areas, including bio-engineering technologies and applicable software. Actively promotes new technologies and implements new/improved methodologies. Participates as a member of interdisciplinary teams, collaborating in the development and construction of highway projects. Confers with and collaborates with subject matter specialists in analyzing environmental effects and development of alternate solutions related to aquatic organism passage, bank stabilization, wetlands, water quality, and floodplain values. The ideal candidate for this position is a mid-career hydraulics engineering professional with diverse experience in all aspects of hydrologic analysis, riverine hydraulic analysis, sedimentation and erosion control, and compliance as related to the location, environmental impact, design, and construction of hydraulic facilities. In this position you will serve as a subject-matter specialist with expertise in the fields of hydrology, hydraulics, sedimentation, and erosion control. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. citizen & meet specialized experience to qualify Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date Required documents must be submitted by the closing date. Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT: SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service. BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You will be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding. GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel. A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only. PCS/RELOCATION/RECRUITMENT: Permanent Change of Station (PCS), Relocation, and Recruitment Incentive authorization varies by position/selection and a service agreement may be required. PROBATIONARY PERIOD: Applicants may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed). TELEWORK: This position may be eligible for occasional and/or regularly scheduled telework. The number of telework days approved will be determined by your immediate supervisor or manager following the agency’s telework policy and guidance. If participating in the telework program, you will be required to sign a telework agreement detailing agency telework policy requirements, working conditions, and expectations for the position. Qualifications MANDATORY EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS: To meet the basic qualifications for this position, you must (1) meet the Mandatory Education Requirement for the series, AND (2) provide a copy of your transcripts or other applicable documentation for verification and (3) meet the specialized experience requirements for each grade you are applying to. Please review the following information before proceeding with the application process: (1) All applicants must meet the education requirements under A or B to qualify for applying to an engineering position: 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: Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT)1 , 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. 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. 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. 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). (2) Specialized Experience: To determine which grade(s) you are eligible for, review the following grade specific details. You will be asked questions as part of your application but make sure to verify how you meet this experience in your resume or you may be deemed ineligible. For the GS-11: On Experience, you must have at least one year of specialized experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-09 grade level, which included: Experience performing river and bridge hydraulics analyses using hydraulic modeling software, conducting bridge scour analyses, performing culvert hydraulic analysis and design, and designing roadway drainage features. Or on Education, you must have 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree OR Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. You can also have a combination of graduate education and experience. This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts, provided with your application. For the GS-12: On Experience, you must have at least one year of specialized experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-11 grade level, which included: Experience performing river and bridge hydraulics analyses using hydraulic modeling software, conducting bridge scour analyses, performing culvert hydraulic analysis and design, and designing roadway drainage features, and Experience with 2-dimensional riverine modeling systems. Although you must first meet the mandatory education requirement, you cannot qualify for the GS-12 grade based on education, you must meet the specialized experience, which is cited above. (3) Upload the appropriate document(s) to your application for verification purposes. (Refer to 'Required Documents' section for additional guidance). Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within six months of the closing date of this announcement. If selected, the final transcript must be received before your start date. Other applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Transcripts are required for this position. KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas: Creativity and Innovation - Develops new insights into situations; questions conventional approaches; encourages new ideas and innovations; designs and implements new or cutting edge programs/processes. Hydraulic Engineering - Knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, and methods applicable to analysis of the flow of fluids (open channel and pressure flow), estimation of river stages, and design of hydraulic structures, drainage structures, pipes, navigation facilities, reservoirs, locks, and dams. Quality Management - Knowledge of the principles, methods, and tools of quality assurance, quality control, and reliability used to ensure that a project, system, or product fulfills requirements and standards. Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately. For all types of consideration, 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 See the Qualifications section for Mandatory Education Requirements. For additional information, please refer to the OPM qualifications standard for GS-800: All Professional Engineering Positions qualifications at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf Additional Information The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Transportation and its Operating Administrations from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to the Department of Transportation by email at, FairChanceAct@dot.gov. To learn more, please visit our page at: The Fair Chance to Compete Act | US Department of Transportation This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate. Qualified CTAP/ICTAP candidates receive priority and will be referred to the hiring manager.