Civil Engineer

Overview

This position serves as a Senior Civil Engineer for airport and heliport design within the Office of Airports Safety and Standards, Airports Engineering Division, AAS-100. The incumbent serves as a principal technical specialist responsible for the application of civil engineering principles as they relate to the development of standards, specifications, criteria and guidelines for airport/heliport design, construction, techniques, quality control, maintenance and management.

Major Duties

Applies experience and comprehensive knowledge of civil engineering principles, theories and concepts as they relate to the development of standards, specifications, and guidelines for airport/heliport design. Serves as a focal point for regional engineers, airport district office (ADO) engineers and consultants in the interpretation and development of standards, specifications, criteria, and guidelines for airfield matters including: airport and heliport design, airport construction safety techniques; airport geometry standards, and runway safety recommendations to mitigate runway incursions and excursions. Reviews Modification of Standards (MOS) requests and recommends appropriate action. Evaluates trends on types of MOS submissions and recommends solutions to minimize MOS submissions. Revises and/or manages the update of assigned Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Advisory Circulars (AC) and Engineering Briefs (EB). Coordinates all changes to AC’s and EB’s with industry, airport engineers, airport sponsors, Air Traffic Organization, Flight Standards, and legal counsel. Evaluates validity and sufficiency of data; correlates technical conclusions, prepares and submits recommendations for change, adaptation, and mitigation. Monitors the dissemination and implementation of approved changes. Prepares briefings and presentations on new airport design, pavement criteria and Airports Division programs, policies and guidance. Communicates and promotes awareness of various initiatives to internal/external contacts, including FAA organizations, government agencies, aviation industry groups, foreign governments and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Prepares research requests; provides advice and guidance to research programs in airport technology conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration William J. Hughes Technical Center (Tech Center). Prepares complex correspondence for review by management including congressional responses, briefing papers, approval letters and guidance to sponsors associated with all aspects of airport development. Performs other duties as assigned. Broad policies and objectives provide general guidance for addressing issues, but allow considerable discretion to develop new and innovative approaches. Resolves all but unique technical problems without the intervention of management or a more experienced engineer. Develops plans, techniques, and policies to address current or anticipated problems and issues. Works with senior management to solve problems. Work is reviewed rarely, typically through status reports and at project completion, to ensure technical compliance and alignment with the requirements of the project or other work activity.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position you must demonstrate in your application that you possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the FV-I, FG/GS-13 level. This experience is typically related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been at least equivalent to the next lower level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE IS DEFINED AS: Experience utilizing principles, standards, specifications, criteria and guidelines for airport/heliport design, including AC 150/5300-13 Airport Design. AND; Experience leading or participating on workgroups or projects related to airport/heliport design and construction. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You should include relevant examples of the specialized experience in your work history. Errors or omissions may impact your rating or may result in you not being considered. Answer all questions to the best of your ability. DO NOT ASSUME THAT BECAUSE YOU HOLD, OR HAVE HELD THIS POSITION, YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE FOUND ELIGIBLE. You may be asked to provide evidence or documentation that you have this type of experience later in the selection process. Your responses are subject to verification through job interviews, or any other information obtained during the application process. Any exaggeration of your experience or any attempt to conceal information can result in disqualification. *Applicants who fail to demonstrate possession of any of the above criteria AND who do not provide the required documentation will receive no further consideration for this position.* Applicants may be asked to verify information on your application for employment with the FAA. **All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this vacancy announcement.** Eligible applicants meeting the minimum qualification requirements and/or selective placement factor(s) (SPF) may be further evaluated on the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA) and/or Quality Ranking Factor (QRF) listed in the announcement. Based on this evaluation, applicants will be placed in one of the following categories: (1) score order; (2) category grouping; (3) alphabetical; or (4) priority grouping, and referred to the selecting official for selection consideration.

Education

This position has a positive education requirement: Applicants must submit a copy of their college or university transcripts(s) and certificates by the closing date of announcement to verify qualifications. If selected, an official transcript will be required prior to appointment. You may upload these documents with your application in USAJOBS or fax it to fax number provided in the announcement (please include announcement number on each page). Failure to do so will result in loss of consideration. Schools must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Accreditation may be verified at the following website: www.ed.gov/accreditation. Foreign education must be evaluated by a private professional organization specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials or an accredited U.S. educational institution in terms of equivalence to a degree acquired at an American college or university. A copy of the evaluation results must be included, otherwise your foreign education will not be considered. Basic Requirements: 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: 1. 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. 2. Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)2 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. 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. 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.) Note: An applicant who meets the basic requirements as specified in A or B above, except as noted under B.1., may qualify for positions in any branch of engineering unless selective factors indicate otherwise. If you are a current or former Federal employee, and you currently hold or previously held a position classified in the 0801 occupational series, you are not required to submit a college transcript provided you upload a copy of the SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, verifying your classification in the 0801 occupational series. Applicants, who are not currently in the 0801 occupational series in the Federal Government and fail to provide a copy of an unofficial or official transcript will not receive further consideration for this vacancy. Upon selection, if not currently employed in the 0801 occupational series, you will be required to submit an official transcript prior to appointment. If you do not have an official transcript (original, with the raised seal), you should contact your school immediately to request it. Foreign Education: For additional information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

We are not accepting applications from noncitizens.