Summary This position is located in a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service state, area, or field office in Pennsylvania. The incumbent provides engineering assistance working with landowners, groups, and units of government to apply and maintain a variety of conservation practices in their area of assigned responsibility. Responsibilities Makes site evaluations to assess the need for engineering measures. Maintains construction inspection records according to current policy. Ensures procedures and products conform to current service policy and standards. Performs design computations and estimates for quantities and costs. Determines the type, scope, and intensity of field investigations and surveys based on field evaluations. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. AREA OF CONSIDERATION: Please note that this job opportunity announcement is only open to current Career/Career-Conditional employees of the USDA. If you do not possess this status, you will not receive consideration. TIME-IN-GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-06 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-07 level. One year at the GS-07 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-08 level. One year at the GS-08 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-09 level. (Please submit your SF-50 that shows Time-in-Grade eligibility and reflects your title, series, and grade. No Award or General Adjustment SF-50's will be accepted). 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 in which you are applying: GS-07 Specialized Experience: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-06 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: Making site evaluations to assess the need for engineering measures; Determining the type, scope, and intensity of field investigations and surveys needed; and Designing engineering practices and structures involved. (Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience) OR Education: One full year of graduate level education in an accredited or pre-accredited college or university in an engineering field of study. (Must submit transcripts.) OR Combination: Combination of the education and experience as described above that totals 100% when combined. When combining education with experience, first determine total qualifying education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; then determine experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; finally add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100% to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate level education may be combined with experience. (Must submit transcripts.) GS-08 Specialized Experience: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: Making site evaluations to assess the need for complex engineering measures; Inspecting or supervising the inspection of construction for quality control; and Determining engineering training needs for personnel. (Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience) OR Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in engineering. (Must submit transcripts.) OR Combination: Combination of the education and experience as described above that totals 100% when combined. When combining education with experience, first determine total qualifying education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; then determine experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; finally add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100% to qualify an applicant for that grade level. (Must submit transcripts.) GS-09 Specialized Experience: One or more full-time years (12-months) of specialized work experience, equivalent to at least the GS-08 grade level in the Federal service, performing the following duties: Providing onsite technical assistance and training to personnel in the installation of conservation practices; Determining the type, scope, and intensity of field investigations and surveys needed; Designing and supervising the design of engineering practices and structures; and Coordinating with engineering specialists in performing quality reviews of conservation practices. (Your resume must CLEARLY demonstrate this experience) OR Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in engineering. (Must submit transcripts.) OR Combination: Combination of the education and experience as described above that totals 100% when combined. When combining education with experience, first determine total qualifying education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; then determine experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; finally add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100% to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate education beyond the first year (18 semester hours) may be used when combining education and experience for this option. (Must submit transcripts.) IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). 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. The OPM Qualification Standards for this position can be found at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=List-by-Occupational-Series Education You must submit a copy of your college transcripts or a list of college courses with credit hours, dates completed, and grades received to verify all education requirements (i.e. substitution of education and/or basic education requirement). If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g. special topic, seminar, research, thesis, obscure or misleading course title, etc.), please submit an official course syllabi and/or detailed course description from the university/college for that particular course to ensure you are properly evaluated. Please note that qualifications determinations are based solely on the information submitted for each particular vacancy announcement. You must document all requirements on every vacancy; we cannot use previous determinations as a basis for rating. All required information must be received by the closing date of this announcement, and non-submission of all required documents/documentation will result in non-consideration. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted. This information must be received by the closing date of this announcement. Non-submission of these documents will result in non-consideration. Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Applicants must, therefore, only report attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants can verify accreditation via this link. All education claimed by applicants will be verified accordingly. Important: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. Please check out the following link for more information Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov) Additional Information Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Reemployment Priority List (RPL): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP or RPL eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100. Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period. If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management. However, promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed. This position is eligible for telework within the local commuting area of the position and other flexible work arrangements. Current USDA policy includes telework for an 8 hour work day, 4 days per week; other flexibilities are possible dependent upon availability and/or the position and its associated duties. Employee participation is at the discretion of the supervisor. PLEASE NOTE: In the interest of filling these positions as efficiently as possible, we are requiring the following: If called for an interview, applicants must be available to interview within 3 business days of being contacted. If a tentative job offer is extended, selectee will have 2 business days in which to accept or decline. Recruitment and/or relocation incentives may be authorized; Management may authorize superior qualifications & enhanced annual leave for applicants who are deemed to be highly qualified. Relocation expenses may be authorized as allowable by Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) and USDA policy.