Civil Engineer (Highway) - Direct Hire SME
About This Position
This position is located in the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Federal Lands Highway (FLH) Division and supports the Division as a construction project engineer responsible for managing moderately complex construction projects or multiple smaller construction projects. The projects occur primarily on Federal Lands managed by other Federal agencies such as the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service and include a multi-state area.
Qualifications
To meet the basic qualifications for this position, you must (1) meet the Mandatory Education Requirement for the series, (2) provide a copy of your transcripts or other applicable documentation for verification, AND (3) meet the specialized experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration. 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 includes: Experience as an engineer on a highway construction project overseeing a range of assigned activities such as materials testing, project schedules, progress estimates, surveys, traffic control, environmental controls, and construction methods; AND Experience coordinating with contractor staff, co-workers, and other stakeholders to resolve day-to-day issues and problems that arise.
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 qualify based on a combination of higher level 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 includes: Experience as the project engineer in charge or equivalent responsible for the administration and inspection of Federal, State or local highway construction projects that included major operations such as grading, drainage, bridge construction, retaining wall construction, traffic flow and maintenance and recycled or conventional paving; AND Experience leading the work of staff performing highway construction project / inspection activities; AND Experience coordinating with partners and project stakeholders in order to resolve issues related to highway construction projects. You cannot qualify on Education alone at the GS-12; you must also have experience. 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: Civil Engineering - Knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, and methods required to plan, design, construct, operate, and maintain facilities such as buildings, transportation systems, water and sanitary systems, and other public works systems.
Project Management - Knowledge of the principles, methods, or tools for developing, scheduling, coordinating, and managing projects and resources, including monitoring and inspecting costs, work, and contractor performance. Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas, or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, considering 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. Written Communication - Writes in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience.
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.
Major Duties
As a Civil Engineer (Highway), you will: Provide on-site administration of construction contracts. Ensure projects are constructed according to plans and specifications. Administer projects by providing engineering guidance to the contractor, the client agency, and other project personnel.
Ensure engineering and technical specification requirements are met and work is accomplished according to the contract documents. Determine the need for and issue directives to the contractor as provided for in the contract and in conformance with Division policies and procedures. Foresee possible problems and take appropriate action.
Oversee a range of assigned activities such as materials testing, project schedule, progress estimates, surveys, traffic control, environmental controls, and construction methods. Make recommendations to the project engineer if construction methods and safety measures do not comply with the contract. Determine the acceptability and quality of the day-to-day work.
Document daily activities and ensure project files are kept up-to-date and complete. Identify possible changes needed and obtain field data as needed. Prepare contract modifications and, as approved by the project engineer, issue directives and contract modifications.
Develop independent government estimates and drafts contract modification documents, including pre-negotiation memorandums and negotiation memorandums. Prepare on-site correspondence. Carry out the day-to-day project activity and coordinate with contractor staff, co-workers, partner or cooperating agency representatives, State and county officials, local municipalities, property owners, local utilities, and other interested parties, and resolve issues and problems that arise.
Maintain public relations through contacts at the local level. The ideal candidate for this position is a seasoned mid-career engineer with experience independently and effectively serving as a project engineer in charge of complex Construction projects responsible for ensuring compliance with contract specifications, providing guidance and technical direction to lower-level project staff, and providing construction operations input from preliminary design stages through construction of the project.
Conditions of Employment
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance the organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. 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.
SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service. GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel. A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
PROBATIONARY PERIOD: Applicants may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed). CERTIFICATIONS: FAC-COR certification is required within 1 year. BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You may be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding.
Education
All applicants must meet the 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).
Note: 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.
How You Will Be Evaluated
For this announcement, applications will be reviewed to determine if the applicant meets the basic qualifications for this position. The applications of individuals who meet the basic qualifications will be assessed to validate that the applicant possesses the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) at the level of proficiency needed to perform the job successfully. Applicants who are found to possess the necessary KSAs to perform the job may be referred to the selecting official for further consideration.
This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate. Salary Ranges: Ashburn, VA: $85,764-$133,142 Sevierville, TN & Tupelo, MS: $74,678-$116,362 You may preview questions for this vacancy.
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, [email protected]. To learn more, please visit our page at: The Fair Chance to Compete Act | US Department of Transportation Qualified CTAP/ICTAP candidates receive priority and will be referred to the hiring manager.
How to Apply
You must submit a complete application package (including resume, vacancy questions and supporting documents) no later than 11:59 pm (EST) on the closing date of the announcement. To begin, click the "Apply Online" button on the job announcement posting.
Follow the directions to register, submit all required documents and complete the assessment questionnaire.
You may review your saved application(s) at https://help.usajobs.gov/ If you are having difficulty applying online, please contact the DOT Automated Staffing Office via email at: [email protected]
Required Documents
RESUME: In accordance with the OPM memorandum titled Merit Hiring Plan, dated May 29, 2025, resumes with a maximum of two (2) pages in length will be accepted as part of your application. These should be legible and in a readable font size. A determination of your eligibility and/or qualifications will be based only on those two (2) pages.
Your resume MUST contain specific information that can be used to make a qualification determination, including employment beginning and ending dates for each position, whether employment is Full-time or Part-time, or average number of hours worked per week, and position titles. If the position is/was in the Federal government, you will need to provide the position series and grade level. The resume should show relevant experience and education, as well as support the required specialized experience.
For assistance with the resume builder, please visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to TRANSCRIPTS are REQUIRED if there is a stated education requirement for the series OR if you are substituting education for experience. The transcripts need not be official, but must show that you meet the stated education requirements, including specific major or class requirements. ENGINEERS: If you are applying to an engineering position and are qualifying based on possessing a current Professional Engineer (PE) license, or passing the Engineer in Training (EIT) exam, please provide a copy of PE license or written documented proof of passing the EIT.
DISPLACED EMPLOYEES: If requesting consideration under the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency CTAP program (ICTAP), you must meet the standards for this vacancy and provide all of the following documents: your most recent performance appraisal, the proof of eligibility letter from the Agency, and your most current SF-50, displaying current series and grade. Displaced employees may be eligible for ICTAP or CTAP priority consideration. For more information, please review the OPM Employee's Guide to Career Transition.
Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position. Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents. Uploading documents to USA Jobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system.
You must verify that the documents are in the system with your application prior to final submission.