Highway Engineer (Major Project Engineer) - DIRECT HIRE

The Highway Engineer (Major Projects): Represents the FHWA to the SCDOT and other Federal, State, and local agencies and officials involved with the assigned major projects. Fully responsible for ensuring effective and comprehensive stewardship, oversight, review, and approval of all FHWA related actions. Coordinates and is responsible for all major project activities with the SCDOT, consultants, contractors, political officials, organizations, and citizens on all issues concerning the assigned projects.

Coordinates all media requests with the FHWA Headquarters Office of Public Affairs Office. Facilitates joint decision making with other agencies. Makes independent and expert decisions and commitments, and issues approvals on behalf of FHWA.

Coordinates all FHWA-related activities for the assigned major project(s) assuring applicable Federal statutes, regulations, policies, and guidelines are reasonably implemented. Provides and coordinates appropriate subject matter expertise to resolve highly complex, controversial, environmental, financial, engineering, contractual, technical, and sensitive social issues among diverse stakeholders. Coordinate and facilitate potential OIG, GAO, OMB, and NRT project inquiries, reviews, and audits.

Is responsible for sensitive consensus building, partnering, and managing complex programmatic, technical, and policy issues among all the involved parties, including the public. Fosters and provides leadership in the development and implementation of Stewardship/Oversight and partnering agreements and principles in planning, design, and construction of the assigned major project(s). Promotes and assures implementation of state-of-the-practice and state-of-the-art project managementand communications tools and techniques among all major project partners.

Provide leadership and expertise in finalizing and implementing the Project Management and Financial Plans for the assigned major project(s). The ideal candidate for this position is an experienced engineer proficient in monitoring Statewide Federally funded highway programs or managing the delivery of a program of highway projects from initial scoping through construction support and maintenance; and experience conveying ideas and concepts to persuade others in meetings, discussions, and in writing.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may 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.

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).

MANDATORY EDUCATION 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. <B>OR</b> 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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).

All applicants must meet the education requirements under A or B to qualify for applying to an engineering position. Transcripts are required for this position.

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.

You may preview questions for this vacancy.

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

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]

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 as there is a stated education requirement for the series. 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. Qualified CTAP/ICTAP candidates receive priority and will be referred to the hiring manager. 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.