Civil Engineer (Structural)

Summary

This is a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) solicitation utilizing the DHA for Certain Personnel of the DoW Workforce to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service. About the Position: This job announcement will fill multiple vacancies for a Civil Engineer (Structural) at the full performance levels (FPLs) of GS-11, GS-12, GS-13.

Duties

• GS-11: Develop design details of structural features for structures such as navigation locks, floodwalls, floodgates, control structures, pumping stations, ports, harbors, bridges, or buildings and determining engineering principles that apply.
• GS-11: Confer with engineers in other organizational units to resolve conflicts in design and construction and recommend solutions.
• GS-11: Provide structural engineering services for new construction and rehabilitations on large, complex river navigation (locks and dams), flood control reservoir and local flood protection projects or Military buildings or training structures.
• GS-12: Perform analysis and design applying standard engineering methods and techniques in the performance of preliminary and final design.
• GS-12: Prepare structural construction contract documents for complex Civil Works (navigation, flood control) and Military projects, including buildings and training facilities.
• GS-12: Coordinate structural aspects of projects with multi-disciplined engineering team, Operations personnel and Construction Engineering personnel responsible for related specialized phases of the project.
• GS-13: Serve as a subject matter expert for structural design for aspects of civil works engineering projects.
• GS-13: Lead the end-to-end development of project plans and specifications including coordinating all engineering input, managing team activities, and mentoring staff to ensure the timely delivery of high-quality work.
• GS-13: Prepare scopes of work for Architect-Engineer (AE) contractors, manage negotiations, and serve as the technical point of contact to ensure all contractor-led designs and plans comply with official standards.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens This job announcement will fill multiple vacancies at the full performance levels (FPLs) of GS-11, GS-12, GS-13. Applicants selected at the FPL level are not eligible for promotion to a higher grade without competition or a valid non-competitive eligibility. In order to qualify, you must meet the education and experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. Basic Education Requirement for Engineer: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in engineering. Program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (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. 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 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), 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 - Successfully passing 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, or Puerto Rico. 3. Specified academic courses - At least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in A above. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program. 4. Related curriculum - 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 degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. 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. In addition to meeting the basic education requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the specialized experience listed below: TO QUALIFY FOR THE FPL GS-11: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes assisting senior level engineers in the preparation of analysis, design and inspections of structures; Creating conceptual versions of contract drawings, as well as preliminary calculations, quantities, and technical specifications; Performing initial review of project submittals to ensure they are in accordance with the contract plans and specifications; Participating in onsite inspections during construction, periodic safety assessments and structural evaluations This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position or equivalent (GS-09). OR Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as structural engineering. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. TO QUALIFY FOR THE FPL GS-12: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes independently developing designs for structural features of large projects; developing design computations for structures composed of steel and/or reinforced concrete; independently preparing structural engineering documents such as drawings and specifications; performing structural site evaluations and investigations; leading multi-discipline project design teams in the development of plans, specifications, and studies for large or a combination of smaller engineering projects. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-11). TO QUALIFY FOR THE FPL GS-13: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience includes experience in serving as lead structural engineering, provides consulting, review, mentoring, and assistance on a wide variety of complex civil works and navigation projects; providing expertise and mentoring on Project Delivery Teams (PDT) and Review Teams; performing preparation of plans, specifications, and modifications of complex civil works projects; developing design details of structural features for the more complex structures such as navigation locks, floodwalls, floodgates, control structures, pumping stations, and bridges, determining the engineering principles that apply; identifying technical policies, administrative procedures and basic guides for structural engineering studies and design. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-12). Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify. For the GS-12 and GS-13 jobs, you must meet the specialized experience requirement using experience alone--no substitution of education for experience is permitted.

Education

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/

How to apply

To apply for this position, you must complete the online questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section above. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 09/14/2026 to receive consideration To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application (https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13051246). Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. As a reminder, your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. For additional information, refer to the 'Required Documents' section. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process. You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. Your resume selected in USAJOBS will be included, but you must re-select other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application may be incomplete. It is your responsibility to verify that your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan. Additional information on how to complete the online application process and submit your online application may be found on the USA Staffing Applicant Resource Center. To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://www.usajobs.gov/applicant/profile/dashboard/), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.