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Engineering Technician

Department of Agriculture
Agricultural Research Service
FACILITIES DIVISION
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in the USDA, ARS Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC), Renovation and Repair Unit in Beltsville, MD.

In this position, you will be providing technical engineering support in the construction, repair, and renovation of facilities; interpreting and reviewing facility designs and drawings; developing statement of work and its cost estimates for a variety of multiple-use construction, repair, and renovation projects.

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
04/28/2023 to 05/11/2023
Salary
$78,592 to - $102,166 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Beltsville, MD
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
ARS-S23Y-11922396-KB
Control number
722459700

Duties

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  • Develops work including design criteria, plans, specifications and cost estimates for major repair, renovation, or new construction of facilities, including buildings used for laboratories, offices, animal housing, machinery storage, and greenhouses.
  • Performs routine evaluations of the condition of occupied animal facilities to determine maintenance, repair, renovation, modernization, and improvement requirements.
  • Directs and coordinates the work of the Architectural/Engineering Field Inspectors to adjust field problems arising on work under construction.
  • Prepares Architect-Engineering (A-E) Scope of Work, Task Orders and Construction Contracts.
  • Checks and reviews work planned by contract A-E firms for quantities, cost, accuracy, completeness, conformity with contract requirements, and agreement between A-E elements.
  • Prepares designs and specifications for various systems such as heating, plumbing, air conditioning, ventilating, pumping, gas, supply, and pneumatic control systems.
  • Conducts periodic, detailed, in-depth inspections of specific existing buildings to evaluate the feasibility, both physical and economic, of planned repairs, modifications, conversions, transfer to other agencies, or elimination.
  • Coordinates with facility services managers to assign mitigation tasks to the appropriate unit.
  • Develops cost estimates for competitive bidding for a variety of multiple-use construction projects.
  • Serves as a representative in the interviewing, selecting and managing of Indefinite Delivery/ Indefinite Quantity contractors to accomplish contracts for construction projects, repair services or A-E services.
  • Prepares correspondence, estimate fact sheets, status reports, and schedules as required to complete project assignments.
  • Oversees the progress of animal facility related services and repairs and provides the IACUC and animal committee with a monthly status report.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a US Citizen or US National.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
  • Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify at https://www.e-verify.gov/
  • Must possess and maintain a valid State driver's license in order to operate a Government-owned motor vehicle for the performance of assigned duties.
  • Must be able to obtain and maintain FAC-COR Level I certification within one year of starting the position.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.

GS-11
Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position are: Qualifying experience for GS- 11 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS- 10 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience providing technical engineering support in the construction, repair, and renovation of facilities; interpreting and reviewing facility designs and drawings; and developing cost estimates for a variety of multiple-use construction, repair, and renovation projects.

Physical Demands: The work requires some physical exertion while conducting field investigations or inspections of construction sites or performing building alterations and improvements. This involves walking over uneven, rough surfaces, bending, stooping, stretching, and climbing in buildings and machine rooms and regular visits to construction or other outdoor sites.

Work Environment: The incumbent performs some work in an office environment. However, to oversee or inspect field construction activities, the incumbent is exposed to moderate risks and discomforts, such as dust, strong odors, or fumes from fuels, chemicals, or engine exhaust; high levels of noise and vibration, dust, grease, electrical hazards, uncovered moving parts of machinery, moving machinery; or outdoor conditions involving moderate exposure to rain and cold or hot weather. The work also includes working around machinery, inspecting water tanks, and investigating hazardous areas due to structural weaknesses, electrical malfunctions, biohazard chambers, etc. The work environment requires the employee to stay alert continually and to take special safety precautions including wearing special protective items of clothing such as breathing devices and safety goggles.

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.

Education

This position does not have an education qualification requirement.

Additional information

  • Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP 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/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.
  • This position is being concurrently announced under Merit Promotion Announcement Number ARS-M23Y-11922552-KB. Current or former Federal employees or other eligible applicants may apply to both announcements to expand all possibilities of consideration since different referral criteria apply to each type of announcement. See the above announcement for more information.
  • Recruitment or Relocation Incentive may be authorized. The final determination to pay an incentive will be made by the hiring official at the time of job offer.
  • This position may be eligible to telework up to four days per week, based upon the duties of the position. This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements.
  • This position is covered by a Bargaining Unit Agreement.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Applications will be evaluated in accordance with Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Delegated Examining Procedures and USDA policy using category rating. Applicants who meet basic minimum qualifications will be placed in one of two or three categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified, or Qualified. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference will receive selection priority over non-veterans. Category placement will be determined based on applicants' quality of experience and the extent they possess the following knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) or competencies:

  • Design
  • Engineering and Technology
  • Project Management

Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position. Those determined to be in the best qualified category will be referred to the selecting official for consideration.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right.

To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11922396

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