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Duties
These positions are located within the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), Gulf of Mexico Region (GOMR), District Field Office/Houma District, Well Operations Section, duty stationed in Houma, LA.
The incumbent serves as an entry level engineer performing developmental assignments involving engineering and operational analyses of oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and inspection and audit activities involving offshore production operations.
The primary purpose of this position (at the full performance level
GS-12) is to perform engineering and operational analysis of complex, advanced, state-of-the-art oil, gas operations in the GOM and serve as a lead/staff engineer over inspection and audit activities involving offshore production operations.
At the full performance level
(GS-12) the major duties of this position include but are not limited to the following:
- Review oil, gas, and Sulphur operations' applications for permit to drill (APDs), applications for Permit to Modify (APMs), End of Operations Reports (EORs) and Well Activities Reports (WARs), etc. for correctness and compliance.
- Conduct engineering analysis of drilling, and workover equipment and operations on the Outer Continental Shelf and prepares engineering reports. Reviews and analyzes inspection reports prepared by others to compile statistics and trends of inspection results to identify areas for closer study.
- Collaborate with supervisor to plan and schedule inspections of the full range of offshore facilities, including those with a record of safety violations or with new, modified, and advanced facilities, systems or components with no inspection precedents. Works with other district engineers to develop strategies for inspections.
- Conduct inspections as a team leader involving the full range of operations such as drilling, workover/completion, plugging and abandonment, environmental quality, hydrogen sulfide operations and activities on the OCS.
- Conduct or lead investigations of accidents involving offshore facilities or operations, including major, unusual, or unprecedented in nature involving fires or explosions or severe disasters involving violations of law.
- Conduct reviews of Incidents of Non-Compliance (INCs) for the purpose of recommending compliance reviews for possible civil penalties. Initiate compliance reviews and drafts reports.
- Resolve and complete inspections involving issues referred by lower-level inspectors or engineers for which findings and decisions may serve as technical references or precedents and become the basis for regional and/or headquarters procedural or regulatory changes. Testifies at judicial hearings involving criminal penalties and sanctions.
Note: When filled at the GS-05, 07 or 09 level, the incumbent will perform the duties of the position under closer supervision than that described in the GS-12 position. The incumbent will be expected to gradually assume more complex duties and to work with greater independence until the level of performance described above is achieved.
This position is included in a bargaining unit. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), Local 3457, is the exclusive representative of all employees in this bargaining unit.
Salary Range Information (per Annum):
GS-05: $45,735 - $59,453
GS-07: $56,654 - $73,652
GS-09: $69,298 - $90,087
First time hires to the federal government typically start at the beginning salary in the range for their respective grade level.
This vacancy may be used to fill additional positions as vacancies become available.
This vacancy is also announced as
BSEE-EENN-24-FS-257(MP) for those applicants who wish to apply and be considered under Merit Promotion procedures.
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Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- You must be a U.S. Citizen.
- You will be subject to a background/suitability investigation/determination.
- You will be required to have federal payments made by Direct Deposit.
- You must submit ALL required documents and a completed questionnaire.
- Selective Service: If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service system, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See http://www.sss.gov/.
Qualifications
Minimum Qualification Requirements:
To qualify for this position you must meet the (1) Basic Educational Requirements AND (2) Specialized Experience for the series to which you are applying.
To be eligible for this position, you must meet either A or B below for the series to which you are applying.
Petroleum Engineering Series, 0881:
Individual Occupational Requirements-AND-
- Basic Educational Requirements:
- 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-
- 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), 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: An applicant who meets the basic requirements as specified in A or B above, except as noted under B.1., may qualify for positions in any branch of engineering unless selective factors indicate otherwise.
- Specialized Experience In order to qualify for this position, you must meet either A, B, or C for the grade to which you are applying.
GS-05 Minimum Qualifications:
To qualify for the
GS-05, all applicants who meet the basic education requirements described in the individual occupational requirements are fully qualified for the GS-5 grade level.
GS-7
To Qualify For The
GS-07, You Must Possess At Least One Full Year Of Specialized Experience Equivalent To At Least The
GS-05 Grade Level In The Federal Service, Or Comparable Experience Not Gained Through Federal Service. Specialized Experience Is Experience That Equipped The Applicant With The Particular Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities To Perform Successfully The Duties Of The Position, And That Is Typically In Or Related To The Work Of The Position To Be Filled.
Specialized Experience Is Defined As Demonstrated Experience:
- Assisting with routine engineering assignments; AND
- Assisting in the maintenance of computer programs and databases utilized in engineering evaluations; AND
- Assisting with the compilation, analysis, and interpretation of basic engineering data.
Must Meet ALL-OR-A. GS-9 Specialized Experience:
- OR-
- Education: You may substitute education (education that is directly related) for experience at the GS-07 level if you have achieved: one year of progressively higher-level graduate level education; Superior Academic Achievement at the baccalaureate level in an engineering program (For more info: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4f); or successful completion of a 5-year program of study of at least 160 semester hours leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering.
- OR-
- Qualifying combination of Education and Experience:Appropriate Combinations of Graduate Education and Professional Experience that totals 100% of the requirement for the GS-7 grade level.
- A combination of graduate level education and specialized experience that totals 100% of the requirement for the GS-07.
- Applicants with an engineering Bachelor's degree who have appropriate experience as a technician equivalent to grade GS-5 may have such experience credited for grade GS-7 only on a month-for-month basis up to a maximum of 12 months.
To Qualify For The
GS-09, You Must Possess At Least One Full Year Of Specialized Experience Equivalent To At Least The
GS-07 Grade Level In The Federal Service, Or Comparable Experience Not Gained Through Federal Service. Specialized Experience Is Experience That Equipped The Applicant With The Particular Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities To Perform Successfully The Duties Of The Position, And That Is Typically In Or Related To The Work Of The Position To Be Filled.
Specialized Experience Is Defined As Demonstrated Experience:
- Reviewing and analyzing inspection reports and statistical data for trends in order to identify safety issues that may need closer study; AND
- Reviewing new applications and modifications to surface and subsea well permits for correctness and adequacy of data submitted.
Must Meet ALL
- OR-
- Education: You may substitute graduate education for experience if you have achieved: a combination of superior academic achievement and 1 year of appropriate professional experience that is related to the position; 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree; or a master's or equivalent graduate degree.
- OR-
- Qualifying combination of Education and Experience: A combination of successfully completed graduate level education (only successfully completed graduate level education beyond the first year is creditable towards meeting this requirement), and specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level that totals 100% of the requirement for this grade level; or combination of superior academic achievement and 1 year of appropriate Professional Experience.
Education
Education: This position requires specific educational course work to qualify, or you are qualifying based in whole or part on education, you are required to provide transcripts as proof of meeting the requirements. Applications can be accepted from students who expect to complete qualifying education within 9 months from the date of application. However, education must be successfully completed before the applicant can be appointed.
Foreign Education: Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the specific educational requirements as stated above. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4
Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualification Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions and is available at OPM's website: https://www.opm.gov/qualifications/standards/indexes/num-ndx.asp
Additional information
All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.
Identification of promotion potential in this announcement does not constitute a commitment or an obligation on the part of management to promote the employee selected at some future date. Promotion will depend upon administrative approval and the continuing need for and performance of higher-level duties.
The application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a). The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361.
Notice of Financial Disclosure Report Requirement: The position to which you will be appointed is subject to a financial disclosure reporting requirement and you will be required to complete a new entrant
Public Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 278e) or
Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) within 30 days of your appointment. Financial Disclosure will not be required at GS-05/07
Important Note: All Department of the Interior (DOI) employees are subject to the conflict of interest restrictions imposed upon all employees of the Executive Branch of the Federal Government and may be required to file a Financial Disclosure Report. In addition, DOI employees, GS-15 and above, who work in the Office of the Secretary; along with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) employees (at ALL grade levels), are further restricted concerning their interests in Federal lands and resources administered or controlled by the Department of the Interior. This includes holding stock in energy corporations which lease Federal lands (e.g.: oil, gas, coal, alternative energy resources, etc.). If you have any such investments you should contact the DOI, BOEM or BSEE Ethics Office before accepting employment. DOI employees are held to the highest level of integrity. Employees must be objective and impartial in the performance of their work. All potential issues (e.g.: work-related interactions with friends, family members, or previous employers) must be disclosed at the time of application or during the interview process.
NOTICE: This employer participates in E-Verify and will utilize your Form I-9 information to confirm you are authorized to work in the U.S.
A preliminary background check must be completed before a new employee can begin work with the U.S. Department of the Interior. The preliminary background check consists of a search of Office of Personnel Management and Department of Defense background investigation files and an FBI National Criminal History Fingerprint Check; it may take up to 3 weeks to complete. If selected for this position, you will be extended a tentative offer of employment pending a satisfactory background check. Current Federal employees or individuals with an existing completed background investigation may not be required to undergo another background check; these will be handled on a case-by-case basis in coordination with the Bureau security office.
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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Once the application process is complete, we will review your application to ensure you meet the job requirements. To determine if you are qualified for this job, a review of your resume, supporting documentation and responses to the online questionnaire will be made. Your responses to the online assessment will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for this position. You are being evaluated under the Category Rating method, which means, if you are determined to be qualified you will be placed in one of three pre-defined categories. These categories are "Platinum", "Gold", and "Silver". However, your resume must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. Candidates placed in the "Platinum" category will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview. Veterans' preference rules for category rating will be applied.
Your answers to the on-line assessment will be used to evaluate your competencies in the following areas:
- Technical Competence - Knowledge of specialized principles and applications of engineering practices applicable to petroleum operations on the OCS; Knowledge of the processes, systems, equipment, and methods involved in offshore oil, gas, and mineral activates, proper maintenance and use of safety/environmental equipment; and proper behavior of individuals in and around facilities; Participates and assists in accident investigations; and identifies apparent hazards and violations; Knowledge of various computer programs and database management techniques, including system control language for extracting information and data from large data files.
- Oral Communication - Ability to communicate effectively orally in order to discuss facility engineering and/or drilling issues with company engineers or technical staff to plan and carry out segments of different types of inspections, and to advise on routine safety and environmental issues/questions.
- Written Communication - Ability to communicate effectively in writing in order to discuss facility engineering and/or drilling issues with company engineers or technical staff to plan and carry out segments of different types of inspections, and to advise on routine safety and environmental issues/questions.
If you are a status applicant (current career or career-conditional Federal employee or former permanent Federal employee with reinstatement eligibility in the competitive service), or are eligible under a special appointing authority and you are selected under this vacancy, you may be subject to serving a new one-year probationary period.
To preview the assessment questionnaire click: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12481079