Supervisory Civil Engineer
What you'd do
Reclamation is seeking a career professional looking for an opportunity to capitalize on their expertise as a Supervisory Civil Engineer. You can make a difference in the West by assisting in meeting increasing water demands while protecting the environment. Duty Location: Lakewood, Colorado
Major duties
This position is located within the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Dam Safety and Infrastructure, LAKEWOOD,COLORADO At the full performance level (GS-14) the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following: Supervises a multidisciplinary team (GS-13 and GS-14 engineers, GS-12/11 analysts), handling all associated personnel actions, performance management, workload assignments, and resolution of complex workplace issues. Leads development and implementation of Water O&M policy, serving as Reclamation's senior technical advisor and primary contact for regional offices on water resource operations and compliance. Provides expert engineering and program guidance to ensure effective oversight of roughly 4,000 O&M assets valued at over $140B, ensuring reliability, safety, and alignment with agency objectives. Coordinates Water O&M program activities across Interior bureaus, federal and state agencies, and internal offices; conducts strategic planning, evaluates program effectiveness, and recommends major program adjustments. Represents Reclamation with Departmental leadership, state/local governments, NGOs, and public stakeholders; prepares high-level briefings, testimonies, and policy materials on water and related resource issues. Leads and facilitates standing and ad hoc O&M teams, collaborating across agencies and stakeholder groups to apply innovative technologies and advance reliability, conservation, and environmental goals.
What you need to qualify
To be eligible for consideration, you must first meet the Individual Occupational Requirement for this position QUALIFICATIONS FOR GS-0810, CIVIL ENGINEERING SERIES: 1. 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- 2. 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 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. 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 1. 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.) In addition to meeting the Individual Occupational Requirements above, you must also meet the specialized experience for the GS-14 grade level. Specialized Experience: To qualify for this position at the GS-14 grade level, you must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to at least the GS-13 level in the federal service. Specialized experience includes the following: (1) The incumbent must have extensive experience supervising multidisciplinary teams, providing agency-level policy leadership, and overseeing large-scale water operations and maintenance (O&M) programs that support the reliability, safety, and long-term performance of major federal water infrastructure. (2) Must have experience leading and managing a team of civil engineers and program analysts responsible for Water O&M management functions. (3) Routinely reviews and evaluates program operations, assigns work, and implements improvements to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. (4) Makes decisions on non-routine and high-cost training needs, approves personnel actions including awards and pay adjustments, and authorizes overtime, travel, and timekeeping actions. (5) Coordinates O&M program activities with other Interior bureaus, federal and state agencies, and internal stakeholders to support consistent policy implementation, strategic planning, and program evaluation. (6) Develops and refines reporting procedures, briefs senior leadership-including the Commissioner, Department officials, and congressional stakeholders-on the status and performance of Water O&M activities, and works with regional staff, program partners, and legal counsel to prepare responses and recommended actions. (7) Conducts and oversees strategic assessments to establish program goals, evaluate engineering achievements, and recommend major program adjustments to improve effectiveness and performance. (8) Performs other duties as assigned in support of agency operations. 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. Time-In-Grade: Current career or career-conditional employees of the Federal government, or former career or career-conditional employees, who have a break in service of less than one year, are required to meet the time-in-grade restriction of one year of Federal experience at the next lower-grade, with few exceptions outlined in 5 CFR 300.603(b). Selective Placement Factor: This position requires a current, valid Professional Engineer license by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Failure to provide proof of such license will cause you to be rated ineligible for this position. You must meet all Eligibility and Qualification requirements, including time-in-grade restrictions and any selective placement factors if applicable, by 08/13/2026.
Before you apply
Federal applications are different: your resume should be 3–5 pages and mirror the language of this announcement. Read our federal resume guide first — it's the #1 reason qualified people get screened out.
Don't miss the next one.
Get an email the moment a similar federal job opens — postings can close in as little as 5 days.