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
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 08/24/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Selective Placement Factors: This position requires a special qualification that has been determined to be essential to perform the duties and will be used as a screen out element. If you do not provide evidence that you possess the following selective factor(s), you will be rated not qualified. 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. -AND- Basic Educational Requirements: In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following: 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. You must submit transcripts. -OR- B. Combination of education and experience: course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. 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. 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. 2. 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.) Minimum Qualification Requirements: In addition to meeting the Individual Occupational Requirements above, you must also meet the specialized experience for the GS-14 grade level. You must meet the minimum qualifications. 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. You must include hours per week. Volunteer Experience: 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.
Before you apply
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