Petroleum Engineer

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Duties

• Responsible for evaluating and recommending approval of Applications for Permits to Drill (APDs) and Sundry Notices for technical adequacy and compliance with Bureau policy.
• Consult with company representatives regarding incomplete submissions and proposed use of technically unacceptable practices and techniques.
• Participate in the preparation of environmental analyses and other environmental and land use planning documents as assigned.
• May oversee production accountability inspections of producing oil and gas leases and facilities to ensure compliance.
• Determine viability of proposals/variances and their respective short- and long-term benefits to the government, primarily related to royalty generation and effects on the environment and human health and safety.
  
  

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Be sure to read the How to Apply and Required Documents Sections.
• You cannot hold an active real estate license: nor can you have an interest or hold stocks in firms with interest in Federal Lands.
• Direct Deposit Required.
• Appointment will be subject to a favorably adjudicated background/suitability investigation/determination.
• Your resume must contain enough information to show that you meet the qualification requirements as defined in the announcement. In addition, your responses to the questions must adequately reflect in your resume.
• If selected for this position, you will be required to annually complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, OGE-450 within 30 days of reporting to duty. You will be required to provide this information annually.
• An applicant appointed to this position must possess (or obtain within 30 days of entrance on duty) and maintain a valid state driver's license while employed in this position.
• May require a one-year probationary period.
  
  

Qualifications

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. Those who do not provide evidence they possess the following selective factor(s) will be rated not qualified:

• You must possess a valid state driver's license within 30 days of entry on duty.
  
  

In order to be rated as qualified for this position, we must be able to determine that you meet the qualification requirements - please be sure to include this information in your resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience.

For GS-05: Applicants who meet the individual occupational requirements described are fully qualified for GS-5

For GS-07: In addition to the individual occupational requirements, you must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-05 level that is equivalent in difficulty and complexity as indicated by the following examples: Professional knowledge of the principles, theories and practices of petroleum engineering to complete conventional petroleum engineering assignments. Knowledge of the Bureau of Land Management policies, rules and regulations for Federal fluid minerals. General knowledge of other disciplines to facilitate an interdisciplinary approach to resource management. The ability to express technical engineering concepts both verbally and in writing to effectively communicate with technical and non-technical entities. Experience using automated information management applications.

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Education: 1 year of graduate-level education

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Superior academic achievement.

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Combination of Education and Experience: You may meet qualifications requirement for this position with an equivalent combination of specialized experience and appropriate graduate education. Graduate level education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position.

For GS-09: In addition to the individual occupational requirements, you must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-07 level that is equivalent in difficulty and complexity as indicated by the following examples: Professional knowledge of, and skill applying the principles, theories and practices of petroleum engineering to complete difficult but conventional petroleum engineering assignments. Knowledge of the Bureau of Land Management policies, rules and regulations for Federal fluid minerals. General knowledge of other disciplines to facilitate an interdisciplinary approach to resource management. The ability to express technical engineering concepts both verbally and in writing to effectively communicate with technical and non-technical entities. Experience using automated information management applications.

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Education: 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree

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Combination of Education and Experience: You may meet qualifications requirement for this position with an equivalent combination of specialized experience and appropriate graduate education. Graduate level education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position.

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Combination of superior academic achievement and 1 year of appropriate professional experience.

Definition of Professional Engineering Experience: The professional engineering experience required for grades GS-7 and above is defined as non-routine engineering work that required and was characterized by (1) professional knowledge of engineering; (2) professional ability to apply such knowledge to engineering problems; and (3) positive and continuing development of professional knowledge and ability.

Professional knowledge of engineering is defined as the comprehensive, in-depth knowledge of mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences applicable to a specialty field of engineering 3 that characterizes a full 4-year engineering program leading to a bachelor's degree, or the equivalent.

Professional ability to apply engineering knowledge is defined as the ability to (a) apply fundamental and diversified professional engineering concepts, theories, and practices to achieve engineering objectives with versatility, judgment, and perception; (b) adapt and apply methods and techniques of related scientific disciplines; and (c) organize, analyze, interpret, and evaluate scientific data in the solution of engineering problems.

Superior Academic Achievement (See OPM's General Policies, Application of Qualification Standards Section 4.f.) S.A.A. must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled.

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.

You must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

Physical Demands: The work is primarily sedentary. Occasionally, the employee conducts field work which requires travel over rough roads, hiking or climbing in rough terrain, and carrying field equipment.

Work Environment: Most work is performed in a typical office environment. Occasional field work will require exposure to a range of climatic conditions from subzero to over 100 degrees temperatures, rain and snow; exposure to poisonous gasses, and other similar dangerous conditions.

Education

This position has an individual occupational requirement. In order to qualify, you must meet one of the below:-OR- Regardless of the field of undergraduate study, completion of the requirements for a master's or higher degree in engineering is fully qualifying for the grade indicated, provided the applicant's total background, i.e., education and any experience, demonstrates evidence of knowledge, skills, and abilities that are substantially equivalent to those acquired through the successful completion of the courses specified in paragraph A.

• Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must:
• lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET: or
• 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.
• Combination of education and experience: college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished
• a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and
• 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.)
  

With a bachelor's degree in engineering, graduate education in a related field is acceptable in lieu of graduate study in engineering for appropriate types of positions

You must submit copies of all transcripts or a list of college courses that include hours and grades from an accredited U.S. college/university. See Required Documents section for more information.

Additional information

DOI uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit E-Verify

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/lnteragency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority, you must: 1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated well qualified for the position with a score of 90 or above; and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information: CTAP or ICTAP

Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered for Selective Service

Tax Law Impact for PCS: Moving expenses reimbursement is a taxable benefit. However, the Federal Travel Regulation 18-05 issued by General Services Administration has authorized agencies to use the Withholding Tax Allowance and Relocation Income Tax Allowance to pay for "substantially all" of the increased tax liability resulting from the "2018 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act" for certain eligible individuals.

The official worksite for the selectee is the duty station identified in this vacancy announcement. The selectee will typically report to this duty location on a regular and recurring weekly basis. The selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

Certain incentives (such as Recruitment, Relocation or Student Loan Repayment) may be authorized to eligible selectees. If eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information visit: Recruitment Incentive or Relocation Incentive or Student Loan Repayment.

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• Help Help A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
  
  

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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 questionnaire will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for this position. Qualified applicants will be placed in one of three predefined categories: Best Qualified, Well Qualified and Qualified. However, your resume must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference will receive selection priority over non-veterans. Candidates placed in the Best Qualified category will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be contacted for an interview.

Your answers to the online questionnaire will be used to evaluate your competencies in the following areas:

• Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)
• Legal, Government and Jurisprudence
• Petroleum Engineering
  
  

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of the following additional assessment: Subject Matter Expert Resume Panel Review. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.