Petroleum Engineer

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Duties

This position is located within the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region (GOMR), Office of the Regional Director, Deputy Regional Director for DIEE, District Field Operations, Well Operations Support Section duty stationed in Jefferson, LA.

At the full performance level (GS-13) the major duties of this position include but are not limited to the following:

• Assuring the technical adequacy of well designs, drilling programs, and/or abandonment procedures while ensuring that the operations are conducted in accordance with the applicable lease terms and regulations, performs technical reviews of applications for permit to drill, approval to change plans, alter casing programs, and plug and abandon new wells.
• Providing technical reviews and assessments on new and/or revised welding and burning plans pertaining to drilling operations for compliance with the regulations and submits completed plan to the supervisor for approval.
• Reviewing and analyzing engineering data on equipment related to drilling, safety, and pollution control sufficient to determine whether such equipment is adequate to insure prudent, safe, and workmanlike operations.
• Conducting inspections involving the full range of operations such as drilling, workover/completion, plugging and abandonment, environmental quality, H2S and sulphur operations, and activities on the OCS that often include facilities with known safety and environmental problems or hazards.
• Mentor and provide technical leadership, expertise and guidance to lower-level engineers and other staff in the conduct of day-to day operations, investigations, inspections, and audits.
• Presenting testimony as an expert witness on complex petroleum issues concerning drilling operations.
  
  

Rotational Schedule - Incumbent will be available for after-hours work-related advisory telephone calls from operators at night and on weekends and holidays.

Rotational Schedule

The incumbent will be available for afterhours work-related advisory telephone calls from operators at night and on weekends and holidays.

Telework

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

Financial Disclosure

You will be required to file an Employment and Financial Interest-OGE-450.

Physical Demands

The work is primarily sedentary. Occasional visits to offshore drilling installations and/or shipyard locations are required which are generally non-strenuous in nature involving some walking, climbing, stooping and bending. Offshore visits require Helicopter Underwater Egress Training (HUET) certification utilizing the Modular Egress Training Simulator (METS) and swing Rope training.

Work Environment

Occasional offshore field inspections are conducted in close proximity to operating machinery and the heavy equipment associated with oil and gas production. Travel to and from offshore locations is by Government vehicle, chartered helicopter and/or chartered boat.

Weekend Work

In accordance with the rotational schedule established in the district, the incumbent will be available for after-hours work-related advisory telephone calls from operators at night and on weekends and holidays.

This position is included in a bargaining unit. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), Local 2802, is the exclusive representative of all employees in this bargaining unit.

Special Salary Rate Range Information

GS-13: $119,502 - $155,357

• 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-246(MP) for those applicants who wish to apply and be considered under Merit Promotion procedures. Click here to be directed to the vacancy website.

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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/grade to which you are applying.

Petroleum Engineering Series, 0881

Individual Occupational Requirements

• Basic Educational Requirements:
  
  

To be eligible for this position, you must meet either A or B below for the series to which you are applying.

• 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
• Written Test
• Specified academic courses
• Related curriculum
  
  

For further information on the adequacy of such background demonstrated by one of the above listed are found in the link below: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800/

Please Note: This position requires specific educational coursework to qualify. You MUST provide transcripts in order to verify that the educational requirements have been met. This information must be received by the closing date of the announcement. Failure to provide this information may result in you receiving an "INELIGIBLE" rating.

• AND-
• Specialized Experience:
  
  

Skills

To qualify for the GS-13, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 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 in the below statements:

• Analyzing and evaluating exploration and development operations that involve drilling and/or workover/completion activities.
• Experience with Blowout Prevention (BOP) information, i.e., certificates, shear test data, modifications, and/or instrumentation diagrams of the BOP Control System, to ensure the equipment can perform its designed function.
• Meeting with operators and/or contractors to discuss and resolve complex drilling issues.
  
  

Must Meet 2 of 3.

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

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

Education: If 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.

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

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 Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) within 30 days of your appointment.

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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• 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.
  
  

Review our benefits

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:

Petroleum Engineering: Knowledge of advanced theories, concepts, principles, and practices of petroleum engineering in order to serve as the technical expert for the full range of completion and workover engineering activities on offshore production platforms.

Technical Competence: Comprehensive knowledge of laws, regulations, industry guidelines, and accepted engineering practices governing and related to offshore oil and gas operations.

Writing: Ability to communicate in writing in order to draft proposed revisions to regulations or to formulate policy to deal with technical adequacy of well completions, well workovers, and abandonment procedures.

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/12464510