Civil Engineer (Highway) – Direct Hire

Summary

This position is located within the Highway Design Branch for the Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division (EFLHD), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in Ashburn, Virginia. The incumbent supports the Division as a designer with responsibility for the development of plans, specifications, and estimates (PS&E) packages relative to the design of highways and bridges.

Duties

• As a Civil Engineer-Designer, you will: Complete the highway design engineering on simple to moderately complex projects and perform work activities on more complex projects with appropriate oversight and guidance.
• Generate and evaluate geometric design alternatives and develop sound design concepts.
• Develop Plans, Specifications, and Estimates (PS&E) packages that clearly define the work, are biddable, and emphasize context sensitivity, safety, and constructability.
• Interpret and apply the laws, regulations, policies, and guidance related to standard aspects of highway design.
• Identify, recommend, and/or use appropriate technologies for gathering data during PS&E development.
• Attend meetings with supervisor/designated employee on project highway design matters that involve a wide range of external contacts, including technical representatives of client agencies.
• Prepare written field review and meeting reports and other technical reports.
• The ideal candidate for this position is a design engineer with experience developing, monitoring, and adhering to the design, budget, and schedule for roadway construction projects and providing technical assistance from initial scoping through construction support.

Requirements

• CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest.
• In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance the organizational goals of the agency or the
• Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the
• Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
• SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
• GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel.
• A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
• BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: A background security investigation is required for all selected individuals.
• Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of the security investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Failure to meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.
• PCS/RELOCATION/RECRUITMENT: Permanent Change of Station (PCS), Relocation, and Recruitment Incentive authorization varies by position/selection and a service agreement may be required.
• PROBATIONARY PERIOD: Applicants may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).

Education

All applicants must meet the requirements under A or B to qualify for applying to an engineering position. 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. OR B. 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)1, 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: Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within six months of the closing date of this announcement. If selected, the final transcript must be received before your start date. Other applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Required Documents

• RESUME: In accordance with the OPM memorandum titled Merit Hiring Plan, dated May 29, 2025, resumes with a maximum of two (2) pages in length will be accepted as part of your application.
• These should be legible and in a readable font size.
• A determination of your eligibility and/or qualifications will be based only on those two (2) pages.
• Your resume MUST contain specific information that can be used to make a qualification determination, including employment beginning and ending dates for each position, whether employment is
• Part-time, or average number of hours worked per week, and position titles.
• If the position is/was in the Federal government, you will need to provide the position series and grade level.
• The resume should show relevant experience and education, as well as support the required specialized experience.
• For assistance with the resume builder, please visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to TRANSCRIPTS are REQUIRED as there is a stated education requirement for the series.
• The transcripts need not be official, but must show that you meet the stated education requirements, including specific major or class requirements.
• ENGINEERS: If you are applying to an engineering position and are qualifying based on possessing a current
• Engineer (PE) license, or passing the
• Training (EIT) exam, please provide a copy of PE license or written documented proof of passing the EIT.
• DISPLACED EMPLOYEES: If requesting consideration under the
• Program (CTAP) or
• Interagency CTAP program (ICTAP), you must meet the standards for this vacancy and provide all of the following documents: your most recent performance appraisal, the proof of eligibility letter from the
• Agency, and your most current SF-50, displaying current series and grade.
• Qualified CTAP/ICTAP candidates receive priority and will be referred to the hiring manager.
• For more information, please review the OPM Employee's Guide to Career Transition.
• Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position.
• Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents.
• Uploading documents to USA Jobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system.
• You must verify that the documents are in the system with your application prior to final submission.