CIVIL ENGINEER Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. DH25-FK-12800869-OBAF Department Export-Import Bank of the United States
Salary $120,579.00 to $156,755.00 Grade 13 to 13
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 9/15/2025 Close Date 9/26/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

Announcement may be used to fill similar positions within 90 days of the closing date.

This announcement will be used to fill vacancies through OPM-authorized Direct Hire Authority (DHA) for STEM (Scientific, Technical, Engineering and Mathematic) positions at the GS-11 through GS-15 grade levels.

This position is processed under Direct Hire authority. Veterans' Preference and Category Rating procedures DOES NOT APPLY.

For more information, click here.

About this agency

Duties

This position is in the Office of the Senior Vice President of Board Authorized Finance (OBAF) of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM, the Bank), Engineering and Environment Division (E&E). E&E supports OBAF's focus on the Bank's Medium- and Long-term portfolios through assessments of technical feasibility and compliance with established environmental and social requirements for projects prior to authorization, monitoring of technical and environmental performance following authorization, and application of several key agency policies throughout the lifecycle of the transaction.

The incumbent serves as a Civil Engineer expert and an EXIM's senior-level expert on civil engineering issues and the incumbent provides authoritative evaluations on the most complex projects and situations. As a civil engineer technical expert, the incumbent oversees and undertakes the technical evaluation of projects, the project's compliance with EXIM's technical policies, and presentations to the Board of Directors or others.

At the full performance level, duties include, but are not limited to:

  • Serves as a Civil Engineer and member of the Engineering and Environment staff. coordinates, reviews, and provides engineering technical advice relative to all aspects of projects with heavy emphasis on the civil engineering aspects, to include life cycle maintenance and the mitigation of identified technical risks and related adverse environmental and social impacts.
  • Assess the potential environmental effects of projects being considered for EXIM support with respect to EXIM's environmental and social guidelines.
  • Provides expertise on a broad range of civil engineering specialties, including transportation infrastructure, dams and impoundments, water and wastewater treatment, geotechnical, structural, and hydraulic design, waste management, pipelines, seawalls, etc.
  • Prepares written reports describing the project, including the evaluation of the technical feasibility and technical risks.; Completes reports included in transaction memos.
  • Serves as a representative and participant on transaction teams as the civil engineering subject matter expert. Provides consultation, guidance, and recommendations to the other team members on a broad range of complex civil engineering matters.
  • Serve as the primary liaison with applicants on technical matters and on specific policies that are administered by the Engineering and Environment Division.
  • Represents EXIM during civil process, control, and design reviews. Anticipates potential major and minor engineering issues that might impact loan repayment. Recognizes and provides expert consultation on future needs to prevent unnecessary delays and duplications of effort.
  • Prepares formal technical and/or environmental & Social analysis memoranda to inform the EXIM's Board of Directors as to the technical feasibility of subject projects, adherences to relevant policies and compliance with EXIM's Environmental & Social Due Diligence procedures and guidelines.
  • Provides expert level technical guidance, advice and assistance to other units of EXIM, including the Office of Small Business and the China and Transformational Exports Program. Assesses the level of technical competence of project participants by examination of materials submitted and/or by site visits to their U.S. or international facilities.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • U.S. Citizenship
  • Background and Security/Suitability Investigation
  • You may be required to serve a one year probationary period
  • Specialized experience MUST be documented on your resume
  • Current or Former Political Appointees: If you are, or have been employed in the last 5 years, you must disclose this information. Failure to do so may result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.
  • The incumbent must obtain and maintain a national security (Confidential, Secret, Top Secret, or Top Secret/SCI) clearance.
  • The incumbent for this position will be subject to random drug testing once they begin working for EXIM

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

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:
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 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.
2. Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)2 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.)
For specifics on qualifying education and/or experience - use the following link: Basic Requirements for Engineer Positions

In addition to the Basic Requirements noted above, applicants must also meet and demonstrate the specialized experience listed below:

Specialized Experience (Credit for Specialized Experience on resume must reflect 40 hours/Full-time per week for each period of work):

GS-13: You must have one (1) year of specialized experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal Government or other equivalent pay systems. Specialized experience includes:
  • Experience utilizing and applying advanced knowledge of civil engineering principles and professional practices from the civil engineering sector to properly evaluate technical analyses and designs and make authoritative technical determinations that support decisions on authorization of financial support for project related transactions
  • Experience assessing technical risks and technical feasibility of projects in the civil engineering sector such as transportation infrastructure, dams and impoundments, water and wastewater treatment, geotechnical, structural, and hydraulic design, waste management, pipelines, seawalls, etc.; AND
  • Experience in the review process for complex project related documentation, such as Engineering Specifications, Procurement and Construction contracts, permits, and feasibility studies to assess feasibility and performance risk.
Education cannot be substituted for experience at the GS-13 grade level.

For qualification determinations, your resume must contain the following for each work experience listed:
  • Organization/Agency's Name
  • Title
  • Salary (series and grade, if applicable)
  • Start and end dates (including the month and year)
  • Number of hours you worked per week
  • Relevant experience that supports your response to the specialized experience that is stated in the job announcement
If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete and you will not receive consideration for this position.

NOTE: Do not copy and paste the duties or specialized experience from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications and your application may be marked as incomplete/ineligible and you will not receive consideration for this position.

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.

Part-time and/or unpaid experience related to this position will be considered to determine the total number of years and months of experience. Be sure to note the number of paid or unpaid hours worked each week.

Foreign Education: If you are qualifying by education and/or you have education completed in a foreign college/university described above, it is your responsibility to provide transcripts and proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study. Please visit the following links for more information: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined here.

All requirements must be met by 09/26/2025, the closing date of the announcement.

Education


Additional information

Current or Former Political Appointees: Pursuant to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) oversight authority under section 1104(b)(2) of title 5, United States Code (U.S.C.) and section 5.2 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, OPM requires agencies to seek their approval prior to appointing any current or former political appointee to a permanent position (without time limits) in the civil service. A former or recent political appointee is someone who held a political appointment covered by OPM's policy within the previous 5-year period. OPM's oversight in this area safeguards merit system principles as well as fair and open competition free from political influence. If you are currently employed, or have been employed within the last 5 years, you must disclose this information. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.

Please visit the following link for the types of political appointments.

Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the Federal government, you are not CTAP/ICTAP eligible. Information about ICTAP or CTAP eligibility can be found by clicking here to access OPM's Career Transition Resources website.

Veterans: All veterans must meet the qualification requirements of the position for further consideration. For more information on veterans' preference, please click here.

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.

This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Ethical Standards/Financial Disclosure:

EXIM is committed to the highest ethical standards. As an employee, you will be covered by the criminal conflict of interest statutes and the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch. You will be required to complete new employee ethics training within 3 months of your appointment.

If this position is subject to financial disclosure requirements (either public or confidential depending upon your position), you will be required to complete a new entrant financial disclosure report within 30 days of your appointment.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

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.

You will be evaluated for this position based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

This position is processed under a Direct Hire authority; therefore, veteran's preference and Category Rating procedures do not apply.

Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications listed on this announcement. If you are minimally qualified for this position, your resume and supporting documentation will be referred to the selecting official for employment consideration.

You will be notified by email if your application is forwarded to the hiring official for further consideration.

If it is determined that your technical competencies do not meet the proficiency requirements for this position to move forward to the next evaluation stage, you will be notified by email.

Required Documents

Your application package should include the following documents:

  • Your Resume (applicants are required to submit a resume with job title, series/grade (if federal employee), duties and accomplishments, employer's name, starting and ending dates of employment, number of hours worked per week, and annual salary). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete and you will not receive consideration for this position.
  • Unofficial Transcripts, if the position has an education requirement or if you are using education to qualify. If selected for the position, you must provide an official transcript before appointment.
  • Proof of U.S. accreditation for foreign study, if applicable.
  • Special Priority Selection rights under CTAP or ICTAP:
    • Copy of your agency notice (RIF Separation Notice, Notice of Proposed Removal, etc);
    • Copy of your most recent performance appraisal (with at least a satisfactory rating),
    • Most current SF-50 showing career/conditional tenure competitive status, position title, grade level, and duty location.
  • Proof of Veteran's Preference - DD-214 (Member 4 Copy), if you are a veteran. Additionally, applicants claiming 10-point preference must complete Standard Form (SF)15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, as well as additional documentation required by the SF-15, such as a VA letter, if applicable. If a DD-214 (Member Copy 4) is not available, other documentation listing the beginning and ending dates of active service and the type of discharge must be submitted to verify eligibility.
  • Submission of any required documents listed in vacancy announcement, if applicable.
Please note that if you do not provide all required information/documents, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible).

How to Apply

Applications will only be accepted online; however if you are unable to apply online, please contact the Agency Contact Person listed below.

To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section.

The following is a link to preview the occupational questionnaire:
https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12800869

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 09/26/2025 to receive consideration.

  • To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.
  • Click the Submit My Answers button to submit your application package.
  • It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.
  • To verify your application is complete, log into your USAJOBS account here, select the Application Status link and then select the more information link for this position. The Details page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and any correspondence the agency has sent related to this application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
  • To return to an incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

Agency contact information

Fred Kirby
Address
Export-Import Bank of the United States
811 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20571
US

Next steps

After all application packages have been received, we will review your application to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements.

You will be notified by email if your application is forwarded to the hiring official for further consideration.

If it is determined that your technical competencies do not meet the proficiency requirements for this position to move forward to the next evaluation stage, you will be notified by email.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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