Engineering Equipment Operator

Department of the Interior

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Summary

You will serve as a Engineering Equipment Operator with the Fish & Wildlife Service at the Tensas River National Wildlife in Tallulah Louisiana.

You may be required to work weekends.

First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

This job is open to

The public

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Special authorities

Individuals eligible under a special authority not listed in another hiring path.

Clarification from the agency

This position is being filled under the Field Unit Local Hiring Authority and is open to U.S. Citizens and Nationals who meet all eligibility requirements, including permanent and exclusive residency within the defined vicinity of the field unit as described in this announcement. Under this authority, veterans' preference and traditional rating and ranking procedures do not apply.

Duties

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

Operate a variety of tracked and wheeled heavy equipment, such as excavators, dump trucks, motor-grader, agricultural and articulating tractors with implements, and dozers up to the 850 size.
Operate and maintain heavy motorized equipment (e.g., front-end loader, forklift, dump truck, farm agricultural tractor and implements, rubber tired backhoe/loader, skid steer, excavator, bulldozer, road grader, crawler tractor) and other pieces of equipment as needed for project activities.
Operate power tools, including: handsaws, power saws, power planers, plumb bobs, mercury gauges, dividers, closet augers, hydrostatic pumps, lead pots, pipe threaders and cutters, soldering irons, electrical circuit testing equipment and gas and electrical welders.
Perform maintenance/repair to buildings, facilities, and equipment requiring basic electrical, mechanical, welding, and carpentry skills.
Service and repair equipment which includes checking fluids, lubricating, replacing components that require dismantling of the equipment such as radiators, hydraulic tanks, alternators, tracks, and excavator bucket teeth, and rebuilding components.
Conducts disking, chopping, mowing, rotovating, digging, loading and leveling to a rough grade for the purpose of ditch cleaning, culvert installation, creating and maintaining trails and fire breaks, patching potholes, and piling slash for various purposes.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
Direct Deposit participation required.
Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit www.dhs.gov/EVerify/.
Pre-employment and random alcohol and drug testing are required. You will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive test is received.
Must have and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment.
Must possess and maintain a valid Commercial Driver's License (CDL) with Class A endorsement.
You are required to wear a uniform and comply with the uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
You may need to complete a statement regarding your physical ability.
You must be at least 18 years of age or older to operate government vehicles.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated. This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider:

your performance and conduct;
the needs and interests of the agency;
whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. 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.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, you must have sufficient knowledge and ability in the following job-related factors:

Have a level of experience, education, and/or training that demonstrates the ability to perform as an Engineering Equipment Operator, WG-5716-08 Experience for this position requires operating multiple types of heavy engineering equipment inclusive of but not limited to: graders, bulldozers, loaders, excavators/backhoes, and compactors. Work involves operating engineering equipment on steep and rough terrain to excavate, backfill, grade or level earth including roads, to exact specifications.

If your knowledge and ability in the SCREEN OUT factor above is not sufficient, you will receive no further consideration. In preparing your application, describe in detail the experience and training which you have had that specifically prepared you for this job and to perform the duties described for this job. Experience should be clearly described and documented in your resume. The qualifications reviewer will not assume performance of such duties by Job Titles alone. Address your knowledge, skills and/or abilities in the areas shown in the job-related factors.

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.

Education

There is no substitution of education for experience for Federal Wage System (FWS) positions.

Additional information

This position will be filled under the Field Unit Local Hiring Authority. Eligibility is limited to applicants who reside within the defined local commuting area at the time of application. For this announcement, the local commuting area is the area from which individuals can reasonably commute to the duty station under normal conditions. The defined vicinity for this position is: within 70 miles of Tallulah, LA. You must provide proof of residency within the defined vicinity (e.g. mortgage or property deed, lease/rental agreement, utility bill, insurance policy, etc.). See the Required Documents section for information on how to verify current residence.

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies.

Physical Demands: Considerable physical effort is required in the operation of equipment and attachments to perform maintenance. Strain can be caused by constant vibration/jolting of equipment over rough surfaces. Location of controls to attachments frequently requires working in awkward or strained positions. Physical effort is required to reach, bend, turn, and move hands, arms, feet, and legs to handle different sets of controls to operate equipment and attachments. Will frequently lift and carry items weighing up to 50 pounds and put similar effort when pushing, pulling, and positioning parts, assemblies, equipment and tools.

Working Conditions: Work is accomplished both in an office setting (5%) and outdoors (95%). Works outside in all kinds of weather and frequently exposed to irritation or discomfort from running water, fumes, dust, grease, dirt, and moving parts of equipment and machinery. Work performed outside is in a variety of settings where steep terrain, uneven, rocky and slippery footing is normal. Temperature extremes are common. Employee exposed to possibility of shock, cuts, scrapes, bruises, falls, or injury from equipment. Work demands conformance to safety requirements including the use of a variety of personal protective equipment such as: protective clothing, hardhats, hearing protection, safety glasses, goggles, gloves, steel toe heavy leather boots, respirator, and other personal protective items.

All Department of Interior (DOI) employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here, https://www.doi.gov/ethics/ethics-prohibitions.

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.

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.

This position is being filled under the Field Unit Local Hiring Authority. Under this authority, competitive rating, ranking, and veterans' preference procedures do not apply. The Servicing Human Resources Office will determine whether applicants meet the qualification and eligibility requirements described in this announcement. Applicants who meet these requirements may be referred to the selecting official on a certificate of eligibles for consideration. You must certify that you will maintain a permanent and exclusive residence within the defined vicinity of the field unit(s) listed in this announcement.

Upon receipt of a completed application package, the Servicing Human Resources Office will review your resume and supporting documentation to determine whether you meet the minimum qualification requirements described in this announcement.

Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages. Resumes longer than two pages will not be reviewed. Applicants may submit only one resume. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine qualifications and eligibility. If more than one resume is submitted, only the most recent submission will be reviewed.

If your resume is incomplete or does not demonstrate that you meet the qualification requirements or specialized experience described in this announcement, you may be determined ineligible or not qualified for further consideration.

Providing false or misleading information on your resume or supporting documentation may result in removal from consideration or other action consistent with applicable federal hiring regulations. Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.

Required Documents

The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 10/01/2026 unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement:

Two Page Resume which includes a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed. Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text. Headers may be slightly larger but must remain legible. All resumes must maintain a minimum 0.5-inch margins on all sides to ensure readability and prevent excessive content compression. Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions are prohibited and will not be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.
Proof of residence (e.g. mortgage or property deed, lease/rental agreement, utility bill, insurance policy). SF-50 cannot be accepted as proof of residence.
Veteran Documentation, if applicable, such as: DD-214, SF15, letter from Veteran Affairs, etc.

Do not submit photographs with your application package. Documents with photographs may not be seen by hiring officials - you must remove your image from all documents.

Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents. Adobe portfolio documents are not viewable by our agency's staffing offices.

How to Apply

To apply for this position, you must submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section. To receive consideration, your complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 10/01/2026 -unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement to receive consideration.

You must provide documentation to support your eligibility and qualification claims. Please review the required documentation listed in the eligibility sections to ensure you submit the appropriate information. You will only be considered for eligibilities for which you have provided the required supporting documentation.

Applications may be submitted through USAJOBS or through other authorized methods identified by the agency (e.g., third-party platforms or local outreach efforts) to support targeted recruitment under this authority.

Applicants submitting materials outside of USAJOBS must:

Submit a complete application package by the closing date of this announcement, and

Ensure all materials are formatted and consistent with the application instructions outlined in this announcement, including resume requirements and supporting documentation.

All applications, regardless of submission method, will be evaluated using the same criteria and requirements to ensure a fair and equitable hiring process.

Applications received after the closing date, or that do not meet the requirements outlined in this announcement, will not be considered.

USAJOBS Application Instructions

Select Apply. If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to login or create an account.
Prompted to Start the Application Process by selecting "Start Application."
- Click here for USAJobs Help with "How to create an application"
- To PREVIEW the application questionnaire, select the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13066329
Select or add the resume you want to use for this application. Click here on how to build a resume in USAJOBS.
Select documents you want included in this application.
Review package to acknowledge your documents were reviewed.
Select if you want to include your demographic information.
After reading and certifying the application is true and submitted in good faith, select "Continue to Agency Site."
Follow onscreen prompts and instructions to complete your application.
Add the supporting documents by indexing your documents with the dropdown.
- Upload any missing required documents or optional documents.
Review and Submit Application.
While logged in, you can check the status of your application by selecting "+" next to the job title for this position.
You can review or revise your application at any point during the open period of the announcement.
- To update an application, you should log into your USAJOBS account and select "+" next to the job title for this position. Select "Update Application" for this job.
- Note: When you click Update Application, you will be prompted to re-select your documents from USAJOBS. Documents submitted with the first application will no longer be associated with the applicant record. So it is important that you select all documents you want to use in the re-application.

Agency contact information

DOI Staffing Team 6 (FWS)

Email: StaffingTeam6@ios.doi.gov

Address: Division of Human Resources
Division of Human Capital Management
1875 Century Blvd Suite 370
Atlanta, GA 30345
US

Next steps

Please refer to your USAJOBS account for application status; the Human Resources Office cannot respond to individual status inquiries.

Once your Occupational Questionnaire has been received, you will receive an acknowledgment confirming your submission was successful.

Applicants who meet the eligibility and qualification requirements will be referred to the selecting official for consideration. Under this authority, all applicants determined to be qualified may be referred. If your name is referred, you may be contacted directly by the hiring official for a possible interview.

You will be notified of the status of your application at key stages in the process, including when candidates are referred for consideration and when the selection process has been completed.

You can find your path with the Department of Interior at https://careers.doi.gov/

Any exaggeration of your experience, false statements, or attempt to conceal information may disqualify you for employment consideration. We may verify all information you provide in your resume and questionnaire responses, through reference and/or background checks, and/or verification of your education. If you are selected, you will be contacted personally by the Human Resources Office posting this announcement.

Engineering Equipment Operator Job in Tallulah, LA