SURVEY TECHNICIAN (HYDROGRAPHIC) Job in Buffalo, NY

Vacancy No. CERE256016084800HW Department U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Salary $52,243.00 to $83,074.00 Grade 7 to 9
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 1/14/2025 Close Date 1/28/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Buffalo, NY


Summary

About the Position: Performs a variety of assignments related to ensuring navigability of District Waterways. Duties support navigation, planning, design, construction, operations, maintenance, and dredging of civil works projects. The program extends to locations throughout portions of multiple states. Data collection and processing are conducted by use of state-of-the-art hydrographic survey equipment and Global Positioning System (GPS) equipment.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

U.S. CITIZENS.

Duties

  • Performs condition or reconnaissance surveys along the navigation channel or mapping surveys on water areas to determine river depths and potential navigation problems.
  • Performs hydrographic surveys, foundation surveys, and sunken vessel/object searches.
  • Investigates bank erosion, sand bars and rock training dikes to determine changes in conditions of channels and banks which may affect or cause damage to navigation.
  • Provides channel conditions to U.S. Coast Guard Tenders and users of the waterways.
  • Prepares detailed channel condition maps/report of findings.
  • Recommends course of action necessary to correct problem areas, and coordinates and advises team leader and supervisor of action planned to accomplish necessary detailed surveys.
  • Manages and/or performs all operators’ maintenance on boats, motors, vehicles, and on surveying and depth sounding equipment.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
  • This position meets the criteria for random drug testing under the Department of the Army Drug-Free Federal Workplace Program as supplemented by USACE Pamphlet 600-1-3.
  • Requires possession of or ability to acquire a valid state driver license.
  • Work outside the office involves exposure to the elements, with weather varying from extreme heat to extreme cold.
  • Incumbent is required to wear protective equipment and/or clothing (e.g., PFD, hard hat, coveralls, gloves, safety footwear) as appropriate.
  • Incumbent may be required to work weekends, holidays and/or shiftwork.
  • The work is primarily performed in the field, requiring travel approximately 50% of the time.
  • Working weekends, holidays and/or shiftwork maybe included as a condition of employment for this position.
  • Alternate work schedule is permitted.
  • Must be able to obtain and maintain a boat operator’s license for boats/vessels in accordance with ER 385-1-91 within twelve months or U.S. Coast Guard license.

Qualifications

This is a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) solicitation utilizing the DHA for Certain Personnel of the DoD to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service.

Who May Apply: US Citizens

In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.

Specialized Experience:

For GS-09: one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-08 grade level in the Federal service, performing in a assisting with identifying and/or elevating complex problems, applying surveying methods, principles and evaluative methods typically precedent in nature, use of pertinent instruments and techniques of surveying and dredging; other related and equivalent experience related to this position.

For GS-08: one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service, performing in a assisting with identifying and/or elevating complex problems, applying surveying methods, principles and evaluative methods typically precedent in nature, use of pertinent instruments and techniques of surveying and dredging; other related and equivalent experience related to this position.

For GS-07: one year of specialized experience, equivalent to the GS-06 grade level in the Federal service, performing in a assisting with identifying and/or elevating complex problems, applying surveying methods, principles and evaluative methods typically precedent in nature, use of pertinent instruments and techniques of surveying and dredging; other related and equivalent experience related to this position.

OPM qualification standards: Survey Technical Series 0817 (opm.gov)

Education

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/

Additional information

  • Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
  • You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
  • One year trial/probationary period may be required.
  • Direct deposit of pay is required.
  • Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.
  • If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet.
  • This is a(n) 18 Career Field position.
  • Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
  • Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
  • Incentives may be offer with a signed service agreement (relocation, recruitment, student loan repayment).

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.

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement.

If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.

Veterans and Military Spouses will be considered along with all other candidates.

Required Documents

The documents you are required to submit vary based on whether or not you are eligible for preference in federal employment. A complete description of preference categories and the associated required documents is in the Applicant Checklist for Public Announcements.

As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.

1. Your resume:

  • Your resume may be submitted in any format and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement.
  • If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
  • For qualifications determinations your resume must contain hours worked per week and the dates of employment (i.e., HRS per week and month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete and you may not receive consideration for this position.
  • For additional information see: What to include in your resume.
2. Other supporting documents:
  • Cover Letter, optional
  • Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable
  • This position has an individual occupational requirement and/or allows for substitution of education for experience. If you meet this requirement based on education you MUST submit a copy of your transcript with your application package or you will be rated ineligible. See: Transcripts and Licenses

NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

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.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

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

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 01/28/2025 to receive consideration

  • To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application (https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12664800).
  • Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
  • After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
  • You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.
  • It is your responsibility to verify that your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan.
  • Additional information on how to complete the online application process and submit your online application may be found on the USA Staffing Applicant Resource Center.
To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.

Agency contact information

Army Applicant Help Desk
Address
RE-W2SM05 US ARMY ENGINEER DISTRICT-BUFFALO
DO NOT MAIL
Buffalo, NY 14207
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

If you provided an email address, you will receive an email message acknowledging receipt of your application. Your application package will be used to determine your eligibility, qualifications, and quality ranking (as applicable) for this position. If you are determined to be ineligible or not qualified, your application will receive no further consideration.


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


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