Clarification from the agency

See Who May Apply under Requirements for more information on who is eligible to apply for this position.

Serves as the Chief, Division of Operations in the South-Central California Area Office (SCCAO). The Division of Operations has primary staff responsibility for the physical operation and maintenance of all facilities of Friant Dam and Millerton Lake, the San Joaquin River from Friant Dam to Mendota Pool, Fresno Slough, Bradbury Dam, and Lake Cachuma.

• Prepares and reviews for adequacy water supply allocations, flood control, reservoir operations, planning and estimates for water resource development projects and provides final review and approval of water supply allocation, flood control, reservoir operations, and designs, estimates, schedules and related work.
• Participates in pre-transfer and transfer inspections in collaboration with the Regional office and the Denver Technical Service Center (TSC).
• Collaborates with the Friant Power Authority in the coordination of water releases and power generation requirements.
• Responsible for assessing, advising, and recommending actions to deal with the impacts of Reclamation plans and activities regarding the interests and activities of local groups.
• Collaborates, counsels, and provides general direction for the operation and maintenance of facilities retained by Reclamation in the San Joaquin Valley.
• Advises on flood control operations and collaborates on problems involving flood control with downstream landowners.
• Administers the requirements of laws relating to labor relations, merit promotion and safety.

Conditions of employment

You must be a U.S. Citizen or U.S. National.
You must be suitable for federal employment, determined by a background investigation.
You must submit a resume and supporting documentation (see Required Documents).
You must submit eligibility documents for veterans consideration (see Required Documents).
You must meet any minimum education and/or experience requirements (see Qualifications).
You must submit transcript(s) to verify education requirements (see Qualifications/Education).
You must maintain a valid State Driver's License at all times as the position requires operation of government vehicles on government and public roads. Failure to maintain a valid State Driver's License at all times will result in removal from the position.

Who May Apply:

• 30% or More Disabled Veterans
• Bureau of Reclamation Employees (Competitive)
• Bureau of Reclamation Employees (Non-Competitive)
• Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)
• Department of the Interior Employees (Competitive)
• Department of the Interior Employees (Non-Competitive)
• Federal Employees (Competitive Transfer)
• Federal Employees (Non-Competitive Transfer)
• Former Federal Employees (Competitive Reinstatement)
• Former Federal Employees (Non-Competitive Reinstatement)
• Individuals with Disabilities (Schedule A)
• Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)
• Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA)
• Military Spouses
• Miscellaneous Appointing Authorities
• Public Lands Corps (PLC) Hiring Authority
• Special Hiring Authorities
• Veterans Employment Opportunities Act (VEOA)

Qualifications

In order to be rated as qualified for this position, the HR Office must be able to determine that you meet the education specialized experience requirement - this information must be clearly supported in the resume.

BASIC QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENT for the 0810 series:
A. Successfully completed a full 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in Engineering in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). NOTE: You must submit copies of your transcripts.
-OR-
B. Successfully completed a full 4-year course of study leading to a Bachelor's or higher degree in Engineering that included differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five (5) of the following seven (7) 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. NOTE: You must submit copies of your transcripts.
-OR-
C. Completed 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences, and that included the courses specified in B above. These courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program. NOTE: You must submit copies of your transcripts.
-OR-
D. Successfully completed a curriculum leading to a Bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field such as engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology AND have at least one year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. This must include 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. NOTE: You must submit copies of your transcripts.
-OR-
E. 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. Note: You must submit documentation of having passed the examination.
-OR-
F. Currently registered as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT), or licensed as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. This registration must have been obtained by written test OR be in general engineering or a directly related engineering field and was gained by State grandfather or eminence provisions NOTE: You must submit copies of your current registration.

To qualify at the GS-13, you must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to at least the GS-12 level in federal service having demonstrated professional civil engineering experience overseeing contractor's construction operations and inspecting work performed on major construction or rehabilitation of water resources projects which includes inspections of civil, and electrical and mechanical equipment and systems components for compliance with construction specifications. Examples of projects: earth and concrete dams, large reservoirs, construction of canals for irrigation systems; installation or rehabilitation of large complex electrical and mechanical equipment and systems found in power generating plants, switchyards, pumping plants; relocation, construction of roads, bridges, and utilities in connection to a major construction project. Experience should demonstrate leading field personnel in construction activities; and interpreting construction plans and specifications, resolving compliance issues. These examples are not all-inclusive.

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.

Time-In-Grade: Current career or career-conditional employees of the Federal government, or former career or career-conditional employees, who have a break in service of less than one year, are required to meet the time-in-grade restriction of one year of Federal experience at the next lower-grade, with few exceptions outlined in 5 CFR 300.603(b).

You must meet all Eligibility and Qualification requirements, including time-in-grade restrictions and any selective placement factors if applicable, by 01/23/2026.

How you will be evaluated

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

Please limit your resume to no more than 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide to the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Civil Engineering
• Leadership
• Partnering
• Project Management

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of additional assessment(s), including a Subject Mater Expert Resume Review. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

The application questionnaire can be previewed here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12857772

Your answers will be verified against information provided in your resume. Your resume must clearly support the responses to all the questions by addressing experience, education, and/or training relevant to this position. You must make a fair and accurate assessment of your qualifications. If a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than what is apparent in the description of your experience, competencies, skills, and/or education/training (or that your resume/application is incomplete), you could be rated ineligible or your score could be lowered.

Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the Department of the Interior (DOI) who have vacancies with the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s). Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration. You may choose to opt in of having your information shared with other agencies when applying for this position. If an agency requests a copy of a certificate you are on, you will be notified.

Please submit the supporting documents outlined below applicable to your claimed eligibility status and the position and grade to which you are applying. Failing to submit required documents will result in non-consideration due to an incomplete application package.

RESUME: You must submit a resume that demonstrates how skills and experiences through job duties meet the qualifications and requirements listed in the job announcement to be considered for the job. Each job experience must include dates of employment including start and end dates (month and year), work schedule (full-time or part-time), and hours worked per week. 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.For more information, click here.

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL: Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act/achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process. If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, please submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level.

FEDERAL EMPLOYEES: Competitive Service current and/or former federal employees eligible for Promotion, Reassignment, Transfer, Reinstatement, etc. You must submit a copy of your SF-50, verifying highest rate of pay and documenting career or career-conditional status in the competitive service (Tenure 1 or 2) for which the applicant is claiming eligibility. Do not submit award SF-50s. If you are applying for a higher grade and your SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you meet the one year time-in-grade requirement so you will need to provide an SF-50 which clearly demonstrates you meet the time-in-grade requirements (examples of appropriate SF-50s include Promotions, Within-grade Grade/Range Increases, and SF-50s with an effective date more than one year old). For more information, click here.

CAREER TRANSITION PROGRAMS: Permanent Federal employees who are surplus, displaced, or involuntarily separated. You must submit a copy of your most recent performance appraisal, proof of eligibility, and most current SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location. To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be well-qualified (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including selective factors, education and experience requirements) and score at least 85.0 on the assessment questionnaire as established, and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry. For more information, click here.

VETERANS: Veterans preference eligible under VEOA, 30% or more Disabled, or Disabled Veterans Enrolled in a VA Training Program. If you are claiming eligibility based on veterans preference entitlement, you must submit a copy of your latest Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, DD-214 (copy indicating character of service) or other proof of your service which includes character of service. If claiming disability preference, you must also submit the disability letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs or Armed Service and the Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference, Standard Form 15. For more information, click here.

LAND MANAGEMENT WORKFORCE FLEXIBILITY ACT: Current or former land management agency appointees. You must submit (1) a copy of your SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, that reflects having initially been hired under competitive examining procedures to a time limited (temporary/term) appointment; (2) a copy of SF-50(s), Notification of Personnel Action(s), that reflect having served under one (1) or more time-limited (temporary/term) appointments by a land management agency for a period totaling more than 24 months without a break in service of two (2) or more years; and (3) a copy of your Performance Appraisal Plan and/or Supervisor Memorandum that reflects having performed at an acceptable level during each period of service. For more information, click here.

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