Civil Engineer (Structural) - SME (Open to both U.S. Citizens and Federal Employees)

Full Job Description

The position serves as a senior Civil (Structural) Engineer for the Office of Pipeline Safety, in support of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facility safety reviews.

The Office of Pipeline Safety sets and enforces safety requirements, inspects and investigates pipelines and related facilities, oversees state partners, advances technical knowledge, and coordinates responses and policy to reduce pipeline incidents and their consequences.

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the education and specialized experience requirements for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.

To qualify for the Grade 12, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-11 it must include: Experience, under supervision, applying safety and engineering standards (e.g., ASCE, API, ASME, NFPA, ACI, AISC) for the siting, structural design, construction, or operation, of industrial or energy facilities (e.g., tanks, foundations, support structures), including reviewing or developing technical deliverables, identifying errors or omissions, preparing requests for Information (RFIs) or recommendations, and participating in multidisciplinary teams and stakeholder coordination.

To qualify for the Grade 13, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-12, it must include: Experience independently applying safety and engineering standards (e.g., ASCE, API, ASME, NFPA, ACI, AISC) for the siting, structural design, construction, or operation of industrial or energy facilities (e.g., tanks, foundations, support structures), including reviewing or developing technical deliverables, identifying errors or omissions, preparing requests for Information (RFIs) or recommendations, and participating in multidisciplinary teams and stakeholder coordination.

To qualify for the Grade 14, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-13, it must include: Experience overseeing and applying safety and engineering standards (e.g., ASCE, API, ASME, NFPA, ACI, AISC) for the siting, structural design, construction, or operation of industrial or energy facilities (e.g., tanks, foundations, support structures), including developing or reviewing technical deliverables, identifying errors or omissions, issuing requests for Information (RFIs) or recommendations, and leading multidisciplinary teams and stakeholder coordination.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas: Technical Competence - Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.

Planning and Evaluating - Organizes work, sets priorities, and determines resource requirements; determines short- or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them; coordinates with other organizations or parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors progress and evaluates outcomes.

Structural Engineering - Knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, and methods related to the design and analysis of complex structures using a variety of materials.

Structures may include aerospace systems or structures, and other determinate or indeterminate systems.

Problem Solving - Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.

Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.

For all types of consideration, 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.

For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4 All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Major Duties:

As a Civil (Structural) Engineer, you will: Advise and support a national program for improving the regulatory oversight of LNG facility siting, design, construction, inspection, operations, and safety.

Communicate PHMSA's safety regulations and LNG structural design requirements to stakeholders on the structural design of LNG facilities and manage correspondence, inquiries, and engineering deliverables.

Review and evaluate natural hazard studies, basis of design documents, structural engineering design drawings, calculations, and specifications for LNG tanks, equipment, piping, piling, foundations, support structures, buildings and associated structures for compliance with Federal safety regulations, industry standards, and best practices.

Evaluate technical assessments for repair/retrofit plans and failure investigations.

The ideal candidate for this position is a senior technical leader with structural engineering expertise in industrial or chemical facilities, and a proven record leading regulatory oversight programs that advance safety and compliance.

In this role, you will provide technical evaluations of tanks, foundations, support structures, and related systems, and independently review advanced analyses (Finite Element Analysis (FEA), seismic/ soil-structure interaction (SSI), stability, foundation reliability).

This role requires strong technical judgement and effective communication to coordinate on issues with operators and advise senior leadership, influence interagency and standards development, and support inspections and incident investigations to strengthen long-term regulatory effectiveness and public safety.