Environmental Engineer

Full Job Description

The environmental engineer is responsible for Green Environmental Management System (GEMS) planning and implementation as well as environmental compliance activities.

The employee assumes a lead role in the development of facility environmental policy and procedural documentation.

The employee is also responsible for directing the review of major engineering plans, specifications, and technical reports to ascertain the environmental impacts of construction activities.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/06/2026.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service.

An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials.

If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement.

In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.

Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: 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) 2examination 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.) Applicants must also meet the Specialized Experience described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: 1 year of environmental engineering experience acquired under engineering supervision and guidance.

Should have an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering experience.

Possess the knowledge to formulate, execute, advise on, and explain recommendations or solutions to modify standard practices, equipment, devices, processes, and techniques and resolve a wide variety of complex problems.

Know how to prepare, present, and evaluate plans, designs, reports and correspondence.

Must have the understanding to adapt precedents or existing strategies to meet unusual needs or special demands and act as a principle contributor on team-based projects or coordinate a team project and provide technical oversight and direction.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Compliance Environmental Engineering Technical Competence 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; religions; 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. Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week.

Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities.

Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: Some work may require periods of walking, standing, bending, climbing, or driving. Employees may carry light items such as books, instruments, and other similar materials.

The work does not require any special physical effort.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Major Duties:

Major Duties The environmental engineer is responsible for GEMS planning and implementation as well as environmental compliance activities.

The employee assumes a lead role in the development of facility environmental policy and procedural documentation.

The employee is also responsible for directing the review of major engineering plans, specifications, and technical reports to ascertain the environmental impacts of construction activities.

The employee works with facility leadership to integrate environmental considerations into planning and operational activities.

In addition, the employee coordinates environmental activities with regional representatives and supports the development of integrated planning for all facilities within the region.

Environmental Policies & Programs The employee supports the development of facility environmental policies, programs, and procedural documentation.

Inter & Intra Agency Cooperation The employee interacts with federal, state, and local environmental agencies with respect to facility environmental issues regarding compliance.

Environmental Audits & Investigations The employee leads environmental audits and incident investigations, conducts root cause analysis, develops corrective actions, and tracks incidents to closure.

Training of Staff The employee trains facility employees and lower grade environmental staff.

Construction Projects The employee leads construction projects reviews to determine environmental impacts, confirm environmental compliance requirements, and assess environmental risk control needs.

National GEMS Committees The employee participates in the national-level GEMS committees within VA. GEMS Committee The employee chairs the local GEMS Committee.

Recycling Program Coordinator The employee serves as the Recycling Program Coordinator. ISO 14001 The employee is responsible for the implementation of ISO 14001.

This position is at full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Environmental Engineer/PD93113-0 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized