Petroleum Engineer

Summary

You will serve as a Petroleum Engineer with the Orphan Wells Program Office (OWPO). This is a temporary promotion and/or detail not to exceed 4 years. This position may be physically located in any DOI office, and will be negotiated after selection. The salary listed in the announcement is at the Rest of the United States (RUS) level. The geographical locality pay will be determined at the time of selection. First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

Duties

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Leads and advises a multidisciplinary team to carry out field inspections and desk audits of grant recipient plugging activities, processes, and procedures. Provides expert advice and support to achieve sound plugging practices and sustainable plugging of orphaned wells in accordance with grant awards and federal project terms and conditions. Reviews and provides technical advice on well plugging plans, surface, and subsurface liabilities, and environmental remediation techniques associated well plugging activities. Evaluates and provides oversight of the reclamation and remediation of plugged well sites. Ensures wells are plugged in accordance with applicable environmental laws and regulations to protect groundwater, other natural resources, public health and safety, and the environment. Serves as a lead and technical expert to a multidisciplinary team consisting of environmental engineers, petroleum engineers, natural resource specialists, physical scientists, and other specialists. Analyzes and interprets well plugging engineering data, reviews plugging standards and procedures, and monitors activities related to financial assistance awards and federal projects. Evaluates and advises on the adequacy of the Department's methane measurement protocols and techniques. Develops and contributes to writing high-level technical documents and providing feedback to applicable parts of the Orphan Wells Program Office (OWPO) national financial assistance program. Conducts critical assessments and reviews of applications for grant funding, grantee programmatic reports, and technical papers. Organizes work, sets priorities, and determines resource requirements; determines short- or long-term goals and strategies; and coordinates work efforts with other OWPO Divisions and external organizations as appropriate. Provides authoritative support to the Division Chief on the technical aspects of well plugging, lease bonding, and transfer of liabilities related to reducing the orphaned well burden, idle well plan evaluations, and other mission critical technical assessments. Reviews the collection of orphaned, idle, and temporarily abandonment well data for the purposes of developing data models to predict future orphaned well liabilities. Requirements

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 https://www.e-verify.gov/. Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment. You may be required to travel overnight away from home. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes. A financial disclosure report will be required within 30 days of appointment. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest. 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

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 10/27/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Selective Placement Factors: This position requires a special qualification that has been determined to be essential to perform the duties and will be used as a screen out element. If you do not provide evidence that you possess the following selective factor(s), you will be rated not qualified. 1) Must possess and maintain a valid state driver's license while employed in this position. -AND- Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: Basic Educational Requirements: In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following: 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. You must submit transcripts. -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)2 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. 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.) Specialized Experience: To qualify for this position at the GS-14 grade level: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: Interpreting scientific and technical data to write well plugging plans/procedures and scopes of work. Communicating with contractors, plugging crews, and onsite technical staff to make decisions regarding the status of plugging procedures and make changes if necessary with limited information. Interpreting scientific, technical, or engineering standards and applying techniques and procedures used for well plugging, environmental remediation, or site reclamation activities. Analyzing and recommending solutions to difficult and complex problems concerning natural resources, physical science, environmental, or engineering challenges. Preparing technical reports/presentations or providing technical expertise on oil and gas plugging and abandonment operations or similar environmental clean-up activities to non-technical audiences. You must include hours per week worked. 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

This position does not allow substituting education for experience. This position has a mandatory education requirement. Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications How You Will Be Evaluated

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g. resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessment(s) required for this position. To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. Your resume must not exceed 2 pages. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed. You will be assessed in the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Influencing/Negotiating Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of the USA Hire Assessment, if required. All qualified non-competitive applicants and the best-qualified Merit Promotion applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration or your score may be lowered. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position. Current or former displaced Federal employees who are surplus, displaced, or involuntarily separated have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be well-qualified, score at least 85 (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements), and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry. There are no qualification requirements for a detail assignment however, employees must meet any positive education/licensure requirements and have experience which demonstrates the ability to perform the major duties of the position. Detail assignments do not include additional or reduced compensation, including locality pay, but benefit from the experience gained, and the opportunity to broaden their knowledge and skills. Time spent on a detail is not creditable for time-in-grade purposes. Other Information

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (https://appsupport-usastaffing.opm.gov/hc/en-us/sections/45063131363475-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information) All 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, DOI Ethics Prohibitions | U.S. Department of the Interior. Physical Demands: The work is largely sedentary, although there are occasional field trips that involve some physical activity. The incumbent may carry light items such as a laptop bag, documents, and field instruments. The work does not require special physical effort. Work Environment: Most of the work is performed in a typical office environment. Travel and field work up to 25% of the time can be expected. Travel will typically be to sites where well plugging, site remediation, and reclamation activities are taking place. The field work may involve occasional exposure to steep, rugged terrain, rough forest roads, with the possibility of extreme weather and temperature conditions which requires normal safety precautions. The work involves vehicle operation and associated discomforts and risks when operating motorized vehicles in isolated areas. The duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.