Petroleum Engineer

About the role

This position is located with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, BIA Central Office in Lakewood, Colorado. This is a Bargaining Unit position, for more information see USA Jobs What are bargaining units?

What you will do

• Technical expert in petroleum engineering in oil and gas, helium, and geothermal energy resources in Indian land.
• Serves as staff Petroleum Engineer for the Division Chief, and provides expert advisory, consulting and reviewing services in all phases oil and gas, helium, and geothermal energy development activities.
• Consults with the Division Chief and furnishes expert guidance in the resolution of a wide variety of controversial, unique and economically important problems and issues affecting Bureau wide objectives of energy and mineral management.
• Provides technical leadership, review, consultation and coordination of Division programs.
• Provides expert recommendations for resolving complex technical and regulatory challenges related to energy and mineral resource programs.
• Oversees the evaluation of project feasibility, including review of budgets, technical deliverables, and compliance with relevant standards.
• Prepares detailed reports and presentations on exploration, drilling, and production activities for stakeholders and decision-makers.
• Ensures accurate valuation of energy prospects and determination of royalties, rentals, and revenues through application of engineering and geological principles.
• Leads multidisciplinary teams in the planning and execution of field examinations, resource assessments, and development projects.

Education

If you are qualifying based on your education, you MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all of your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course.

All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement. If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis.

If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education which shows 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: ***

How you will be evaluated

Your application package will be evaluated against the minimum qualification requirements specified above. In order to qualify, your resume must specifically describe your work history and the duties you performed in each position. The full performance level of this position is None.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position.

Please follow all instructions carefully, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of additional assessments, including USAHire assessments.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making External Awareness Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Petroleum Engineering Planning and Evaluating Problem Solving Project Management Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration.

Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Preference in filling vacancies is given to qualified Indian candidates in accordance with the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (Title 25, USC, Section 472). Verification Form BIA-4432 must be submitted with the application if claiming Indian Preference.

Indian Preference eligibles not currently employed in Federal service may be appointed under the Excepted Service Appointment Authority Schedule A, 213.3112(a)(7). Consideration will be given to Non-Indian applicants in the absence of qualified Indian Preference eligibles. For more information, please visit: ***

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC.

WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

If your resume/application does not support your Assessment Questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination.

Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level.

REVIEW BEFORE YOU SUBMIT: You may preview the assessment questions here in the ***

Documents you must provide

• Resume which details work experience including dates worked (mm/yy-mm/yy); position title; position series and grade (if federal service); work schedule; hours worked per week; relevant duties performed; supervisor with contact information, and 3 professional references and contact information (Do not include current/former supervisors), etc 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.
• On-line Assessment Questionnaire Transcripts (if using education to qualify) - Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, an official transcript may be requested at a later time.
• Veteran's documentation - (if applicable) VA letter on VA letterhead stating your overall combined rating, SF-15, DD-214 (Member 4 Copy Only) reflecting an honorable discharge and dates of active duty military service.
• Special Appointing Authority documentation (if applying under a special hiring authority) BIA Form 4432 The Form BIA-4432 must be completed as stated in the Instructions on the Form and this form with must be submitted with your application for Federal employment (if claiming Indian preference).
• ALL DOCUMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 11:59 PM Eastern Time ON THE CLOSING DATE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.
• If your application package is incomplete in any way, you will not be considered for this position, and requests for extensions will not be granted.
• Please double check your application package before you submit it.
• ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WILL NOT BE SOLICITED OR ACCEPTED BY THIS OFFICE.

What to expect next

Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. Your application will be evaluated by the Human Resources Office to determine your eligibility for the position. After the evaluation is complete, you will receive another notification regarding the status of your application.

Additional information

All new hires earn the beginning salary of their pay grade (Step 1). See 2026 Salary Tables and select the pay chart for Lakewood, Colorado. If no specific chart is listed for this geographic location, see the "rest of U.S." chart.

RECRUITMENT/RELOCATION: THE PAY FLEXIBILITIES OF A RECRUITMENT AND/OR RELOCATION BONUS MAY BE AUTHORIZED, PENDING AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND MANAGEMENT APPROVAL.

STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT: STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT MAY BE OFFERED, IF ELIGIBLE, UPON APPROVAL BY THE SELECTING AND BUREAU MANAGEMENT OFFICIAL.

The probationary or trial 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 -OR- trial period] your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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. (***)