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Interdisciplinary General Engineer/Physical Scientist

U.S. Department of Energy - Richland Operations Office/Office of River Protection
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As a General Engineer or Physical Scientist you will:
  • Perform a variety of general scientific and/or engineering tasks in support of larger projects.
  • Carry out difficult but conventional scientific and/or engineering assignments in support of organizational programs/projects.
  • Conduct preliminary scientific and/or engineering analyses to assist higher graded Federal scientists and engineers in accomplishing work on large and complicated projects.
  • Review reports, plans, specifications, change orders, modifications, and other documents prepared by others and applies knowledge of technological advances in the appropriate scientific and/or engineering discipline (e.g. Chemistry, Physics, Nuclear Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Geophysics, Geology, Hydrology, etc.) to identify discrepancies or potential issues.
  • Prepare recurring technical reports to inform stakeholders of status of projects issues that may impact program/project objectives and goals.
  • Work with other scientists and/or engineers to identify and interpret a variety of factors, situations, and conditions to discern interrelationships among different scientific and/or engineering methods, processes and activities.


Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National. This employer participates in the e-Verify program. Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service. Subject to satisfactory security and suitability requirements. May be required to successfully complete a 1-year probationary period. Position may require the incumbent serving in an on-call capacity or perform shift work. This position is included in a Bargaining Agreement.

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENT: You must meet the Basic Requirement and "Specialized Experience" to qualify for this position as described below.


SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS GS-07: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, GS-05 in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position is defined as:
  • Experience planning work procedures and selecting standard practices and data to be applied to engineering or scientific assignments and identified problems.
  • Experience conducting a variety of routine, limited analyses requiring professional knowledge of two or more engineering and/or scientific disciplines.
  • Experience evaluating basic engineering and/or scientific designs in order to perform and interpret calculations and computations and determines if factual information is relevant, accurate and useful.
OR

Education: Completed 1 year of graduate level education or Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A.) at the baccalaureate must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled. S.A.A. is based on (1) Class standing-applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class, based on completed courses; or (2) Grade-Point Average-applicants must have a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (3) Election to membership in a National Scholastic Honor Society - membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision.

OR
Combination of Education and Experience: a combination of education and experience that together meets the requirements for this position.

GS-09: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade, GS-07 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position is defined as:
  • Experience performing a variety of general scientific and/or engineering tasks in support of larger projects.
  • Experience researching, analyzing, evaluating, and carrying out difficult but conventional scientific and/or engineering assignments in support of agency programs/projects.
  • Experience reviewing reports, plans, specifications, change orders, modifications, and other documents prepared by others and applies knowledge of technological advances in the appropriate scientific and/or engineering discipline to identify discrepancies or potential issues.
OR
Education: Successfully completed 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree.
OR

Combination of Education and Experience: You may meet qualifications requirement for this position with an equivalent combination of specialized experience and appropriate graduate education. Graduate level education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position.


"Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. 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.

CTAP/ICTAP candidates: To be considered "well qualified" you must (1) meet all of the requirements as described in this section; and 2) be rated "well-qualified", which is defined as scoring in the in Well Qualified category (or higher).

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

Basic Requirement for General Engineer: Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in engineering. To be acceptable, the program must:(1) lead to a bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (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), 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) examination, or any other written test required for professional registration, by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, or 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 A above. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program.
(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 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.

BASIC REQUIREMENT: FOR GS-1301, Physical Scientist
A. Degree: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics.

OR

B. Combination of education and experience -- education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

This vacancy has a positive education requirement. In order to be rated as qualified, you must provide copies of your college transcripts. Failure to provide copies of your college transcripts may result in a rating of "Ineligible". Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website.

If substituting education for specialized experience you must submit proof of your qualifying education. Failure to provide college transcripts may result in a rating of 'Ineligible'. Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website.

Additional information