Duties

• Provides advice on life and property loss hazards associated with a variety of occupancy situations including large scale complex and hazardous operations. Serves as agency's advisor regarding fire incidents involving loss of life and/or property.
• Directs and implements the agency's fire protection program; issues directives to formulate policy; establishes agency fire protection goals and objectives.
• Represents the agency as a member of professional committees and boards, gives speeches or lectures and appears on panels dealing with fire safety matters and the application of federal and national fire safety standards.
• Makes field inspections of proposed projects to determine directive and design requirements, inspects projects under construction to determine adequacy of the design of fire protection features and to assure conformance to plans and specifications.
• Reviews the fire protection features of plans, specifications and analyses of design as submitted by headquarters, regional staff and contracted architectural engineers for accuracy and technical competency.
• Serves as a monitor for evaluating contract architect and engineering firms, contract fire safety consulting firms and contract fire safety maintenance firms.
• Performs contracting duties as assigned to accomplish the architectural and engineering contract work for the agency. Obtains and maintains appropriate contracting certifications.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship required. Selective Service Registration, if applicable (www.sss.gov).
• Fingerprinting and background and/or security investigation may be required. Job offers are contingent on fingerprinting and background / security investigation results.
• Selectees may be required to serve a 1 year probationary period.
• Relocation expenses will not be paid.
• All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement
• This position involves specific physical efforts, working conditions, shift requirements and/or protective gear requirements as described under QUALIFICATIONS below.
• This is an emergency / mission critical position. You may be called to work after hours, on weekends and holidays.
• See QUALIFICATIONS and ADDITIONAL INFORMATION sections for other conditions specific to this position.

Qualifications

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
To qualify for this GS-13 Fire Protection Engineer position, you must demonstrate:
(1) the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) for the federal 0804 series AND
(2) at least 52 weeks of Specialized Experience

(1) Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR)

A. Degree in Engineering from a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET (see www.abet.org for information on engineering programs that have received accreditation) OR

B. Degree in Engineering that includes 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: (1) statics, dynamics; (2) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (3) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (4) thermodynamics; (5) electrical fields and circuits; (6) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (7) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics or electronics (highlight those courses on your transcript to ensure they receive consideration) OR

C. Combination of education and experience comprised of college-level education, training AND technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering AND (2) a theoretical and practical understanding of engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. This claim must be based on one of the following and supporting documents must be submitted:

(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, District of Columbia, Guam or Puerto Rico.

(2) Written Test -- evidence of successfully passing the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam or other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, 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 that included the courses specified in (1)(a)-(g) above. Courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program and must be highlighted on your transcript(s).

(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 you have 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.

ONLY APPLICANTS WHO DEMONSTRATE THIS IOR WILL BE EVALUATED.

(2) SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE must have been gained in a federal position at or above GS-12 OR (if your position and/or experience is in another federal pay scale OR outside of federal service) by performing duties at a level equivalent to GS-12.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE is work that primarily consists of (1) assessment and prediction of fire hazards or risks; (2) mitigation of fire damage; (3) development or testing of fire protection technologies; (4) inspection, testing and operation of fire detection or suppression devices or systems; and (5) assessment of fire protection requirements.

If you have this experience, you must describe, in your own words, the duties you perform that pertain to the requirements for this position.

Since Specialized Experience also has a time component, it must be evident that the duties you describe are at the required level for at least 52 weeks.

Reviewers cannot assume you perform duties you don't describe.

An affirmative response to the online questionnaire is not sufficient to demonstrate experience.

Since Specialized Experience also has a time component, it must be evident that the duties you describe are at the required level for at least 52 weeks.

Your resume must show complete dates (month/day/year) for each position described (and if your position is or was federal, your grade at the time experience was gained). Resumes that don't include this information may not satisfy the requirement to demonstrate 52 weeks performing specific work at the required level.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

CONDITIONS OF POSITION:
Due to the nature of work in this position, the following conditions are essential for successful performance and selected candidates must fully comply with these conditions to meet performance requirements.

Successful performance of work in this position and adherence to these conditions will be assessed during the 1-year probationary period that may be served by new appointees.

This is an emergency/mission critical position. You may be called to work after hours, on weekends and holidays.

(1) Work is generally sedentary. However, it includes frequent inspections and surveys of workplaces that involves some walking, standing, bending, and climbing.

(2) You may be required to report to work or remain at your workstation to perform critical services when building occupants are generally excused for all or part of a workday because of hazardous weather and other emergency situations.

(3) In case of snow, you may be required to report during irregular hours and travel in hazardous weather conditions.

(4) You may be required to travel to agency delegated and non-delegated buildings.

(5) Occasional duties may involve outside activities where you may be subject to inclement weather.

(6) During inspections or surveys you may be exposed to risks associated with fire hazards. You will be required to wear safety shoes, safety glasses and protective clothing.

(7) When performing inspections or surveys, you may visit construction sites, building systems and spaces, and work may involve moderate risks or discomforts that may require special safety precautions such as working around moving parts, carts and machines.

(8) You may be exposed to high noise levels, dust, toxic or irritant chemicals and may be required to wear Personal Protective Equipment such as steel-toed shoes, masks, coats, boots, goggles, gloves or shields.

(9) You may be required to wear a respirator on an as-needed basis and may be required to shave to support the proper fit of a respirator.

Information on this series can be found at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf .

Education

This position has an Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) in addition to the Specialized Experience requirement. Both requirements are described under QUALIFICATIONS above

You must meet and demonstrate both requirements and submit documents that fully support your claim (even if you already hold a federal 0800 series position).

All IOR claims should be stated on your resume and must be supported by a copy of relevant transcript(s).

TRANSCRIPTS -- submit a copy of your full transcript showing your name, the name of the school, the program in which you were enrolled and your degree in Engineering OR (if your degree isfrom a school of engineering that does not have at least one program accredited by ABET) completion of *creditable courses. If you attended more than one college or university, submit transcripts for all schools attended.

*Since course titles do not always indicate that a course pertains to a creditable field, highlight qualifying courses to ensure they are given consideration.

This may require you to print a copy of your transcript, highlight the qualifying courses and upload the highlighted copy to this vacancy announcement.

If you claim a degree in engineering, your transcript must clearly show the degree and the date conferred.

Unofficial transcripts or screenshots of electronic/web transcripts with the required information will be accepted at the time of application. CHECK YOUR UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT TO CONFIRM IT SHOWS THE REQUIRED INFORMATION. You must submit your transcripts according to the REQUIRED DOCUMENTS and HOW TO APPLY sections of this announcements. Documents will not be accepted via email or regular mail.

TRANSCRIPTS MUST BE LEGIBLE or you may not receive credit for your degree or completed courses.

DO NOT SUBMIT A DIPLOMA IN LIEU OF A FULL TRANSCRIPT THAT SHOWS THE REQUIRED INFORMATION.

Foreign Education: If your transcripts show education completed in foreign colleges or universities, you must also provide documentation that 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 a conventional/accredited U.S. education program; or that full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

If selected, you may be required to provide your official college transcripts prior to the effective date of your appointment.

If you claim Option C (combination of education and experience) your experience must be in addition to the 52 weeks of Specialized Experience AND you must provide documentation that fully supports your claim. Read the information carefully.

Additional information

Additional selections may be made for this vacancy six months from the closing date of this announcement.

If you are a male born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov .

If you are a federal contractor, do not identify yourself as a federal employee.

OTHER NOTES:

See QUALIFICATIONS and CONDITIONS for important information pertaining to this position.

See REQUIRED DOCUMENTS for documents needed to support your claim.

This is a non-bargaining unit position.

This is an emergency/mission critical position. You may be called to work after hours, on weekends and holidays.

This position is not authorized to be filled virtually or through outstationing. The Official Duty Station (ODS) for this position is Woodlawn, MD. To participate in telework, you must reside within a 2-hour commute to this ODS.

Relocation expenses will not be paid.

Salary will be set in accordance with locality pay provisions.

This position is on a full-time, flex-time schedule.

Alternate Work Schedules (AWS) may be authorized; telework may be approved after all conditions for telework have been met.

Successful performance of work in this position and adherence to conditions of this position will be assessed during the 1-year probationary period served that may be served by new appointees (e.g., new to SSA and/or new to this series).

This is a moderate-risk public trust position. You may be required to complete SF-85P, Questionnaire for Public Trust Positions to have the appropriate investigation conducted.

One vacancy will be filled in each of the following:
Office of Facilities and Logistics Management (OFLM)
Office of Buildings Management (OBM)
Division of Delegated Programs (DDP)
-- AND -
Office of Facilities and Logistics Management (OFLM)
Office of Buildings Management (OBM)
Division of Architectural and Engineering Services (DAES)