Duties

Summary

This is a manufacturing engineer position in the Office of Production Engineering at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), with a focus on manufacturing process improvement, equipment life-cycle management, and new product testing and qualification.

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Responsibilities

The following are the duties of this position at the GS-13 General Engineer. If you are selected at a lower grade level, you will have the opportunity to learn to perform all these duties, and will receive training to help you grow in this position.

• Analyze the currency production process in order to understand how material, equipment and process variables impact finished product quality, process reliability, and manufacturing cost.
• Apply principles of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, and data science to identify and solve problems in currency production including problems affecting product quality, process throughput and reliability, and manufacturing cost.
• Implement and validate changes to the currency printing process, including in-process inspection and vision systems.
• Prepare and analyze large structured and unstructured manufacturing datasets to identify patterns, trends, and relationships. Interpret, explain, and help apply the results of the analysis to fuel production process improvements.
• Develop success criteria and detailed test plans to evaluate how proposed product changes or new products will impact the production process and vice versa.
• Collaborate with internal BEP stakeholders to establish production needs and translate those needs into technical requirements. Research available solutions then prepare recommendations to develop or procure equipment and software to meet the BEP's requirements.
• Lead large scale ($5M+) acquisition projects for printing presses, inspection platforms, and production support equipment from ideation, through technology development, and into operation and sustainment.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - May travel 1-5 days a month

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
13

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Must be U.S. Citizen or U.S. National

This announcement is issued under the "direct-hire" authority. Consistent with 5 U.S.C. 3304(a)(3) and OPM regulations (5 CFR 337 Subpart B) on direct-hire: All candidates who meet all the qualifications and other eligibility requirements may be referred for consideration. Competitive examining rules providing for rating and ranking and veterans' preference do not apply.

The experience may have been gained in either the public or private sector or volunteer service . To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/day/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week on your résumé.

SUITABILITY, CLEARANCE & REQUIREMENTS: A background investigation will be required for all new hires. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for disqualification in the hiring process. The background investigation process conducted by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is very thorough. Therefore it is imperative that applicants exercise candor and honesty when answering background questionnaires, especially as it relates to arrest, employment, education, finances, illegal drug use, and/or other criminal history. Falsification discovered in security documents or during the background investigation process may result in an immediate negative suitability determination or immediate revocation of your interim clearance (if applicable).

Qualifications

You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

1. 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)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 for the GS-13 is one year of experience at the GS-12 level or equivalent in other public or private sectors, that is directly related to the position as listed in this announcement and which has equipped the candidate with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience is defined as:

- Identifying and solving problems affecting the quality and reliability of a manufacturing process; AND
- Identifying and implementing process improvements to manufacturing processes; AND
-Performing statistical analyses to support problem solving or improvements to manufacturing processes; AND
- Designing, developing, and performing tests and experiments on manufacturing equipment to validate performance or identify factors that affect product quality; AND
- Leading teams to solve technical problems.

Specialized experience for the GS-12 is one year of experience at the GS-11 level or equivalent in other public or private sectors, that is directly related to the position as listed in this announcement and which has equipped the candidate with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience is defined as:

- Identifying and solving problems affecting the quality and reliability a manufacturing process; AND
- Identifying and implementing process improvements to manufacturing processes; AND
- Performing statistical analyses to support problem solving or improvements to manufacturing processes; AND
- Designing, developing, and performing tests and experiments on manufacturing equipment to validate performance or identify factors that affect product quality.



Specialized experience for the GS-11 is one (1) year of experience at the GS-09 level or equivalent, that is directly related to the position as listed in this announcement and which has equipped the candidate with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience is defined as:

- Identifying and solving problems affecting the quality and reliability of a manufacturing process; AND
- Identifying and implementing process improvements to manufacturing processes; AND
- Performing statistical analyses to support problem solving or improvements to manufacturing processes.



OR
Education: 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

OR
You may qualify by a combination of experience and education. This is creditable providing the combination consists of 100% of the requirement. Only graduate level education in excess of the first 36 semester hours (54 quarter hours) may be combined to be considered for qualifying education. (Attach a copy of transcripts to ensure you receive proper credit).

Education

Please see "Qualifications" section for all of the education requirements.

The education generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Additional information

- We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.
- This is a non-bargaining unit position.
- A recruitment incentive may be offered.
- We offer opportunities for telework.
- We offer opportunities for flexible work schedules.
- The facility typically shuts down annually between Christmas and New Year's Day. As such, all BEP employees must take leave for work days during the shutdown period.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:
- A one year probationary period may be required.
- Public Trust - Background Investigation will be required.
- Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency
- If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so.
- Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
- Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9 . Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S.
- Submit to a drug test prior to your appointment and random drug testing while you occupy the position.
- Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.
- Wear required safety clothing and/or equipment required by the position. This may include safety shoes, hard hats, hearing protection, gloves, masks, etc.
- Undergo an income tax verification.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your application includes your résumé, responses to the online questions, and required supporting documents. Please be sure that your résumé includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a "not qualified" determination.

Referral: If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. You may be required to participate in a selection interview. We will not reimburse costs related to the interview such as travel to and from the interview site.

If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee (eligible for the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP )) you must be assigned the middle category or better to be rated as "well qualified" to receive special selection priority.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
Yes

Required Documents

A complete application includes 1. A résumé, 2. Vacancy question responses, and 3. Submission of any required documents. Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible).

All applicants are required to submit a résumé either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. (Cover letters are optional.) To receive full credit for relevant experience, please list the month/date/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your résumé. We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your résumé to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Please view résumé tips .

VETERANS' PREFERENCE DOCUMENTATION: If you are claiming veterans preference, please see applicant guide for required documentation . In order to be considered for veterans preference, you must submit all required documentation as outlined in the applicant guide.

CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (CTAP) OR INTERAGENCY CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (ICTAP) DOCUMENTATION: If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee, click CTAP/ICTAP for eligibility and a detailed list of required documents.

EDUCATION DOCUMENTATION: For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. An official transcript will be required if you are selected.

A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation page . If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Refer to the OPM instructions .

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.