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Fire Protection Engineer, ZP-0804-III/IV (GS-11/12/13/14 Equivalent)

Employer
USAJobs
Location
Gaithersburg, Maryland
Closing date
Nov 25, 2020
Duties

Summary

This position is located in the Fire Research Division of the Engineering Laboratory at NIST.

Are you ready to explore your future with NIST?

Your application package may be shared with other selecting officials at NIST with opportunities like the one you are applying to. Additional selections may be made through this vacancy.

This notice is issued under direct-hire authority to recruit new talent to occupations for which NIST has a severe shortage of candidates.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

Conduct research on the combustion of outdoor fire fuel beds including small-scale and large-scale fire experiments and computational modeling to extend the Fire Research Division's fire model prediction of large outdoor fires. Research will include studying the heat transfer and mass transfer in burning fuel beds, and generating data to predict burning rate of materials involved in large outdoor fires including trees, shrubs, grasses, and structures.

Travel Required

25% or less - Up to 15% for field experiments.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
04

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • You must be a U.S. citizen
  • You must be registered for Selective Service if applicable (www.sss.gov)
  • You must be suitable for Federal Employment


Applicants must meet requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENT:

Degree: professional engineering. To be acceptable, the curriculum must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; 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

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 professional 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:

• Professional registration - Current registration as a professional engineer 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.
• Written Test - Evidence of having successfully passed the Engineer-in-Training (EIT) examination, or the written test required for professional registration, which is administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

Applicants who have passed the EIT examination and have completed all the requirements for either (a) a bachelor's degree in engineering technology (BET) from an accredited college of university that included 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences, or (b) a BET from a program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) may be rated eligible for certain engineering positions at GS-5. Eligibility is limited to positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of the engineering technology program. Applicants for positions that involve highly technical research, development, or similar functions requiring an advanced level of competence in basic science must meet the basic requirements in paragraph A.

Because of the diversity in kind and quality of BET programs, graduates of other BET programs are required to complete at least 1 year of additional education or highly technical work experience of such nature as to provide reasonable assurance of the possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for professional engineering competence. The adequacy of this background must be demonstrated by passing the EIT examination.

• Specified academic courses - Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and in engineering that included the courses specified in the basic requirements. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of a professional engineering curriculum as described in paragraph A.

• Related curriculum - Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering technology or in an appropriate professional field, e.g., 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. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)

NOTE: An applicant who meets the basic requirements as specified in A or B above may qualify for positions in any branch of engineering unless selective factors indicate otherwise, or unless he/she qualifies under the provisions of B.2 related to the EIT examination or BET degree.

ZP-03: IN ADDITION TO THE BASIC REQUIREMENT LISTED ABOVE applicants MUST possess one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 (ZP-II at NIST) grade level. Specialized experience is defined as experience in conducting combustion experiments including heat and mass transfer, and fire experiments. Experience in using computational fluid dynamics codes.

OR

A Masters or equivalent degree.

OR

A combination of education and experience.

ZP-04: IN ADDITION TO THE BASIC REQUIREMENT LISTED ABOVE applicants MUST possess one year (52 weeks) of specialized specialized experience at the GS-12 (ZP-III at NIST) grade level. Specialized experience is defined as experience in formulating experimental designs for large outdoor fire experiments. Experience in modeling burning rate of forest fuels and man-made structures. Experience in modifying computational fluid dynamics codes to include terrain features and burning rate.

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.

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcement are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains Federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the OPM website located at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/

Applicants may request reconsideration of their qualifications determination within three business days from the date their applicant status was changed. Applicants should email the Agency Contact listed in this vacancy announcement with their written request listing the announcement number; explaining why the original determination was improper; what factors were not considered; and, should provide any other pertinent information that would enable reevaluation.

Education

This position has an education requirement. You must submit a copy of your transcripts to document that you have met the education requirement. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package. Official transcripts will be required prior to the final offer of employment.

Foreign education: Individuals educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for a U.S. equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. View a listing of these accredited organizations from the Department of Education's website . Provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing.

Additional information

A one year trial period may be required.

This appointment may be extended up to four years without further competition.

This position is covered by an Alternative Personnel Management System (APMS). This system replaces the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and grade with career paths and pay bands. For information regarding how the pay bands correspond to the General Schedule, click here.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Applications will be evaluated against the basic qualifications. 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, salary, duties performed for each position, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level/pay band. Please also include in your resume a list of all publications and patents/patent applications on which you are a named inventor and provide the title and patent/patent application number for each. Qualified candidates will be considered in accordance with the Office of Personnel Management Direct Hire Guidelines. Veterans' Preference does not apply to the direct hire recruitment procedures. Selections made under this notice will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. You may not be considered for the position if any part of the application is incomplete. Your application may not receive appropriate consideration without the required supporting documentation.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Other

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

What documents do I need to submit? In addition to your resume, you must submit a copy of your transcripts to document that you have met the education requirement. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package. Official transcripts will be required prior to the final offer of employment.
How do I submit my documents: You may submit required and/or supplemental documents through any ONE of the following methods:
  • Upload your file(s);
  • Download from your USAJOBS account;
  • Fax using the on-line fax cover sheet;

  • All required supporting documentation mentioned in this vacancy announcement, and all vacancy applications submitted electronically or via fax must be submitted and received by 11:59 pm ET on the closing date of this announcement. You are not required to submit official documents at this time; copies are sufficient.

    Are you CTAP or ICTAP Eligible? If you are a Federal employee claiming special priority selection rights under DOC's Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or your Agency's Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), you must meet the threshold of "well qualified" for the position to receive priority consideration. DoC defines well qualified as receiving an overall score of "85". In order to be eligible and considered under CTAP or ICTAP procedures, you must submit proof that you meet the requirements of 5CFR 330.605 (a) for CTAP and 5 CFR 330.704 for ICTAP. This includes a copy of your agency's notice, a copy of your most recent Performance Rating and a copy of your most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, noting current position, grade level, and the duty location. Please annotate your application to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP or ICTAP eligible. If you are determined eligible for CTAP and ICTAP consideration, you may be required to respond to job-related questions in order to assess your "well qualified" status. Responses to the questions must be reflected in your resume. If the your responses are not supported by information in your resume, they may be modified and, as a result, your score may be lowered.

    For more information about CTAP and ICTAP, please refer to the following web site: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/#ctap .

    Please review the information on the following link to determine if there are any documents you need to provide - https://www.nist.gov/careers/information-new-employees/applying-jobs-required-forms

    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.

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