Duties

This series covers positions managing, supervising, leading, and/or performing professional engineering and scientific work.

• Vacancies filled under this public notice may have varying levels of promotion potential and supervisory level, if any.
• Positions may be filled as permanent, term, or temporary with a full-time or part-time work schedule.

The Department of Energy is seeking motivated and highly-qualified candidates for exciting positions that may be available in Washington DC , Germantown MD, and/or Idaho Falls ID with Location Negotiable After Selection.

As a General Engineer, at minimum you will:

• Use sound technical judgment and initiative to resolve the challenges of changing conditions and other problems relative to the assigned projects and programs.
• Conducting nuclear engineering projects in research and development.
• Assisting or directing engineering research and development studies in the engineering, design, development, and implementation of nuclear programs/projects.
• Use physics or mechanical, nuclear, electrical, chemical, civil, or industrial engineering theories, principles, and practices.
• Analyze situations, identify problems, probe causes, and recommends courses of action or solutions.
• Support the development of the regulatory basis for next generation reactor concepts that provide safe, secure and enhanced nuclear energy to U.S. and international markets.
• Work closely with a team, perform assessments, clearly and concisely document assessment results, and present findings orally and in writing to the approval authority.
• Coordinate with related engineering and physical science fields adequate to effectively discuss technical points and to recommend acceptable engineering solutions to problems.
• Overseeing engineering project and programs to include nuclear energy, nuclear fuel cycle, and/or the handling of nuclear materials including spent fuel and high-level waste
• Perform and interpret calculations, analyses, and computations for unknown factors or relationships primarily in the matters of factual nature of involving well understood mechanisms.

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 probationary period.
• Appointments made with this authority may be processed as a new appointment into the Civil Service.
• The vacancies filled through these appointments have varying levels of background investigative requirements, up to?a Top Secret -?DOE "Q" clearance.
• Positions may be filled as permanent, term, or temporary with a full-time or part-time work schedule. Pay will vary by geographic location.

Qualifications

You must meet the Basic Requirement listed in the "Education Requirements" section and the "Specialized Experience" to qualify for this series as described below.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS
The specialized experience listed are the minimum requirements for the series, each particular vacancy may have additional experience necessary to meet the applicable grade level.

A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for these positions are defined as:

GS-11: You must have one year of experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service. Experience includes: Assisting or directing engineering research and development studies to determine and recommend appropriate approaches to conducting nuclear engineering projects or the evaluation of projects that involve nuclear power systems and components or advanced reactor research and development. Assisting in the engineering, design, development, and implementation of nuclear programs/projects. Conducting nuclear engineering projects in research, development, nuclear facility operations, or demonstration of nuclear reactor systems or components, the nuclear fuel cycle or the handling of nuclear materials including spent fuel and high-level waste.

OR

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

GS-12: You must have one year of experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service. Experience includes: Directing or conducting research and development for advanced reactor concepts and innovative technologies related to advance nuclear power to meet energy, environmental and national security needs. Executing or managing nuclear engineering projects in research, design, development, and deployment. Maintaining nuclear reactor, laboratories or fuel cycle operations including the handling of spent nuclear fuel and high-level waste

NOTE: There is no substitution of education for specialized experience at the GS-12 level.

GS-13: You must have one year of experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service. Experience includes: Providing technical support, advice, and assistance for nuclear fuel cycle programs and/or projects; conducting technical analyses of nuclear fuel cycle and materials recovery research and development technologies. Reviewing project proposals to evaluate applicability and potential for nuclear experimental programs; planning and implementing studies and analyses of programs involving the establishment of basic criteria and engineering characteristics; proposing design approaches; preparing statement of works and other technical based portions of solicitation packages.

NOTE: There is no substitution of education for specialized experience at the GS-13 level.

GS-14: You must have one year of experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service. Experience includes: Overseeing nuclear energy project and programs by providing input to operating plans, schedules, and budgets for research and development programs related providing advanced nuclear fuel development and long-term viability of exerting nuclear reactors commercial reactors. Monitoring the progress and evaluate the performance of organizations that are conducting research and development on advanced nuclear fuels. Conducting analysis of concept development using lab-scale experiments and analyses, scaling up to separate effects and integral testing of fuel performance, qualifying fuel for use in commercial reactors, and evaluating fuel performance in commercial reactors.

NOTE: There is no substitution of education for specialized experience at the GS-14 level.

GS-15: You must have one year of experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-14 grade level in the Federal service. Experience includes: Developing operating plans, schedules, and budgets for research and development programs related to advanced fuels for existing light water reactors and future advanced reactors. Monitoring the progress and evaluate the performance of organizations that are conducting research and development on advanced nuclear fuels. Establish and manage collaborative nuclear energy Research & Development activities with industry for advanced reactor concepts and innovative technologies, based on priorities that reflect technical, licensing and business assessments. Developing new/revised nuclear industry standards in coordination with industry.

NOTE: There is no substitution of education for specialized experience at the GS-15 level.

"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.

OPM Qualification Standards for the GS-0801 series can be found at the following website: OPM Qualification Standards for the GS-0801 series.

CTAP/ICTAP candidates: To be considered "well qualified" you must meet all of the requirements as described in this section.

This public notice may be used to fill multiple positions as needed; therefore, applicants must meet the qualifications at the time the applications are reviewed.

FEDERAL REQUIRMENT FOR COVID-19 VACCINATION:
As required by Executive Order 14043, Federal employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 regardless of the employee's duty location or work arrangement (e.g., telework, remote work), subject to such exceptions as required by law. If you are selected for this position, you will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by November 22, 2021, or prior to onboarding, if hired after November 22, unless you request a legally required exception from this requirement.

As part of onboarding, you will need to submit DOE's Certification of COVID-19 Vaccination for Prospective Federal Employees attesting to truthfulness that you are fully vaccinated by November 22, 2021, or prior to onboarding, if hired after November 22, 2021. Once onboard, you will then be required to provide proof of vaccination in DOE's MyEnergy system and certify the documentation you provide is true and correct under penalty of perjury. Providing a knowing and willful false statement on either DOE's COVID-19 Vaccination Form prior to starting or when providing proof of vaccination in DOE's MyEnergy system once onboard is punishable by fine and/or imprisonment (18 U.S.C. 1001) and will result in termination from Federal service.

Education

Basic Requirement
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
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:

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.

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.

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.

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.)

This position has a positive education requirement. Therefore, you MUST provide documentation supporting any education claims in your application. This documentation can include unofficial transcripts or any report listing institution, course title, credits earned and final grade. For specific education requirements, please see the Education Requirements.

If selected, official transcripts may be requested.

Additional information

The U.S. Department of Energy fosters a diverse and inclusive workplace and is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

• This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies across DOE.
• For general information on government-wide Telework polices visit: www.telework.gov
• Status and Non-Status applicants from outside DOE selected under this authority are required to serve a mandatory one (1) year probationary period. A DOE career status employee selected for this position may be required to serve a new one (1) year probationary period, pursuant to 5 CFR 315.802.
• Positions may be designated as a Testing Designated Position (TDP) and subject to testing for illegal drug use. A negative drug test must be obtained prior to being appointed into these positions and will be subject to random testing thereafter.
• If you believe that you are eligible for the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), please visit the OPM ICTAP/CTAP website for more information. In order to be considered under the ICTAP program, your application must score within the pre-established "well qualified" category as stated in the Qualifications section.
• This public notice is to gather applications that may or may not result in a referral or selection.
• More than one selection may be made under this hiring authority.
• Some positions may require completion of a probationary period of up to 1 (one) year.
• Many positions require successful completion of a background investigation.
• Positions may be filled at varying levels of leadership, ie Team Lead, Manager, Supervisor.
• Supervisory positions may require a 1-year probationary period, if not yet completed.
• New employees to the Department of Energy will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify
• Veterans and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. For more information, please visit the links at the bottom of this page or visit the FedsHireVets website.
• All males born after December 31st 1959 must abide by laws regarding Selective Service registration. To learn more about this law, visit the Selective Service web page, Who Must Register . If you are not registered and don't have an approved exemption, you will not be eligible for employment with the Federal government.
• Position may require you to submit a Financial Disclosure Statement, OGE-450, Executive Branch Personnel Confidential Financial Disclosure Report upon entering the position and annually (5CFR Part 2634, Subpart I USOGE, 6/08). For additional information and to obtain the form, please visit the Office of Government Ethics.

EEO Policy: https://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/EEO_Policy_Statement
Reasonable Accommodation Policy: https://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/Reasonable_Accommodation_Policy_Statement

Veterans Information: https://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/Veterans_Information

Selective Service Registration: http://www.sss.gov/