General Engineer

Summary

The incumbent of this position serves as Deputy Chief, Branch of Building Operations, within the Facilities Management Division in the Office of Facilities and Administrative Services (OFAS), under the Office of the Secretary (OS), U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI). The Branch provides facilities management, technical, and support services to the OS, Bureaus, other Departmental offices, and independent entities in the Stewart Lee Udall Building in Washington, DC.

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Duties

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Facilities and Project Management; primary subject matter expert on a range of disciplines of engineering standards and practices, including maintenance and repair of the building fabric, infrastructure, and its complex capital equipment.

Engineering Management; Demonstrates technical knowledge, resourcefulness, ingenuity, original thinking, and inventiveness in applying management practices, theories and management methodology to significant and unique problems.

Acts as Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) and prepares contract statements of work, independent government cost estimates, market research, and evaluation criteria for facility-related projects and services.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Suitable for Federal employment, determined by background investigation.
• Direct Deposit of pay is required.
• Selective Service registration required for male applicants, unless exempt.
• Status candidates must meet time-in-grade (see Qualifications).

Qualifications

Minimum Qualification Requirements:

Applicants must first meet the Basic Education Qualification Requirements listed below:

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)*, 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, and Puerto Rico.* For more information about EI and EIT registration requirements, please visit the National Society of Professional Engineers website at The FE examination is not administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. For more information, please visit

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.)Please review the OPM page on specifics about required curriculum and for more information on qualifications, please visit GS-800: All Professional Engineering Positions qualifications

(NOTE: YOU MUST PROVIDE LEGIBLE TRANSCRIPTS SHOWING COMPLETED COURSEWORK AND DEGREE(S) AWARDED AS VERIFICATION OF YOUR EDUCATION).

In addition to meeting the basic eligibility requirements, applicants must have the following specialized experience.

At the GS-13 level, you must meet the following qualification:

One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level. Specialized experience is that which has equipped the applicant with the competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience for this position includes extensive experience applying general engineering principles, theories, and concepts for operating capital equipment systems for a large facility, including natural gas power generation, chiller plant, boiler plant, elevators, and drinking water treatment systems. Extensive experience with codes, standards, regulations, and policies for operations and maintenance of federal facilities, including safety regulations such as Life Safety Code, Historic Preservation standards, and accessibility standards under the Architectural Barriers Act. Facilities Management expertise for a wide variety of functional areas within a range of disciplines in the field of Engineering such as operation and maintenance of critical and complex electrical and mechanical systems, facility maintenance and operations, historic preservation, life safety systems, energy and environmental management, and design and construction. Experience providing excellent customer-driven, cost-effective, quality products and services for building occupants and in support of politically appointed officials.

TIME-IN-GRADE : Current career or career-conditional employees of the Federal government, or former career or career-conditional employees, who have a break in service of less than one year, are required to meet the time-in-grade restriction of one year of Federal experience at the next lower grade, with few exceptions outlined in 5 CFR 300.603(b).

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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

This position has a basic education requirement, you MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement. Note: PDF Portfolio documents will not be processed or accepted as they appear as a one-page document.

Only education from institutions which are accredited or preaccredited/candidate for accreditation may be used to meet education requirements.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show 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 an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit:

Additional information

Career Transition Assistance Programs : CTAP/ICTAP provides placement assistance to permanent Federal employees who are surplus, displaced, or involuntarily separated. To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, applicants must be well-qualified (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements), score at least 85 on the assessment questionnaire, and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry. Please refer to Required Documents section for additional details. For information on CTAP and ICTAP visit here:

Appointment Authorities : For more information on appointment authority eligibility requirements:

Persons with Disabilities-Schedule A

Special Hiring Authorities for Veterans

Special Hiring Authority for Certain Military Spouses

Other Special Appointment Authorities

OPM Interchange Agreement and Other Miscellaneous Authorities

Telework Suitability :

The duties of this position are suitable for occasional telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval and if they meet the eligibility criterion in the 2010 Telework Act.

Stipulations of Employment:

Selection may require completion of a 1-year probationary period.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1 year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• Your performance and conduct;
• The needs and interests of the agency;
• Whether your continued employment would advance the organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• Whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment may be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Work Schedule:

This position allows for a flexible work schedule.

Miscellaneous :

DOI uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit

This position is being advertised concurrently with vacancy announcement # OFAS-26-DH-12994012MR using Direct Hire procedures. If interested, refer to that announcement to determine if you meet the program requirements and can apply to that announcement.

This vacancy announcement may be used to fill similar positions within 90 days.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.