Mechanical Engineer

Summary About the Position: Red River Army Depot (RRAD) is located in northeast Texas, 19 miles west of Texarkana and approximately 170 miles northeast of Dallas. RRAD is near the corners of 4 states - Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. The depot's enormous maintenance mission includes the repair, rebuild, overhaul and conversion of tactical wheeled vehicles. For more information on Red River Army Depot, go to the following web site: Responsibilities Identify mechanical equipment malfunctions to eliminate production delays. Examine mechanical engineering drawings and designs for accuracy and conformance to mechanical engineering design principles. Conduct market research to determine the latest state of the art equipment/technology available for use in production. Review mission overhaul/repair/modification/upgrade program to determine if present systems and methods are adequate to perform required functions in an economical manner. Identify areas for the standardization of processes, equipment components, and common design to reduce cost, improve utilization, and minimize implementation times. Confer on final designs, drawing packages, and documentation to ensure compliance with established standards and best practices. Conduct engineering studies utilizing the latest techniques and developments in the field of mechanical engineering. Recommend approval or rejection and submits mechanical engineering recommendations for revisions to ensure compliance. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Who May Apply: US Citizens In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. 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. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. Basic Requirement for All Professional Engineer positions: A. Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (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. (NOTE: You MUST attach a copy of your transcripts.) 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, or 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 A above. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program. 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 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. In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below: Specialized Experience at GS-07 Level: One year of specialized experience which includes: 1) Assisting with technical reviews; 2) Assisting with preparing engineering design specifications; and 3) Assisting with engineering cost estimates for mechanical engineering projects. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-05). Specialized Experience at GS-09 Level: One year of specialized experience which includes: 1) Preparing technical reviews; 2) Preparing engineering design specifications; and 3) Preparing engineering cost estimates for mechanical engineering projects. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-07). Specialized Experience at GS-11 Level: One year of specialized experience which includes: 1) Developing technical reviews; 2) Developing engineering design specifications; and 3) Developing engineering cost estimates for mechanical engineering projects. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-09). Specialized Experience at GS-12 Level: One year of specialized experience which includes: 1) Executing mechanical engineering principles, concepts and practices in the design, installation, and inspection of complex mechanical test fixtures and systems used for the repair/overhaul of artillery and tracked combat vehicles; 2) Identifying mechanical engineering equipment malfunctions to eliminate production delays; 3.) Utilizing mechanical engineering practices to design production and test equipment for a production program; and 4) Providing professional mechanical engineering assistance and oversight for all conceptual designs, final designs, drawing packages, and documentation to insure compliance with established standards and best practices. Education FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show 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: GS-07: Education: One full year of graduate level education in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as Mechanical Engineering. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.) OR Superior Academic Achievement: In order to be creditable under this provision, Superior Academic Achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled, such as that identified in Education above. Superior Academic Achievement is based on: (1) Class Standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.) (2) Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) - Applicants must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on your official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.; OR (3) Honor Society Membership - Applicants may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies ( (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.) OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 18. Add the two percentages. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.) GS-09: Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as Mechanical Engineering. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.) OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.) GS-11: Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: Mechanical Engineering. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.) OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.) Additional Information Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration. You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship. This position requires a 1 year probationary period during which the agency evaluates your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In making this determination, the agency may consider your performance and conduct; agency needs and interests; whether your continued employment supports organizational or Government goals; and whether it promotes the efficiency of the Federal service. Continued employment requires written certification that it advances the public interest. Direct Deposit of Pay is required. This position requires you to submit a Public Financial Disclosure Report (OGE 278) or a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE450) upon entry, and annually thereafter. Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees. If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet. This is a(n) 16 - Engineers and Scientists (Non-Construction) Career Field position. Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement. Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is not authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest.