Materials Engineer

Joining the Secret Service, Office of Technical Operations, Advanced Research and Capabilities Division will allow you to provide scientific research and manage the design, implementation, and enhancement of specialized equipment to support technical investigations and maintain secure environments for Secret Service protectees globally.

For definitions of terms found in this announcement, please click here.

To be considered qualified for this position you must meet the following qualification requirements for the respective grade level in which you are applying.

Applicants must demonstrate that they meet the Basic Requirements AND Minimum Qualification requirements as listed below.

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 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.)

IN ADDITION TO MEETING THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS ABOVE, YOU MUST ALSO MEET THE FOLLOWING MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

You qualify for the GS-11 level if you possess one of the following: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level performing duties such as:

• Supporting the design and construction of models to aid in materials engineering projects and analysis;
• Conducting experiments to test various metallic and non-metallic materials to assess their properties and performance;
• Performing market research and analysis to evaluate armor materials and track new technologies;
• Assisting with the planning and execution of materials engineering projects such as coordinating tasks, monitoring progress, and supporting project completion.

OR

• 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.

OR

• A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position if 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.

You qualify for the GS-12 level if you possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level performing duties such as:

• Designing models to support engineering projects focused on protective and security materials;
• Applying engineering principles to evaluate the suitability of metallic and non-metallic materials for specific applications;
• Utilizing technologies such as 3-D printers and data acquisition systems to evaluate material performance and reliability, and developing solutions for identified system gaps;
• Planning materials engineering projects by defining project scope, goals, and deliverables to meet organizational requirements.

The qualification requirements listed above must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

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.

Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.