Supervisory General Engineer

Summary

This position is with Department of Labor Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) Technical Support Mine Emergency Operations (MEO) Division.

MSHA works to prevent death illness and injury from mining; promote safe and healthful workplaces for U.S. miners. MSHA carries out the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine Act) as amended by the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act of 2006.

Duties

• Provides engineering expertise and analyzes highly complex technical problems associated with mine emergencies investigations and while planning for mine emergency preparedness.
• Advises the Director of Technical Support and other high-level Agency officials on a wide range of technical issues during a mine emergency and while maintaining mine emergency preparedness.
• Provides national oversight and conducts internal audits of District preparedness emergency equipment training programs and mine emergency response plans.
• Represents the Agency at national and international conferences and on committees relating to mine emergency regulations policies and procedures.
• Plans directs and reviews the work of subordinate staff comprised of engineers scientists and technical specialists.
• Provides advice counsel and/or instructions to individual employees on technical and administrative matters.
• Coordinates MSHA mine emergency activities with State officials labor representatives and mine operators as well as other equipment or service provider that may be on-site.
• Identifies training needs and ensures that appropriate training is provided.
• Develops conducts and critiques Mine Emergency Response Drills to simulate actual mine emergencies and provides evaluations and recommendations to appropriate Agency personnel and mine operators.
• Provides advice on all aspects of mine explosion and fire related issues.
• Disseminates complex technical regulator and accident-related information to top Agency officials field entities mine operators labor organizations manufacturers State Inspection agencies other Federal Agencies Congress and the public.
• Organizes and conducts open meetings seminars and symposiums to share information improve communications and develop relationships that will facilitate cooperation during the mine emergencies.
• Directs the analysis evaluation and testing of new systems equipment and response techniques to further enhance emergency preparedness.
• Periodically evaluates the effectiveness of the Offices efforts and programs and institutes changes as necessary.
• Advises high-level Agency officials of findings from the analysis of mine fires explosions and other mine emergencies and offers suggestions or recommendations for proactive prevention of similar events.
• Manages MSHAs mine emergency personnel including training and logistical support and assures mine emergency readiness and preparedness.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Must be at least 16 years old.
• Requires a probationary period if the requirement has not been met.
• Candidate required to obtain the necessary security/investigation level.
• Subject to financial disclosure requirements.
• Requires medical exam and must maintain physical requirements.
• Requires a supervisory probationary period if the requirement has not been met.
• Requires a valid drivers license.

Qualifications

In addition to the basic requirements as described in the Education section your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience and/or additional education requirements defined below. If qualifying based on experience be sure these types of examples are evident in your resume.

Specialized Experience is the experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge skills and abilities to perform the duties of the position successfully and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level.

For this position specialized experience is defined as professional engineering work the demonstrates a thorough comprehensive knowledge of concepts principles and practices of engineering in the mining industry including knowledge of rock mechanics concepts and methods of experimental stress analysis underground mining equipment and a comprehensive knowledge of long-wall mining as practiced in the United States.

Must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-14 that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge experience and skills to successfully perform the duties of the position.

Specialized experience must include all of the following:

• Provides engineering expertise and analyzes highly complex technical problems associated with mine emergencies.
• Manages mine emergency personnel including training and logical (supplies and equipment) support and assures mine emergency readiness and preparedness.
• Experience related to conducting and participating in Mine Emergency Response Drills to simulate actual mine emergencies and provide evaluations and recommendations to appropriate Agency personnel and mine operators.
• Facilitating a consensus in the face of opposing viewpoints in critical mine safety and health matters.
• Plans directs and reviews the work of subordinate staff comprised of engineers scientists and other technical specialists.

Education

You must meet the Basic Requirements to qualify for Supervisor General Engineer as described below. Transcripts must be submitted to verify education requirements.

Basic Requirement: A. Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable the program must: (1) lead to a bachelors 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 Boards 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.

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 bachelors 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 bachelors 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.)

Any applicant falsely claiming an academic degree from an accredited school will be subject to actions ranging from disqualification from federal employment to removal from federal service.

If your education was completed at a foreign college or university you must show comparability to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States and comparability to applicable minimum coursework requirements for this position. Click Evaluation of Foreign Education for more information.

Additional information

Applicants must meet all legal and regulatory requirements. Reference the Required Documents section for additional requirements.

The mission of the Department of Labor (DOL) is to protect the welfare of workers and job seekers improve working conditions expand high-quality employment opportunities and assure work-related benefits and rights for all workers.

Refer to these links for more information: GENERAL INFORMATION REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

As a condition of employment all personnel must undergo a background investigation for access to DOL facilities systems information and/or classified materials before they can enter on duty: BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION

You may not be aware but in the regulations for agency ethics programs there are requirements for supervisors. Section 2638.103 of Title 5 of the CFR states: Every supervisor in the executive branch has a heightened personal responsibility for advancing government ethics. It is imperative that supervisors serve as models of ethical behavior for subordinates. Supervisors have a responsibility to help ensure that subordinates are aware of their ethical obligations under the Standards of Conduct and that subordinates know how to contact agency ethics officials. Supervisors are also responsible for working with agency ethics officials to help resolve conflicts of interest and enforce government ethics laws and regulations including those requiring certain employees to file financial disclosure addition supervisors are responsible when requested for assisting agency ethics officials in evaluating potential conflicts of interest and identifying positions subject to financial disclosure requirements.

This position is subject to the confidential financial disclosure requirements of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-521). Therefore if selected you will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) to determine if a conflict or an appearance of a conflict exists between your financial interest(s) and your prospective position with DOL. This information will be required annually.

All MSHA employees and their spouses and minor children are prohibited by regulation from having any interest direct or indirect in any mine or mining company that may be directly affected by the work of MSHA through its investigations technical research or other activities. These interests are prohibited under the Department of Labors Supplemental Standards of Ethical Conduct Regulations at 5 CFR 5201.105. Certain MSHA employees are required to file a financial disclosure report. For questions please contact Wendy Elschide at or X19878.

Based on agency needs additional positions may be filled using this vacancy.

The Department of Labor may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities currently offered by the Federal government to attract highly qualified candidates. Click for more information on Pay Leave and Workforce Flexibilities.

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.

Required Experience:

Manager