General Engineer

Summary

The position serves as a General Engineer in the Office of Airports Safety and Standards, Airports Emerging Entrants Division. Responsible for supporting various engineering functions and activities for the Office of Airports (ARP), including the integration of new and emerging entrants on airports such as Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)/Urban Air Mobility (UAM), Commercial Space, and supersonic aircraft.

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Duties

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Plans and accomplishes highly complex and challenging projects/programs and other work activities under the minimal direction of a manager, project/program manager, team leader, or more experienced engineer. May act as a principal technical specialist or as a project/program manager or team leader for large work activities.

Applies experience and comprehensive knowledge and experience of engineering and design principles, theories and concepts, as well as an understanding of new technologies and methodologies, to solve complex problems and to develop improved technical processes for the organization. Develops standards, specifications, criteria and guidelines for the design, construction, techniques, quality control, maintenance and management of new entrant facilities, such as vertiports, droneports, heliports, and infrastructure at airports to accommodate commercial space vehicles and supersonic aircraft operations for both launching and landing.

Serves as the Office of Airports' focal point of contact for regional office engineers, airport district office (ADO) engineers and consultants for the development, interpretation and implementation of standards, specifications, criteria, and guidelines for new entrant matters. Assists with the development of standards, policies and guidance for airspace and facilities that accommodate the new entrants. Ensures operations are clear of obstructions and are safely accommodated by facilities. Plans and implements safe integration of these new operations within the legacy NAS. Ensures the safety of the public by applying technical knowledge regarding the performance of the new entrant aircraft.

Applies safety techniques, airport geometry standards (when applicable), and operational safety measures to recommend mitigations for hazards and risks. Applies in-depth knowledge of the National Airspace System (NAS) in the conception, planning, and performance of assigned tasks and responsibilities. Provides advice to management on planning methodologies and performance/trend indicators to measure attainment of fiscal year goals and objectives. May develop new or innovative approaches, methodologies and/or techniques to define or lead challenging programs or activities.

Coordinates with appropriate lead technical or integration offices including Aircraft Certification (AIR), Office for Advanced Aviation Technologies (AAT), Flight Standards (AFS), Air Traffic Organization (ATO), and Office of Commercial Space (AST) to identify aircraft or vehicle design, performance, and/or operational concepts that deviate from established standards and trigger the need for additional ARP review and consideration for safe airport integration. Reviews applicable Modification of Standards (MOS) requests and deviations from standards and recommends appropriate action. As deviations are identified, gathers relevant information to assist in informing ARP management on policy, guidance, and resource needs. Revises and/or manages the update of assigned Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Advisory Circulars (AC) and Engineering Briefs (EB). Coordinates all changes to AC's and EB's with industry, airport engineers, airport sponsors, ATO, AFS, and legal counsel.

Provides subject-matter engineering technical advice and guidance (either directly or through facilitating the engagement of other subject-matter experts) to managers, supervisors, and other personnel in developing policy and regulations unique to new and emerging entrant activities. Presents recommendations for adoption, implementation, mitigations, or changes to policies and procedures to senior management. Prepares documentation and reports, to include charts, graphs, statistical summaries, etc. of the revised procedures or processes. Anticipates potential issues and proposes recommendations for preventive actions.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• US Citizenship is required.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• This position has a positive education requirement. Transcript(s) required.
• Occasional domestic travel required (10%).

Qualifications

To qualify for this position you must demonstrate in your application that you possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the FV-I, FG/GS-13 level. This experience is typically related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been at least equivalent to the next lower level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE IS DEFINED AS:

• Experience applying rules, regulations, principles, theories and concepts related to airport engineering, development and/or operations.

AND

• Experience applying new and emerging entrant integration technology and efforts related to Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)/Urban Air Mobility (UAM), Commercial Space, heliports, and/or supersonic aircraft.

You should include relevant examples of the specialized experience in your work history. Errors or omissions may impact your rating or may result in you not being considered.

Answer all questions to the best of your ability. DO NOT ASSUME THAT BECAUSE YOU HOLD, OR HAVE HELD THIS POSITION, YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE FOUND ELIGIBLE. You may be asked to provide evidence or documentation that you have this type of experience later in the selection process. Your responses are subject to verification through job interviews, or any other information obtained during the application process. Any exaggeration of your experience or any attempt to conceal information can result in disqualification.

*Applicants who fail to demonstrate possession of any of the above criteria AND who do not provide the required documentation will receive no further consideration for this position.*

Applicants may be asked to verify information on your application for employment with the FAA.

**All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this vacancy announcement.**

Education

This position has a positive education requirement: Applicants must submit a copy of their college or university transcripts(s) and certificates by the closing date of announcement to verify qualifications. If selected, an official transcript will be required prior to appointment. You may upload these documents with your application in USAJOBS or fax it to fax number provided in the announcement (please include announcement number on each page).

Failure to do so will result in loss of consideration.

Schools must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Accreditation may be verified at the following website:

Foreign education must be evaluated by a private professional organization specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials or an accredited U.S. educational institution in terms of equivalence to a degree acquired at an American college or university. A copy of the evaluation results must be included, otherwise your foreign education will not be considered.

If you are a current or former Federal employee, and you currently hold or previously held a position classified in the 0801 occupational series, you are not required to submit a college transcript provided you upload a copy of the SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, verifying your classification in the 0801 occupational series.

Applicants, who are not currently in the 0801 occupational series in the Federal Government and fail to provide a copy of an unofficial or official transcript will not receive further consideration for this vacancy. Upon selection, if not currently employed in the 0801 occupational series, you will be required to submit an official transcript prior to appointment. If you do not have an official transcript (original, with the raised seal), you should contact your school immediately to request it.

Foreign Education: For additional information, visit:

Basic Requirements:

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.

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 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 allinclusive.)

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Make sure your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications and answers to the job questionnaire.

Additional information

We may use this vacancy to fill other similar vacant positions.

Position may be subject to a background investigation.

A one-year probationary period may be required.

The person selected for this position may be required to file a financial disclosure statement within 30 days of entry on duty. FAA policy limits certain outside employment and financial investments in aviation-related companies.

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. citizen. On-the-Spot will be used to fill this position. The 'Rule of Three', Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to this vacancy.

This position is covered by the FAA Core Compensation plan. Additional information about Core Compensation is available at:

As a part of the Federal-Wide Hiring Reform Initiative (streamlining the hiring process), the FAA is committed to eliminating the use of Knowledge, Skills and Ability (KSA) narratives from the initial application in the hiring process for all announcements. Therefore, as an applicant, you are NOT required to provide a narrative response in the text box listed below each KSA.

In lieu of providing a KSA narrative response in the text box listed below each KSA section, in your work history, please include information that provides specific examples of how you meet the response level or answer you chose for each KSA. Your work history examples should be specific and clearly reflect the highest level of ability. Your KSA answers will be evaluated further to validate whether the level that you selected is appropriate based on the work history and experience you provided. Your answers may be adjusted by a human resource specialist as appropriate.

Eligible applicants meeting the minimum qualification requirements and/or selective placement factor(s) (SPF) may be further evaluated on the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA) and/or Quality Ranking Factor (QRF) listed in the announcement. Based on this evaluation, applicants will be placed in one of the following categories: (1) score order; (2) category grouping; (3) alphabetical; or (4) priority grouping, and referred to the selecting official for selection consideration.

AFSCME Interview Criteria: Article 42, Section 13 states: If the selecting official decides to interview any employee on the selection list for a vacancy, then all who remain under consideration for the position at that point in the process must be interviewed. If the selection list is shortened to a best qualified list through a comparative process, then the best qualified list shall be considered to be the selection list. If it is determined that interviews are required and telephone interviews are not utilized, travel expenses incidental to these interviews will be paid in accordance with the Agency's travel regulations and this Agreement.

This Level 5 (Moderate Risk; Public Trust) position requires favorable adjudication of a Minimum Background Investigation (MBI) background investigation prior to appointment, unless a waiver is obtained.

Links to Important Information: Locality Pay, COLA

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.

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