Clarification from the agency

Status Candidates, Merit Promotion, Current Federal Employees, Former Federal Employees, Overseas Employees, Former Overseas Employees, CTAP, ICTAP, VEOA, 30% Disabled, Schedule A, Individuals with Disabilities, Military Spouses, Land and Base Management, Peace Corps, Americorps, Vista For definitions of common terms found in this announcement: http://dhsconnect.dhs.gov/org/comp/mgmt/dhshr/hr/Documents/JOA_Common_Definitions.pdf

As a Naval Architect within the Marine Safety Center, you will serve as project officer, naval architect, and tonnage measurer for: 1) Developing and interpreting tonnage-related requirements; 2) Performing vessel volume and principal dimension measurements; 3) Conducting oversight of delegated tonnage measurement responsibilities; 4) Providing government, industry and the public with advice and interpretations on tonnage measurement and 5) Enforcing international and domestic tonnage requirements.  

Being a CG civilian makes you a valuable member of the CG team. Typical work assignments include:

• Performing detailed volumetric calculations to establish tonnages for vessels measured by the Coast Guard. 
• Developing and issuing appropriate tonnage certifying documents, which are used to apply important regulatory requirements and/or serve as the basis for tonnage based fees. 
• Providing oversight of classification societies which have been delegated the authority to measure vessels on behalf of the Coast Guard. 
• Developing, maintaining, revising and interpreting international conventions, regulations, policies and guidance related to tonnage measurement.
• Using a variety of tools to disseminate interpretive information (Web sites, trade journals, email, written CG correspondence, etc.)
• Serving as an advisor and consultant to officials and managers both within and outside the Coast Guard on a broad range of marine engineering and Naval Architecture activities and policy issues. 

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Unofficial transcripts are required at the time of application.
• This position requires a National Agency Check with Inquiries (NACI).

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement. This includes Time-In-Grade requirements for current status employees applying through merit promotion procedures. Status applicants applying for a promotion must have 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade.

Qualifications

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 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 professional 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.
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. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described above.
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.)

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
 
FOR THE GS-13 LEVEL: Candidates at the GS-13 level must have at least 1 full year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-12 or higher level in the Federal service) which demonstrates the following:

Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular ability, skill, and knowledge to successfully perform the duties of this position and is typically in or related to this line of work. Specialized experience includes: applying a mastery of the concepts and principles of naval architecture to resolve novel or obscure problems; extending and modifying techniques; and developing new approaches that guide others.

National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): 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.

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.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

We will review your résumé and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. If you meet the minimum qualifications, your experience, education and training will be rated using the on-line self assessment questions that are based on the following competencies or knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform this job:

1. Knowledge of the concepts and principles of naval architecture as they relate to tonnage measurement to resolve novel obscure problems.
2. Knowledge of applicable international conventions, statutes, regulations and policies on the subject of Tonnage and applicable thresholds for vessel requirements.
3. Skill in developing new approaches that guide others who solve a variety of technical problems.
4. Skill in oral and written communication. Skill in the use of database tools such Access, Microsoft SQL and Excel.
5. Ability to serve as an expert advisor and consultant to officials and managers within or outside the organization.

Your resume and responses to the self-assessment questions are an integral part of the process for determining your qualifications for the position. Therefore, you must support your responses to the self-assessment questions by providing examples of past and present experience in your resume.

If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview.

Consideration will be given to performance appraisals and incentive awards as an indicator of quality of prior experience; no points will be assigned.