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Fire Protection Engineer

General Services Administration
Public Buildings Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

As a Fire Protection Engineer, you will be responsible for all aspects of fire protection engineering, fire safety, and fire prevention for GSA-controlled spaces, including buildings and spaces.

Location of position: Public Buildings Service, Facilities Management Division, in one of the locations listed.

We are currently filling one vacancy, but additional vacancies may be filled as needed.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
04/07/2022 to 04/21/2022
Salary
$94,373 to - $141,434 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Locations
Oklahoma City, OK
FEW vacancies
Austin, TX
FEW vacancies
Dallas, TX
FEW vacancies
Fort Worth, TX
FEW vacancies
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Travel as needed.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Announcement number
22PBSA497LRDE
Control number
647411400

Duties

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  • Serve as a technical authority to provide their advisory, consultation, and professional judgement with respect to their assigned workload regarding fire protection concerns particularly on technically complex fire protection engineering related matters to appropriate individuals and regional management.
  • Responsible for all fire protection matters on assigned complex projects and for assuring that all matters conform to fire protection requirements in GSA policy, regulations, and codes and standards.
  • Ensure that assigned projects are technically correct for both design and construction and are consistent with the appropriate current practices in the industry; that they are within the technical and administrative constraints of the project and that they are fully coordinated and compatible with other engineering disciplines of the project.
  • Manage fire protection engineering portions of complex new construction or complex renovation projects and incorporates fire protection design practices into all phases of design and construction.
  • Resolve any issues that cannot be resolved by other regional engineers or consultants. Where deficiencies are noted, this individual also directs necessary changes and furnishes assistance required.
  • Perform internal fire protection and life safety review of proposed offered space (GSA Form 12000, a valid building certificate of occupancy, scaled floor plans, and maintenance records).
  • Investigate fire incidents with a level of effort in relationship to the severity of the fire incident. Work cooperatively with Federal and state investigators as a team to determine the cause and origin of fires in GSA-controlled space.
  • Evaluate Regional fire incident data on an annual basis, including unwanted fire alarms, to determine any similarities and trends.
  • Provide training to GSA Facility Managers, GSA leasing specialists, GSA project managers, GSA personnel, Federal agencies, etc., on various fire protection program activities.
  • Develop and/or review scopes of work for fire protection engineering service contracts.
  • Assist Contracting Officers with contract administration activities for fire protection engineering service contracts.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • US Citizenship or National (Residents of American Samoa and Swains Island)
  • Meet all eligibility criteria within 30 days of the closing date
  • Register with Selective Service if you are a male born after 12/31/1959

If selected, you must meet the following conditions:

  • Due to COVID-19, the agency is currently in an expanded telework posture. If selected, you may be expected to temporarily telework, even if your home is located outside the local commuting area. Once employees are permitted to return to the office, you will be expected to report to the duty station listed on this announcement within 45 days. At that time, you may be eligible to request to continue to telework one or more days a pay period depending upon the terms of the agency’s telework policy.
  • Receive authorization from OPM on any job offer you receive, if you are or were (within the last 5 years) a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch.
  • Serve a one year probationary period, if required.
  • Undergo and pass a background investigation (Tier 2 investigation level).
  • Have your identity and work status eligibility verified if you are not a GSA employee.  We will use the Department of Homeland Security’s e-Verify system for this. Any discrepancies must be resolved as a condition of continued employment.
  • Complete a financial disclosure report to verify that no conflict, or an appearance of conflict, exists between your financial interest and this position

Qualifications

For each job on your resume, provide:

  • the exact dates you held  each job (from month/year to month/year)
  • number of hours per week you worked (if part time).    

If you have volunteered your service through a National Service program (e.g., Peace Corps, Americorps), we encourage you to apply and include this experience on your resume.

For a brief video on creating a Federal resume, click here

The GS-13 salary range starts at $96,485 (Austin), $102,072 (Dallas/Fort Worth), $ 108,797 (Houston), or $94,373 (Oklahoma City) per year.  If you are a new federal employee, your starting salary will likely be set at the Step 1 of the grade for which you are selected.  

BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR ENGINEERS: A Degree in professional engineering OR a combination of college-level education, training, and/or technical experience. For specifics on qualifying education and/or experience - use the following link: Basic Requirements for Engineer Positions. 

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE:  

In addition to the Basic Requirements listed above, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 in the Federal service. 

Specialized experience is experience that includes: 1) Reviewing, inspecting, and analyzing fire and smoke protection systems and the installation of such systems to ensure code compliance and safe occupancy for office buildings, laboratories, data centers, and/or similar buildings. 2) Designing fire protection and/or smoke mitigation systems and developing related cost estimates for office buildings, laboratories, data centers, and/or similar buildings. 3) Conducting risk analysis of building occupancy and contents and fire/smoke protection systems to develop solutions that ensure a safe environment for occupants and comply with applicable codes. 4) Influencing, motivating, or persuading individuals or groups to collaborate and accept findings/recommendations.

SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR (SPF):  In addition to the qualification requirements listed above, you must also meet the following SPF, which has been identified as:  Certification as a "qualified fire protection engineer" which requires one of the following:  

  1. An engineer having an undergraduate or graduate degree from a college or university that includes successful completion of a course of study in fire protection engineering, fire protection engineering technology, or fire safety engineering that is accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology or a similar accreditation.
  2. A professional engineer (P.E. or similar designation) licensed in a related engineering discipline, plus a minimum of 4 years work experience in fire protection engineering having an understanding of the principles of physics and chemistry governing fire growth, spread, and suppression.
  3. A licensed engineer (P.E.) who has passed the principles and practice of engineering examination in fire protection administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES)

This position has a positive education requirement: Applicants must submit a copy of their college or university transcript(s) and certificates by the closing date of announcements to verify qualifications. If selected, an official transcript will be required prior to appointment.  

Education

Note: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Additional information

If you are eligible under Merit Promotion, you may also apply under Vacancy Announcement #22PBSA496LRMP. You must apply separately to each announcement to be considered for both.

Bargaining Unit status: AFGE

Relocation-related expenses are not approved and will be your responsibility.  

On a case-by-case basis, the following incentives may be approved:

·       Recruitment incentive if you are new to the federal government

·       Relocation incentive if you are a current federal employee

·       Credit toward vacation leave if you are new to the federal government

Additional vacancies may be filled from this announcement as needed; through other means; or not at all.  

How you will be evaluated

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

We will use a method called Category Rating to assess your application. Here’s how it will work:

You will be scored on the questions you answer during the application process, which will measure your possession of the following competencies or knowledge, skills, and abilities:

  1. Knowledge, skills, and abilities in providing assistance in the development and enforcement of regional criteria, and technical guidelines for assigned areas.
  2. Expert knowledge of advanced concepts, theories, principles, and practices for fire protection engineering sufficient to provide support and technical assistance in planning, coordinating, reviewing, and providing expert technical/engineering advice.
  3. Skill in communicating orally and in writing technical fire protection information to persons with various levels of knowledge.
  4. Skill in conducting in-depth reviews of drawings and specifications related to projects to ensure designs are in compliance with applicable GSA requirements.
  5. Skill in performing internal fire protection and life safety reviews of proposed offered leased space in order to provide technical advice and guidance to a professional team of experts.
  6. Skill in investigating fire incidents with a level of effort in relationship to the severity of the fire incident and to work cooperatively with Federal and state investigators as a team to determine the cause and origin of fires.
  7. Skill in facilitating work with Facility Managers, leasing specialists, portfolio representatives to correct identified fire risk conditions and/or to make recommendations on the implementation of findings.
  8. Expert knowledge of fire protection program in order to provide training to Facility Managers, leasing specialists, project managers, personnel, Federal agencies, etc.
  9. Skill in developing and/or reviewing scopes of work for fire protection engineering service contracts and to assist Contracting Officers with contract administration activities for fire protection engineering service contracts.
  10. Skill in conducting reviews of inspection, testing and maintenance preventative maintenance (ITM) contracts for fire protection systems and equipment.
  11. Skill in conducting reviews of inspection, testing, and preventative maintenance (ITM) reports and repair proposals to ensure cost-effective and code compliant repairs are completed for fire protection systems and equipment.

Your answers to the questions will be used to place you in one of the following categories and standard score ranges:

  • Best Qualified = Candidates scoring between 95 - 100
  • Well Qualified = Candidates scoring between 85 - 94 (Well Qualified for CTAP/ICTAP)
  • Qualified = Candidates scoring between 70 - 84

We will verify your answers to the questions in your resume. If your resume doesn’t support your answers, we may lower your score, which could place you in a lower category.

Within each category, veterans will receive selection priority over non-veterans.

Additional hurdle assessments, such as narrative responses or other assessments, may be administered to applicants who meet the requirements of the first hurdle, e.g., the minimum qualification requirements. If additional assessments are used, you will be provided with further instructions.

If you are eligible under Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan or GSA’s Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP/CTAP), you must receive a score of 85 or higher to receive priority.


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