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INTERDISCIPLINARY General Engineer/Physical Scientist (PMF)

Department of Energy
Department of Energy - Agency Wide
Environmental Management (EM)
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This is an excepted service appointment under the Pathways Presidential Managment Fellows (PMF) Program. After successful completion of the program requirements, the PMF MAY at agency discretion be converted to a career or career-conditional appointment.

Please note this is NOT a remote position but it is eligible for telework. You will have to report to the duty station you are selected for. Please only select locations you are willing to report to and/or relocate to.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
05/04/2023 to 05/25/2023
Salary
$57,118 to - $102,166 per year

Pay will vary by geographic location AND grade level.

Pay scale & grade
GS 9 - 11
Locations
Many vacancies in the following locations:
Paducah, KY
Germantown, MD
Las Vegas, NV
Schenectady, NY
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
13
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
23-EM-00667-11953007-PMF
Control number
723703200

This job is open to

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Current 2023 Presidential Management Fellow Finalists.

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Duties

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This position is an interdisciplinary position that encompasses two series. It covers both the 0801 General Engineer and 1301 Physical Scientist position. The following are the duties of this position at the GS-13. If you are selected at a lower grade level, you will have the opportunity to learn to perform all these duties and will receive training to help you grow in this position.

As an INTERDISCIPLINARY General Engineer/Physical Scientist, you will:

  • Conduct in-depth analysis of technical science and engineering issues, requirements and development efforts to resolve major conflicts, unique issues and to address scientific and engineering uncertainties.
  • Evaluate the value and applicability of new or improved technology, strategies, trends, or applications; investigates, predicts, and anticipates issues and conditions extending beyond a single specialty science or engineering area affecting known standards, approaches, precedents, or concepts.
  • Develop or collaborate in the formulation of new standards, applications, concepts, or theories changing existing knowledge and extending an understanding of phenomena.
  • Give presentations on program/project objectives, content, and progress to a variety of professional audiences.
Please note this is NOT a remote position but it is eligible for telework. You will have to report to the duty station you are selected for. Please only select locations you are willing to report to and/or relocate to.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
  • Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by a background investigation.
  • The duration of a Pathways appointment is a trial period.
  • This is an Excepted Service position. Appointments made under the Presidential Management Fellows program are provisional in nature and conversion is not guaranteed.
  • Enter into a written Participant Agreement that clearly identifies expectations, general description of duties, evaluation procedures, work schedules, and minimum eligibility requirements for continued employment.
  • You must be a current 2023 Presidential Management Fellow (PMF) Finalist.
  • If the position has promotion potential it will be incorporated in your developmental plan. However, promotion is neither implied or guaranteed.

Qualifications

**Please note these series do have Basic Education Requirements that MUST be met. These are listed in the Education portion of the vacancy announcement. There is one for the 0801 series and one for the 1301 series.**

You must meet the eligibility and qualifications within 3 months of the closing date of this announcement.

For the GS-09: You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience for this position includes:

  1. Conducting research/analysis.; OR
  2. Assisting in analyzing any contract administration principles and practices.

OR EDUCATION: 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree.

OR COMBINATION: You may qualify on a combination of education and experience, the total percentage of experience at the required grade level compared to the specialized experience requirement, as well as the percentage of completed education compared to the educational requirement must equal at least 100 percent. Only graduate level education in excess of the first 18 semester hours (27 quarter hours) may be combined to be considered for qualifying education.

For the GS-11: You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience for this position includes:

  1. Conducting research/analysis.; AND
  2. Analyzing any contract administration principles and practices & making recommendations for improvements.
OR EDUCATION: 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

OR COMBINATION: You may qualify on a combination of education and experience, the total percentage of experience at the required grade level compared to the specialized experience requirement, as well as the percentage of completed education compared to the educational requirement must equal at least 100 percent. Only graduate level education in excess of 36 semester hours (54 quarter hours), may be used to combine education and experience.

Graduate education must be related to the position being filled and must show the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform in the position.

Education

You must meet the following Basic Education Requirement listed below in order to qualify for the 0801 series:

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 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.)
You must meet the following Basic Education Requirement listed below in order to qualify for the 1301 series:
  1. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a Bachelor's degree or higher in physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics.
OR
  1. Combination of education and experience -- education equivalent to one of the majors shown above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
You must submit transcripts with your application for proof of education with degree conferred or expected date.

Since this vacancy has a positive education requirement in order to be rated as qualified, you must provide copies of your college transcripts. Failure to provide copies of your college transcripts may result in a rating of "Ineligible".

If substituting education for specialized experience, you must submit proof of your qualifying education. Education must demonstrate the competencies necessary to do the work of the position.

Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website.

Failure to provide college transcripts may result in a rating of 'Ineligible'.

Additional information


The Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) program provides individuals, who have recently graduated from a qualifying educational institution or program, with developmental opportunities in the Federal Government. Participants must have obtained a qualifying, advanced degree, or completed a qualifying career or technical education program with the preceding 2 years. Upon successful completion of the program, the Department of Energy MAY at agency discretion non-competitively convert the PMF to a career or career-conditional appointment.

CONVERSION REQUIREMENTS: This is not automatic, nor guaranteed. Conversion is at the discretion of the hiring manager and employing office. To be eligible to be converted to a permanent or term position you must:
  • Be a US Citizen
  • Be recommended for conversion by your manager.
  • Successfully completed all PMF Program requirements.
  • Meet the OPM Qualification Standards for the position to which the Fellow may be converted.
  • Maintain acceptable performance under the agency's approved performance management system.
  • Obtain ERB, or equivalent, certification prior to conversion.

How you will be evaluated

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

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

Once the application process is complete, your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications. If you are minimally qualified for this job, your responses to the self-assessment questions (True/False, Yes/ No, Multiple Choice questions) will be evaluated and you will be placed into one of three pre-defined quality categories under Category Rating procedures. These categories are "Best Qualified", "Well Qualified", and "Qualified. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

  • Attention to Detail
  • Problem Solving


Application of Veterans' Preference: If you are a preference eligible candidate, you will be listed at the top of whichever quality category your rating places you in. CP/CPS veterans are placed at the top of the highest category for all positions except professional and scientific positions at GS-9 and higher.

To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11953007

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