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General Engineer (Recent Graduate)

Department of Energy
Department of Energy - Agency Wide
National Energy Technology Laboratory R&D Operations & Engineering
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is part of the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management - National Energy Technology Laboratory, Department of Energy. As a General Engineer (Recent Graduate), you will serve as an Engineering Representative on in-house Research and Development (R&D) projects.

Please note this is NOT a remote position but it is eligible for telework. You will have to report to the duty station.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
04/10/2024 to 04/17/2024
Salary
$52,734 to - $83,854 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 7 - 9
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Albany, OR
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
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
13
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
24-NT-00931-12380530-RG
Control number
785977500

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

All U.S. Citizens, Nationals, and Foreign Nationals who meet both Immigration and Annual Appropriations Laws who also meet the requirements of the Pathways Recent Graduate Program. See the Requirements, Qualifications, and Education sections of this announcement for more information.

Duties

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The following are the duties of this position at the GS-13. If you are selected, you will have the opportunity to learn to perform all these duties and will receive training to help you grow in this position.

As a General Engineer, you will:


Ensure new R&D projects are designed in a manner that optimizes function, reliability and adaptability while meeting all applicable codes and standards to aid NETL in the development of R&D facilities that will meet the research mission. This includes working directly with the research staff to develop their functional requirements, participating in design review process, technical acceptance of design packages, and ensuring projects are built to the design; including all QA and engineering inspection criteria are met. The Engineering Representative is a member of the project team through the life cycle of the project through the Management of Change, Annual Configuration Management Review and Decommissioning Processes. The incumbent maintains expertise in sciences and technologies of assigned R&D project areas.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen, National, or Foreign National who meets both Immigration and Annual Appropriations Laws.
  • 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.
  • A Pathways Recent Graduate Participant Agreement is required.
  • Recent Graduates serve a trial period for the entire duration of their excepted service appointment.
  • Applicants must provide documentation of completion within the previous 2 years of a qualifying associates, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution.
  • Veterans precluded by a military service obligation have up to 6 years after completion of degree or certificate to apply.
  • This position does not support 100% remote work. You will be required to report physically to the official reporting worksite as specified by the supervisor, but no less than 2 days per pay period.
  • Students who will graduate within 2 months of the closing date of this announcement may also be considered; however, documentation of degree completion must be provided prior to appointment.

Qualifications

**Please note this series does have a Basic Education Requirements that MUST be met. This is listed in the Education portion of the vacancy announcement.**

You must meet the eligibility and qualifications within 2 months of the closing date of this announcement.

For
the GS-07: You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience for this position at the GS-7 includes:

  • Assisting in identifying issues in engineering projects.

OR YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR THE GS-7 BASED ON EDUCATION: 1 year of graduate-level education. Graduate education must provide the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform in the position.

OR YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR THE GS-7 BASED ON SUPERIOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: Bachelor's degree with superior academic achievement is defined as:(1) Class standing -- You must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision based on completed courses, (2) Grade-point average (G.P.A.) -- You must have 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum OR 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum, or(3) Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- You are a member of one of the national scholastic honor societies recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achshonor.org/). The Bachelor degree must still show the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform in this position.

OR YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR THE GS-7 BASED ON A COMBINATION OF EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE: 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.

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 at the GS-9 includes:

  • Assisting in identifying and resolving issues which could have an impact on engineering projects.

OR YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR THE GS-9 BASED ON EDUCATION: 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree. Graduate education must provide the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform in the position.

OR YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR THE GS-9 BASED ON A COMBINATION OF EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE: 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.

Graduate education must be related to the position being filled and must show the knowledge, skills, and ability to perform in the position. (i.e., Engineering)

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.)

To be eligible for the Pathways Recent Graduate program you must be a:
  • Recent graduate who has completed, within the previous two years, a qualifying associates, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution.
-OR-
  • Student who within 2 months of the closing date of this announcement will meet the education requirements and will graduate with a qualifying associates, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution. A student may not be appointed to a position until they have graduated.
-OR-
  • Preference eligible veteran who was precluded from applying due to their military service obligation begin their two-year eligibility period upon release or discharge from active duty. Eligibility for these veterans cannot exceed six years after degree or certificate completion. You MUST submit a copy of the DD214 showing the duration and dates of service that precluded you from applying due to the military service obligation.

If substituting education for specialized experience, you must submit proof of your qualifying education.

Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

CERTIFICATE: A Certificate program is a post-secondary educational program, in a qualifying educational institution, equivalent to at least one full- time academic year of study, that is part of an accredited college-level, technical, trade, vocational or business school curriculum. Transcripts would need to be provided.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. You must show proof the education credentials have been deemed to be at least equivalent to that gained in a conventional U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence when applying. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website. If you are qualifying on foreign education, you MUST submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Refer to OPM Instructions.

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

Additional information

  • The U.S. Department of Energy fosters a diverse and inclusive workplace and is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
  • We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.
  • This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies across DOE.
  • For general information on government-wide Telework polices visit: www.opm.gov/telework/
  • EEO Policy: www.energy.gov/justice/eeo-complaint-process
  • Reasonable Accommodation Policy: www.energy.gov/hc/department-energy-reasonable-accommodation-program
  • Veterans Information: https://help.usajobs.gov/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/veterans
  • Selective Service Registration: http://www.sss.gov/
  • Relocation expenses/incentives are not available.
  • Recruitment incentives may be available.
  • Student Loan Repayment is not available.
  • Advance in Hire (Superior Qualifications) is not available.
  • Creditable Service is not available.
  • Positions may be covered by a bargaining unit. Bargaining unit will vary by departmental element, grade, and/or location.
  • This position is exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
  • Management has the prerogative to select at any grade level.
  • The Fair Chance Act prohibits specific inquiries concerning an applicant's criminal or credit background unless the hiring agency has made a conditional offer of employment to the applicant. An applicant may submit a complaint to the agency within 30 calendar days of the date of alleged noncompliance by completing the Fair Chance Act Intake Form and submitting it to the Administrative Investigations Program at AdministrativeInvestigations@hq.doe.gov.

CONVERSION REQUIREMENTS: DOE has the option to non-competitively convert a Recent Graduate to a permanent or term position upon successful completion of program 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 or National
  • Be recommended for conversion by your manager or supervisor.
  • Complete all training and development requirements within the 1-year appointment period.
  • Successful completion of 1 year of continuous service.
  • Demonstrate successful job performance of at least a "Fully Successful" or equivalent on performance appraisal.
  • Meet the Office of Personnel Management's qualification standards for the position to which the Recent Graduate will be converted (which may include a positive education requirement).
  • A Recent Graduate may be converted to the highest General Schedule (GS) grade level qualified for at time of conversion.
If converted to a permanent or term appointment, the anticipated target position is General Engineer with a full performance level to the GS-13. Recent Graduates converted to a term position in the competitive service may subsequently be non-competitively converted to a career or career-conditional appointment without further competition.

WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE PATHWAYS PROGRAM? For additional information regarding the Pathways Program, please refer to the following website: USAJOBS Help Center | Students & recent graduates

How you will be evaluated

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 two pre-defined quality categories under Category Rating procedures. These categories are "Highly 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
  • Engineering and Technology
  • Research


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 here https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12380530

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