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Materials Engineer (Metals)

Department of Defense
Defense Logistics Agency
This job announcement has closed

Summary

See below for important information regarding this job.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
08/12/2025 to 08/25/2025
This job will close when we have received 100 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$120,579 to - $156,755 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Fort Belvoir, VA
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Secret
Drug test
Yes
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
DLAStratMat-25-12779735-DHA
Control number
843157500

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This is a Certain Personnel of the Department of Defense Direct Hiring Authority notice open to the Public.

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Duties

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  • Implements strategic and critical materials mitigation solutions for various base metals, platinum group metals (PGMs), and lithium-ion battery chemistries.
  • Materials include Copper, Zinc, Nickel, Tin, Platinum, Rhodium, Ruthenium, Graphite, Lithium Cobalt Oxide, Lithium Nickel Oxide, Lithium Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide (cont.)
  • (cont.) Lithium Iron Phosphate, Lithium Titanite Oxide, and next generation anode and cathode battery chemistries.
  • Acts as the Materials Engineer subject matter expert for base metals, PGMs, and battery chemistry family.
  • Serves as Program Manager and Technical Point of Contact on material projects and processes related to the family of materials listed in this position description on behalf of the Department.
  • Represents Strategic Planning Directorate at meetings, conferences, and technical committees attended by officials from Government and the private sector.
  • Defends recommendations to Senior leaders in the Department, Government of Accountability Office (GAO) audit groups, Congressional and Senate leaders, and other experts in their field in Government and Industrial sectors.
  • Provides technical support within DLA Strategic Materials and offices which fall under the National Defense Stockpile Manager that report to the Undersecretary of Defense.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. citizen
  • Tour of Duty: Set Schedule
  • Security Requirements: Non-Critical Sensitive with Secret Access
  • Appointment is subject to the completion of a favorable suitability or fitness determination, where reciprocity cannot be applied; unfavorably adjudicated background checks will be grounds for removal.
  • Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): Exempt
  • Selective Service Requirement: Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service.
  • Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
  • Bargaining Unit Status: No
  • Pre-Employment Physical: Not Required
  • Financial Disclosure Requirement: Yes
  • This position and any future selections from this announcement may be used to fill various shifts located within DLA Strategic Materials in Fort Belvoir, VA.
  • Defense Acquisition Workforce position. Must complete DoD certification and other requirements. See Addtl Info.

Qualifications

To qualify for a Materials Engineer (Metals), your resume and supporting documentation must support:

A. Basic Requirement: A bachelor's degree or higher in professional engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; 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
A 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 in engineering that included the courses specified in the Basic Requirements above. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of a professional engineering curriculum as described in the Basic Requirements 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).
B. Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position and is directly in or related to this position. In addition to meeting the Basic Requirement above, to qualify for the GS-13 grade level, specialized experience must be at the GS-12 grade level or equivalent under other pay systems in the Federal service, military, or private sector. Applicants must meet eligibility requirements, minimum qualifications, and any other regulatory requirements by the cut-off/closing date of the announcement. Creditable specialized experience includes:
  • Demonstrates experience in Stockpile procedures, policies, and programs.
  • Strategic and critical materials supply chains and applications experience.
  • Materials testing procedures and techniques, logistics procedures, commodity specifications, and standards.
  • Performing Contracting Office Representative (COR) duties.
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.

Education

Substitution of education may not be used in lieu of specialized experience for this grade level.

Are you using your education to satisfy the Basic Requirement? You MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: Unofficial transcripts are acceptable at time of application.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours that your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

Additional information

For Important General Applicant Information and Definitions go to: http://www.dla.mil/portals/104/documents/careers/GenAppInfoDef.pdf

Reemployed Annuitants: This position does not meet criteria for appointment of Reemployed Annuitants. The DoD criteria for hiring Reemployed Annuitants can be found at: https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/140025/140025_vol300.PDF

Position requires DoD Acquisition Engineering Tech & Management, Practitioner certification within required timeframes. Selectee must also achieve 80 hours of Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) every 2-years. Click here for more details and resources.

Drug-Free Workplace Policy

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is committed to maintaining a safe, drug-free workplace. All DLA employees are required to refrain from illegal drug use on and off duty. DLA conducts pre-employment, reasonable suspicion, post-accident, and random drug testing.

Applicants tentatively selected for employment in testing designated positions will undergo a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Refusal to undergo testing or testing positive for illegal drugs will result in withdrawal of the tentative job offer and a six-month denial of employment with DLA from the date of the drug test. Employees in drug testing designated positions are subject to random drug testing.

The DLA drug testing panel tests for the following substances: marijuana, cocaine, opiates, heroin, phencyclidine, amphetamines, methamphetamines, fentanyl, norfentanyl, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), and opioids.

ADVISORY: Use of cannabidiol (CBD) products may result in a positive drug test for marijuana. DLA employees are subject to Federal law and under Federal law, Marijuana is a Schedule I drug and is illegal.

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.

How you will be evaluated

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

The assessments for this job will measure the following Competencies:

Direct Hire Evaluation: Once the application process is complete, a review of your application will be made to ensure you meet the job requirements. This vacancy will be filled through a Direct Hire Authority. All applicants who meet the basic qualification requirements will be forwarded to the Selecting Official for consideration. The rule of Three, Veteran's Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to this vacancy. We will evaluate your application for basic eligibility and to determine if your experience meets the basic qualification requirements described in the announcement. All applicants who meet the qualifications and other basic requirement are eligible for referral and selection consideration. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating.

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