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General Engineer

Department of Transportation
Federal Aviation Administration
Air Traffic Organization, Technical Operations, WSA Eng Svc, NAVAIDS Design Center, AJW-2W14B

Summary

The Lead Engineer (LE) is responsible for the implementation of highly complex and challenging projects comprised of multiple sub-projects and/or large national programs which require application of in-depth engineering knowledge and independent judgement and the ability to coordinate difficult and/or critical activities.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
01/12/2026 to 02/02/2026
Salary
$125,138 to - $194,001 per year

The salary listed above does not include Locality. Please see Additional Information for Locality Rates.

Pay scale & grade
FV J
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Des Moines, WA
Telework eligible
Yes—This is not a 100% telework position. Situational telework may be available based on the needs of the Office.
Travel Required
50% or less - The job may require up to 50% travel.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes— - Fixed Rate PCS - Permanent Change of Station (Current Federal Employee) - In accordance with applicable FAA Travel regulations, a fixed relocation payment of $27,000 will be paid. Relocation expenses paid are subject to applicable taxes.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
NA
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Bargaining unit status
Yes - This position is represented by NATCA: Engineers & Architects.
Announcement number
ANM-ATO-26-AKRBW-96873
Control number
854061500

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Open to current permanent FAA employees.

Duties

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The incumbent applies experience and comprehensive knowledge of engineering principles, theories, and concepts applicable to his/her discipline, as well as an understanding of new technologies and methodologies, to solve complex problems and to develop improved technical processes for the organization. Assignments typically involves engineer to have knowledge of NAS Facilities, Facilities and Equipment Programs, and FAA organizations.

Represents assigned Center on matter requiring technical interpretation and guidance, as the senior technical point of contact. He/she serves as the senior engineering for assigned projects/programs to all stakeholders including management, other employees and external parties. Plans, coordinates and reviews engineering work of the installation activities. Prioritizes and outlines work. Provides advice to solve technical problems.

Reviews work of other engineers for technical accuracy and adequacy. Assists Center personnel with resolving all, but unique, engineering problems and may create new solutions and policy interpretations, as the situation requires. Provides constructive feedback and persuasion on project/program matters using effective interpersonal skills and abilities. He/she organizes, coordinates and mentors the efforts of project engineers supporting the program.

Leads the development of standardized implementation plans, processes templates, and activities within assigned Engineering Center and/or program area. Works as a team with other Leads to deliver a consistent and efficient implementation produce across each Service Area. Serves as the focal for gathering and integrating feedback into downstream sites and coordinating feedback with other Leads in the Service Area. Maintains consistency with applicable standards, procedures, and implementation methodologies.Ensures project/program schedules are compatible with organizational objectives, support project/program needs; and can be accomplished within available resources and funding. Oversees and monitors project interdependencies by assessing the impacts to project/programs due to new requirements, technologies, budget constraints, or changes.He/she plans, coordinates, identifies resources, schedules, and tracks large-scale and/or multi-site engineering projects through completion. Prepares cost estimates and risk management reports for work at the assigned area of responsibility. The work is reviewed rarely, typically though status reports and at project completion, to ensure technical compliance and alignment with the requirements of the project or other work activity.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • US Citizenship is required.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
  • Must submit an SF50 (See Required Documents).
  • This position has a positive education requirement. Transcript(s) required.

Qualifications

Candidates must have one year (52 weeks) of SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (FV-I or FG/GS-13) that is typically related to the line of work of the position to be filled and which has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been at least equivalent to the next lower level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE is defined as:

Demonstrated expert level of understanding Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) Category I-III systems, Very High Frequency Omnidirectional Range (VOR) principles, and related navigation technologies along with experience with relevant industry standards and regulations governing ILS and VOR systems. Demonstrate experience and ability in design, installation, and flight inspection including configuration, reconfiguration setting up, tuning, testing, troubleshooting, and commissioning systems such as ILS, VOR, Distance Measuring Equipment (DME), Tactical Aircraft Control and Navigation (TACAN), and Runway Visual Range (RVR).

AND

  • Skill in at least three (3) of the six (6) following areas of engineering: Civil Engineering (1): Proficiency in engineering design work, construction oversight, and cost estimating. Mechanical Engineering (2): Experience in site surveying, engineering design and drafting, and oversight of projects such as elevator installations. Electronics Engineering (3): Experience in site surveying, engineering design of communication systems, and oversight of projects such as Instrument Landing Systems (ILS). Electrical Engineering (4): Experience in site surveying, engineering design, grounding and bonding techniques, oversight of projects such as Engine Generator (SX) installations, battery installations and UPS/PCS installations. Fire Protection Engineering (5): Experience in designing fire suppression and safety systems tailored for buildings. Safety Engineering (6): Experience in implementation of comprehensive safety protocols and procedures to mitigate risks throughout construction and building operations.

You should include relevant examples of the specialized experience in your work history. Errors or omissions may
impact your rating or may result in you not being considered.

Answer all questions to the best of your ability. DO NOT ASSUME THAT BECAUSE YOU HOLD, OR HAVE HELD THIS POSITION, YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE FOUND ELIGIBLE. You may be asked to provide evidence or documentation that you have this type of experience later in the selection process. Your responses are subject to verification through job interviews or any other information obtained during the application process. Any exaggeration of your experience or any attempt to conceal information can result in disqualification.

* Applicants who fail to demonstrate possession of any of the above criteria AND who do not provide the required documentation will receive no further consideration for this position. *

**All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this vacancy announcement. **

Eligible applicants meeting the minimum qualification requirements and/or selective placement factor(s) (SPF) may be further evaluated on the Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA) and/or Quality Ranking Factor (QRF) listed in the announcement. Based on this evaluation, applicants will be placed in one of the following categories: (1) score order; (2) category grouping; or (3) alphabetical and referred to the selecting official for selection consideration.

Education

This position has a positive education requirement: Applicants must submit a copy of their college or university transcripts(s) and certificates by the closing date of announcement to verify qualifications. If selected, an official transcript will be required prior to appointment. You may upload these documents with your application in USAJOBS or fax it to fax number provided in the announcement (please include announcement number on each page).

Failure to do so will result in loss of consideration.

Schools must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Accreditation may be verified at the following website: www.ed.gov/accreditation.

Foreign education must be evaluated by a private professional organization specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials or an accredited U.S. educational institution in terms of equivalence to a degree acquired at an American college or university. A copy of the evaluation results must be included, otherwise your foreign education will not be considered.

Degree: Professional engineering. To be acceptable, the curriculum must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum 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

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:

  • Professional registration -- Current registration as a professional engineer 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.

  • Written Test-- Evidence of having successfully passed the Engineer-in-Training (EIT) examination, or the written test required for professional registration, which is administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

    Applicants who have passed the EIT examination and have completed all the requirements for either (a) a bachelor's degree in engineering technology (BET) from an accredited college of university that included 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences, or (b) a BET from a program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) may be rated eligible for certain engineering positions at GS-5. Eligibility is limited to positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of the engineering technology program. Applicants for positions that involve highly technical research, development, or similar functions requiring an advanced level of competence in basic science must meet the basic requirements in paragraph A.

    Because of the diversity in kind and quality of BET programs, graduates of other BET programs are required to complete at least 1 year of additional education or highly technical work experience of such nature as to provide reasonable assurance of the possession of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for professional engineering competence. The adequacy of this background must be demonstrated by passing the EIT examination.

  • 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. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of a professional engineering curriculum as described in paragraph A.

  • Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering technology or in an appropriate professional field, e.g., physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a 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.)

  • Foreign Education: For additional information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html
  • Foreign Education: For additional information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Preview job questionnaire

Make sure your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications and answers to the job questionnaire.

Additional information

We may use this vacancy to fill other similar vacant positions.
Position may be subject to a background investigation.
A one-year probationary period may be required.

The person selected for this position may be required to file a financial disclosure statement within 30 days of entry on duty. FAA policy limits certain outside employment and financial investments in aviation-related companies. www.faa.gov/jobs/workinghere/financial-disclosure-requirements

As a part of the Federal-Wide Hiring Reform Initiative (streamlining the hiring process), the FAA is committed to eliminating the use of the Knowledge, Skills and Ability (KSA) narratives from the initial application in the hiring process for all announcements. Therefore, as an applicant for this announcement, you are NOT required to provide a narrative response in the text box listed below each KSA.

In lieu of providing a KSA narrative response in the text box listed below each KSA, in your work history, please include information that provides specific examples of how you meet the response level or answer you chose for each KSA. Your work history examples should be specific and clearly reflect the highest level of ability. Your KSA answers will be evaluated further to validate whether the level that you selected is appropriate based on the work history and experience you provided. Your answers may be adjusted by a Human Resource Specialist as appropriate.

Eligible applicants meeting the minimum qualification requirements and selective factor(s), if applicable, may be further evaluated on the Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA) listed in the announcement. Based on this evaluation, applicants will be placed in one of the following categories: score order, category grouping, or alphabetical and referred to the selecting official for consideration.

Appointment type: Permanent
Security: POS Sen 5 (Moderate Risk).
Substance Testing: Not Required.
Financial Disclosure: No
Interviews: All or None may be interviewed.

Links to Important Information: Locality Pay, COLA

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.



IMPORTANT: Applicants may be rated on the extent and quality of experience, education, and training relevant to the duties of the position(s). All answers provided in the on-line process must be substantiated. Ensure that your application package/resume supports your responses.

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