Clarification from the agency

This position is open to all current Department of Energy, Office of Environmental Management employees on a career or career-conditional competitive service appointment.

As a INTERDISCIPLINARY-General Engineer-Physical Scientist-Facility Representatives, you will:

• Conduct daily on-site assessments of facilities and operations to ensure adherence to contractual rules, regulations, and Department of Energy (DOE) directives concerning environmental, nuclear safety, and health.
• Observe and evaluate operating conditions through scheduled and unscheduled inspections, walk-throughs, and systematic oversight to identify trends and programmatic weaknesses.
• Serve as the primary point of contact between contractors and DOE for event notifications, providing technical expertise, and guiding contractors on stabilization and resumption of operations.
• Investigate contractor events, problems, and issues to understand causal factors and develop solutions to prevent recurrences and ensure continuous improvement.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the operating contractor in areas such as operational performance, nuclear safety, quality assurance, management controls, and worker health and safety.
• Ensure all events are accurately reported and communicates status, emerging trends, and investigative results to various levels of DOE management.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a United States Citizen.
• This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
• If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov.
• If selected, you may be required to complete a one year probationary period.
• If selected, your appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• This position is not remote, the selectee will be expected to report to the duty station(s) listed. If selected, military spouses, veteran caregivers, and spouses of foreign service employees may be eligible for applicable workplace flexibilities.
• You are required to submit a Financial Disclosure Statement, OGE-450, Executive Branch Personnel Confidential Financial Disclosure Report within 30 days of entering the position and annually.
• This position has been designated as NON-CRITICAL SENSITIVE and requires a security clearance at the L level. The incumbent is required to obtain and maintain this clearance; failure to do so may result in separation from federal service.
• This position is not included in a Bargaining Unit.
• Situational telework may be approved at the discretion of the supervisor.
• This position is a Testing Designated Position (TDP) subject to applicant testing and random drug testing thereafter. Failure to test or a positive result on random drug tests conducted after appointment may result in removal from Federal employment.
• Obtain qualifications under the Facility Representative Qualification Program (TQP) and with the Federal Technical Capabilities Program (FTCP). TQP FAC-Rep within 2 years.
• May be requested to work occasional rotational on-call assignments.

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENT FOR 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.)

BASIC REQUIREMENT FOR 1301 SERIES
A. Degree: 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

B. Combination of education and experience: education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS GS-13: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level GS-12 in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position is defined as meeting ALL of the following:

1. Conducting investigations or assessments of operational deviations, incidents, or complex performance issues.
2. Applying engineering and/or physical science principles to analyze, interpret, and resolve technical challenges related to facility design, system performance, safety, and/or environmental protection.
3. Utilizing technical knowledge to monitor and assess the operational integrity and safety posture of facilities.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS GS-14: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level GS-13 in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position is defined as meeting ALL of the following:

1. Providing technical leadership and strategic direction in the evaluation, assessment, and oversight of facility operations and major programs.
2. Conducting investigations and analyses of high-impact incidents or systemic failures.
3. Serving as an advisor and technical consultant to senior leadership, high-level management, or external regulatory bodies on technical, safety, or compliance matters.

"Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. 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.

Limit your resume to no more than two (2) pages. If more than two pages are submitted, only the first two pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility and qualifications. Your full resume will be made available to the hiring manager if you are referred.

Time-in-Grade: Current Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement to receive consideration.

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

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 based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement, as demonstrated in your application and your responses to all assessments required for this position. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application or cheating on the assessment may result in removal from consideration. Responses to assessments must be prepared solely by the applicant. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, CoPilot) to draft, edit, or generate responses is strictly prohibited and may result in removal from consideration.

Your application will be assessed based on your responses to an online job knowledge assessment. For applicants applying under Merit Promotion or VEOA procedures, your score on this assessment will determine if you are considered a 'best qualified' candidate. The online job knowledge assessment primarily consists of multiple-choice questions designed to evaluate your understanding of key concepts relevant to this position.

Your application and resume should demonstrate that you possess the following competencies. Do not provide a separate narrative written statement. Rather, you must describe in your resume how your past work experience demonstrates that you possess the competencies identified below. Use specific examples of employment or experience contained in your resume and describe how this experience has prepared you to successfully perform the duties of this position.

• Compliance
• Engineering and Technology
• Physics
• Problem Solving
• Reasoning (Clerical/Technical)
• Technical Competence

Non-competitive Procedures: If you are applying under a non-competitive or special hiring authority, you will still be required to complete the assessment. However, you will not be evaluated against the rating and ranking criteria. Your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine if you are minimally qualified for this job. Veterans' Preference will be applied when required by the hiring authority (e.g., VRA, Schedule A).
Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements and current employees must have at least a fully successful or equivalent performance rating to receive consideration.

All qualified Non-competitive applicants and the best qualified Merit Promotion and VEOA applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.
Career Transition Assistance Programs: To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet the eligibility criteria; and 2) be rated "well-qualified", which is defined as having a score of 85 or better.

Shared Certificates: The Department of Energy shares lists of applicants among its internal Departmental Elements and organizations. You may be referred for consideration to other DOE Hiring Managers throughout the Department for more than one position based on this application. By applying to this announcement, you understand your application materials may be shared with multiple Hiring Mangers throughout DOE. If additional positions are filled from this announcement conditions of employment may differ. You will be notified if you are referred for additional positions.

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date ( 04/02/2026) of this announcement.

To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12908418.