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General Engineer/Physical Scientist (Federal Project Director)

Department of Energy
Department of Energy - Agency Wide
BH - Office of Science - Brookhaven Site Office

Summary

This position is part of the Office of Science - Brookhaven Site Office, Department of Energy. As a General Engineer/Physical Scientist (Federal Project Director), you will be providing overall authoritative leadership and direction to pioneering engineering and/or scientific development efforts in achieving new and innovative capabilities relative to new or expanded use of energy resources.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
04/15/2026 to 04/28/2026
Salary
$174,347 - $197,200 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 15
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Upton, NY
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
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
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
26-BH-12936005-DH
Control number
865081300

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This is a Direct Hire Public Notice. Please read this Public Notice in its entirety prior to submitting your application for consideration.

Duties

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As a Federal Project Director, you will:

  • Provide authoritative leadership and strategic direction for pioneering engineering and scientific initiatives, focusing on energy resources, environmental cleanup, new technologies, and their societal impacts.
  • Manage and organize complex programs and projects, developing long-range plans with goals and resource requirements, while integrating financial and technical constraints.
  • Serve as a recognized technical authority, offering expert consultation, advice, and analysis to top management within and outside the Department of Energy on critical engineering and scientific matters.
  • Lead and participate in program and project assessments, evaluating progress against established goals, identifying problems, and recommending corrective or preventive actions.
  • Act as an authoritative consultant to senior DOE management and external experts, representing the Department in high-level national and international forums to defend decisions and forge compromises on complex issues.

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.
  • May be required to successfully complete a probationary period.
  • Required to obtain A Level 3 or higher Project Management Career Development Program Certification (PMCDP) and/or managing Major Systems Projects as defined in DOE O 413.3B or the equivalent.
  • You may be required to submit a Financial Disclosure Statement, OGE-450, Executive Branch Personnel Confidential Financial Disclosure Report upon entering the position and annually (5CFR Part 2634, Subpart I USOGE, 6/08).

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENT: You must meet both the Basic Requirement and the Specialized Experience to qualify for this series as described below. See the Education section for the Basic Requirement.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: 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-14 in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position is defined as meeting ALL of the following:

  1. Providing expert strategic direction for significant initiatives, influencing high-level stakeholders, and establishing long-range goals and resource requirements; AND
  2. Managing multifaceted projects with substantial scope and complexity and evaluating progress against established objectives; AND
  3. Serving as a recognized authority in a specific engineering or scientific field, offering authoritative consultation and recommendations to senior leadership on critical and far-reaching technical 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.

CTAP/ICTAP candidates: To be considered "well qualified" you must meet all of the requirements as described in this section.

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

Education

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.

If substituting education for specialized experience you must submit proof of your qualifying education. Failure to provide college transcripts may result in a rating of 'Ineligible'.

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".

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.

Additional information

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.


This position is announced under a government-wide Direct-Hire Authority (DHA) for General Engineering positions in the GS-0801 series and Physical Science positions in the GS-1301 series. Under the DHA, applicants who meet the Education and Qualification requirements listed in this announcement will be referred for consideration. Veteran's Preference, category rating, and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply under the DHA process.

Appointments made under the DHA are processed as "new" appointments. Current Federal employees may be required to serve a new probationary period (5 CFR 315.802(b).

Successful candidates will possess the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

  • Leadership
  • Problem Solving
  • Project Management
  • Strategic Thinking
  • Technical Competence


Career Transition Assistance Programs: If you are eligible for career transition assistance, such as ICTAP or CTAP, you must meet the Education and Qualification requirements to be referred for consideration.

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 (04/28/2026) of this announcement.

To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12936005

Department of Energy - Agency Wide

The Brookhaven Site Office in Upton, New York. BNL is one of ten Office of Science Laboratories and is a multi-program laboratory with a primary mission on delivering breakthrough science and technology in the areas of Physics and Chemistry, Environmental and Energy Research, and Structural Biology.

Agency contact information

Leonard Elkins
Email
leonard.elkins@hc.doe.gov
Address
Office of Science - Brookhaven Site Office
Department of Energy
Human Capital Shared Service Center
1000 Independence Ave, SW
Washington, DC 20585
US

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