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Automotive Engineer

General Services Administration
Federal Acquisition Service

Summary

As an Automotive Engineer, you will serve as an expert and authoritative advisor to management on vehicle engineering technical specifications.

Location of position: GSA, Federal Acquisition Service, Office of Fleet Mgmt, Vehicle Purchasing Div., Office of Travel, Transportation and Logistics (TTL) provides governmentwide solutions for travel, transportation, fleet management, and emergency management. 

We are currently filling two vacancies, but additional vacancies may be filled as needed.

Overview

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Open & closing dates
05/13/2026 to 05/26/2026
Salary
$106,437 - $172,980 per year

If you are a new federal employee, your starting salary will likely be set at the Step 1 of the grade for which you are selected.

Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Locations
2 vacancies in the following locations:
San Francisco, CA
Lakewood, CO
Washington, DC
Orlando, FL
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—This position is full-time in the office. In rare instances, situational telework may be approved on a case-by-case basis.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Occasional travel for training and meetings.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13 - GS-13 is the full performance level
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes - This position requires the submission of an OGE-450 form.
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
QM-2026-0015
Control number
869008600

Duties

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This position can be located in either of  the following locations: Washington, DC; Kansas City, MO; Fort Worth, TX; Lakewood, CO, Tacoma, WA; Atlanta, GA; New York, NY; Boston, MA; San Francisco, CA; Philadelphia, PA; Chicago, IL; Norfolk, VA; Tampa, FL; Houston, TX; San Antonio, TX; and/or Orlando, FL.

As an Automotive Engineer, you will be responsible for performing the following duties:

  • Serving as the technical authority on specialized projects within the agency to develop a coordinated approach to unique problems or areas in which GSA, other Federal agencies or the private sector have previously not been involved or concerned.
  • Analyzing, evaluating, and reviewing new vehicles, products and technology within the automotive industry, and continually updates existing Federal Standards, specifications, purchase descriptions and product lines with the latest technology and design processes. Participating in vehicle inspections and providing expert technical advice to quality assurance personnel about contractual technical issues.
  • Serving as the technical expert to provide authoritative direction to contracting officers.  Analyzing, evaluating, and reviewing requests from contracting officers regarding engineering and automotive technical matters and making recommendations that form the basis for contracting decisions on such matters.
  • Serving as the Program Expert in meetings, interagency working groups, industrial and technical boards, committees, and panels, where peers are highly knowledgeable on engineering, technical or vehicle manufacturing specialists, dealing with vehicle design, specifications, and quality engineering matters.
  • Investigating and analyzing safety and operational defects and deficiency problems encountered during vehicle operation. Identifying the specific source of the difficulty encountered and coordinates corrective measures with the manufacturer or vehicle user, U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Coordinating and negotiating solutions with the automotive industry, technical societies and industry organizations.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • US Citizenship or National (Residents of American Samoa and Swains Island)
  • Meet all eligibility criteria within 30 days of the closing date
  • Meet time-in-grade within 30 days of the closing date, if applicable
  • Register with Selective Service if you are a male born after 12/31/1959
  • Direct Deposit of salary check to financial organization required.

If selected, you must meet the following conditions:

  • Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non­Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the HR Office. Failure to disclose this information could result in disciplinary action including removal from Federal Service.
  • Serve a one year probationary period, if required.
  • Undergo and pass a background investigation (Tier 2 investigation level).
  • Have your identity and work status eligibility verified if you are not a GSA employee.  We will use the Department of Homeland Security’s e-Verify system for this. Any discrepancies must be resolved as a condition of continued employment.
  • Complete a financial disclosure report to verify that no conflict, or an appearance of conflict, exists between your financial interest and this position.

Qualifications

For each job on your resume, provide:

  • the exact dates you held each job (from month/year to month/year)
  • number of hours per week you worked (if part time).    

If you have volunteered your service through a National Service program (e.g., Peace Corps, Americorps), we encourage you to apply and include this experience on your resume.

The GS-13 salary range starts at $106,437 per year. Salary is dependent upon duty location.

If you are a new federal employee, your starting salary will likely be set at the Step 1 of the grade for which you are selected.  

BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR ENGINEERS: A Degree in professional engineering OR a combination of college-level education, training, and/or technical experience. For specifics on qualifying education and/or experience - use the following link: Basic Requirements for Engineer Positions.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE:

In addition to the Basic Requirements listed above, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 in the Federal service.

Specialized experience is experience applying technical knowledge of mechanical engineering principles, techniques, methods, and precedents to include:

  •  Evaluating vehicles and vehicle standards to determine suitability for customers' mission requirements; 
  •  Analyzing mechanical needs by participating in the review of vehicle program activities to identify problems (e.g. problems involving design, safety, performance, and contract technical requirements); and
  • Identifying vehicle requirements to assist with fleet purchase (e.g.  vehicle descriptions, vehicle performance and vehicle inspections to design and construct final motor vehicle builds).

This position has a positive education requirement: Applicants must submit a copy of their college or university transcript(s) and certificates by the closing date of announcements to verify qualifications. If selected, an official transcript will be required prior to appointment.

Education

Note: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/ 

Additional information

Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion, or national origin.

Applicants are encouraged to make their resume searchable in their USAJOBS.gov profile. This will allow Federal hiring specialists and hiring managers across agencies to find their resume as part of agency recruitment campaigns or staffing searches.

If you apply to this position and are selected, we will not ask about your criminal history before you receive a conditional job offer. If you believe you were asked about your criminal history improperly, contact the agency or visit GSA's webpage.

Relocation-related expenses are not approved and will be your responsibility.  

Travel expenses associated with interviews may be approved. Determinations will be made on a case-by-case basis.

On a case-by-case basis, the following incentives may be approved:

·       Recruitment incentive if you are new to the federal government

·       Relocation incentive if you are a current federal employee

·       Credit toward vacation leave if you are new to the federal government

We are also accepting applications from all U.S. Citizens and Nationals under Vacancy Announcement # QM-2026-0011. You must apply separately to each announcement to be considered for both.

Additional vacancies may be filled through this announcement in this or other GSA organizations within the same commuting area as needed; through other means; or not at all.

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.

A panel of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) will review the resumes of qualified candidates and assign a score for each of the five required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) based on the experience documented in the resume and narrative responses.

  1. Skill in theoretical, technical and practical knowledge of motor vehicles and related equipment in order to design, specify, evaluate, and select proper vehicles and equipment that have the capability of meeting unique, numerous and diverse operational requirements.
  2. Knowledge of vehicles and engineering practices for making significant development, design, or modifications to obtain desired results including model development and validation.  Knowledge of vehicle standards and vehicle technical inspection.
  3. Knowledge of the current automotive industry and awareness of emerging technologies and their applications to a Fleet management program and processes.
  4. Skill in expressing data and technical information to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information; making clear and convincing oral presentations; listening to others, attending to nonverbal cues, and responding appropriately.
  5. Knowledge of motor vehicle engines, parts, and systems, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance; Ability to Identify and analyze problems; weighs relevance and accuracy of information; generates and evaluates alternative solutions; makes recommendations.

Demonstration of these KSAs must be supported by your resume. Applicants should also make note of each KSA, as you will be asked to address them later in the application process.

Consideration will be given to performance appraisals and incentive awards in merit promotion selection decisions in accordance with 5 CFR 335.103(b)(3). You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume so that information will be taken into consideration during the selection process.  If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.

If you are eligible under the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) or GSA’s Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), your resume must clearly demonstrate experience in at least 3 of the 5 required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) to receive priority consideration.


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Federal Acquisition Service

Agency contact information

Toni Douglas
Phone
706-662-0769
TDD
1-800-877-8339
Fax
000-000-0000
Email
toni.douglas@gsa.gov
Address
GSA, Federal Acquisition Service
General Service Administration (GSA)
GSA, Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM)
1800 F Street, NW
Washington, District of Columbia 20405
United States

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https://www.gsa.gov/about-us

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