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General Engineer/Physical Scientist (Facility Representative)

Department of Energy
National Nuclear Security Administration

Summary

As a Facility Representative, you will provide technical expertise on all aspects of day-to-day operations at a NNSA plant or site. You will determine whether facility conditions and activities are in compliance with federal and state regulations and requirements by inspecting field conditions and evaluating the technical adequacy of reports, inspections, permits, and various safety-related programs. Your focus is ensuring the safe and efficient operation of NNSA facilities.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Posted this week · Apply by 07/01/26
Due by 11:59 p.m. ET on July 1, 2026
Location
few vacancies in the following locations:
Work site options
Telework eligible
No
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$89,508 - $201,205 per year
Pay scale & grade
EN 3 - 4
Promotion potential
4
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Excepted Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
Yes
Security clearance
Q Access Authorization
Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
Yes
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
26-NA-YFO-XE-00645-NNSA
Control number
873471700

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Open to United States Citizens

Duties

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As a General Engineer/Physical Scientist (Facility Representative), you will:

  • Ensure contractor management control systems and procedures adhere to NNSA/DOE and national nuclear, radiological and/or industrial safety, and environmental compliance program requirements, policies and practices, and contractual obligations.
  • Conduct walk-through inspections of the facilities and/or operations for the purpose of identifying hazards, incidents of non-compliance with standards and guidelines, and potential problem areas.
  • Assure activities are performed within approved safe operating envelopes and in compliance with applicable orders, laws, and regulations.
  • Make contractor and site management aware of issues and concerns and recommend potential solutions to regulatory, technical and/or programmatic issues and requirements.
  • Participate in hearings, meetings, conferences and special working groups with Management & Operating contractor and other subject matter experts; Federal, state, and local regulators (e.g. Environmental Protection Agency, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, etc.), and oversight entitles (e.g. Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board).
  • Serve as the primary interface between local NNSA/DOE management and the contractor, and maintain cognizance of all operational activities, both technical and administrative, in providing technical and policy guidance, direction and interpretation.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a United States Citizen.
  • 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.
  • 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, your appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
  • This position has been designated as Critical Sensitive/High Risk and requires a security clearance at Q Access. The selectee is required to obtain and maintain this clearance; failure to do so may result in separation from federal service.
  • You may be required to pass a polygraph.
  • You are required to submit OGE-450, Confidential Financial Disclosure Report within 30 days of entering the position and annually.
  • You must be able to obtain certification in the DOE's Technical Qualification Program (TQP) within 18 months of start date. This position is covered by the Technical Qualification Program (TQP), which requires the incumbent to acquire and demonstrate competencies identified in the TQP Functional Area Qualification and Field Office specific standards and requires certification of the competencies by NNSA supervision and TQP qualifying officials. https://ntc.doe.gov/student/stp/techqualprogram
  • You must be able to obtain and maintain certification under the Department of Energy Human Reliability Program.
  • You will be required to complete a two (2) year trial period unless you have previously completed a trial period in DOE in the same line of work and the prior service contains or is followed by no more than a single break in service that does not exceed 30 calendar days. Employees serving on a trial period may be terminated at any time during the probationary or trial period for performance, conduct, or business-related reasons in the interest of Federal service.

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This position may be filled as a 0801 General Engineer or a 1301 Physical Scientist. Each job series requires applicants to meet a Basic Education Requirement in addition to at least one full year of specialized experience as described below. You must meet all qualifications requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

To qualify for the 1301 Physical Scientist:

EDUCATION:

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.

To qualify for the 0801 General Engineer:

EDUCATION:
A. 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

B. 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), 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 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.

-AND-

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service.

To qualify for the EN-3 level:
In addition to the education requirements, candidates must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower NNSA pay band or GS grade level in the Federal Service (i.e., EN-00, NN-02, or GS-11). Specialized experience is:
  • Participating in technical evaluations of operational performance, including evaluations of supporting technical documentation, in a high-hazard facility (i.e., hazards with potential consequences affecting a large number of onsite or offsite personnel);
  • Assisting in preparing portions of technical reports, briefing materials or other documentation detailing performance relative to safe and efficient operations or documenting operational incidents, accidents, malfunctions or non-routine operations; and
  • Evaluating compliance with health and safety requirements of industrial, nuclear, or non-nuclear facilities.

To qualify for the EN-4 level:
In addition to the education requirements, candidates must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower NNSA pay band or GS grade level in the Federal Service (i.e., EN-03, NN-03, or GS-13). Specialized experience is:

  • Conducting technical assessments, audits, or surveillances in a highly hazard facility;
  • Preparing technical reports, briefing materials or other documentation detailing performance relative to safe and efficient operations or documenting operational incidents, accidents, malfunctions, or non-routine operations; and
  • Overseeing and evaluating compliance with health, safety, and nuclear safety requirements of nuclear facilities.

Education

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications; applicant's resumes and supporting documentation should only reflect education received from schools accredited by such institutions. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following Website: https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/home.

You must submit a copy of your college transcript (unofficial is acceptable) from an accredited institution listing the college/university, degree confirmation date(s) and applicable courses for the position you are applying to.

If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency (a U.S. private organization's interpretation that such education has been deemed at least equivalent to conventional U.S. education programs) with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education.

If you are selected, official transcripts will be required.

Additional information

  • More than one selection may be made from this vacancy announcement.
  • A Recruitment/Relocation Incentive may be authorized for a highly qualified applicant in accordance with Agency policy and applicable regulations.
  • The Fair Chance Act prohibits specific inquiries concerning an applicant's criminal or credit background unless the hiring agency has made a conditional offer of employment to the applicant. An applicant may submit a complaint to the agency within 30 calendar days of the date of alleged noncompliance by completing the Fair Chance Act Intake Form and submitting it to the Administrative Investigations Program at AdministrativeInvestigations@hq.doe.gov

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.

We will review your application to ensure you meet the job requirements. If you meet the qualifications requirements, your application will be referred to the selecting official for further review

To preview the application questionnaire, click the link below.
https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12987543

National Nuclear Security Administration

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is a separately organized agency of the Department of Energy. We manage highly visible U.S. National Security Programs, enhance U.S. national security through research, development, production, assembly, disassembly, and maintenance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, promote international nuclear non-proliferation and safety, reduce global danger from weapons of mass destruction, provide the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion, and oversee national laboratories and other production facilities to maintain U.S. leadership in science and technology.

Please view the following links for additional information:
Explore a world of opportunities at NNSA
Working at NNSA

Agency contact information

Jennifer Chandler
Email
jennifer.chandler@nnsa.doe.gov
Address
Y-12 Field Office
24600 20th St SE
Kirtland AFB, NM 87117-5507
US

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