Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.201) for this occupation.

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The incumbent serves as the highest-level engineering authority within the District, providing mastery­ level expertise and authoritative technical guidance across all phases of engineering program management. Directs the engineering program across 64 national cemeteries, ensuring alignment with NCA strategic goals, VA construction policy, and Federal regulatory requirements. Provides definitive technical decisions on complex engineering matters that affect multiple cemeteries, states, or program areas. Engineering analyses, capital investment justifications, construction program plans, and infrastructure assessments developed under this position are routinely incorporated into NCA Central Office agency-wide policy documents, the NCA and VA Congressional budget justifications submitted to 0MB and Congress, and NCA-wide construction and maintenance standards transmitted to all four NCA districts. These work products establish a direct and recurring line of effect beyond the Central District to national agency operations and policy, and are regularly acted upon by NCA Central Office leadership, the Office of Management and Budget, and Congressional appropriations staff in making funding, policy, and construction authorization decisions affecting national cemeteries nationwide.

Work schedule: May be required to work Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
Compressed/Flexible Schedule: Not Available
Telework: Ad hoc
Virtual: This is a Virtual Position. Virtual positions are where an employee works outside of original hiring duty station at VA-owned or leased space. The original hiring duty station for this position is Central District Office and your work duty location will be an NCA facility, determined upon selection.

Position Description Title/PD#:Supervisory General Engineer/PD1747487
The full performance level of this position is GS-15.

Relocation Expenses: Not Authorized
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• Pass a pre-employment medical examination.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; including Resume, Transcripts, etc. is required
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents).
• Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/13/2026.

You may qualify based on your experience, as described below:

• Basic requirement for all Professional Engineering Positions:
  • 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:
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 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.)
    • Note: An applicant who meets the basic requirements as specified in A or B above, except as noted under B.1., may qualify for positions in any branch of engineering unless selective factors indicate otherwise.

In addition to the Basic Requirements, you must demonstrate in your application you possess at least 1-year (52 weeks) of Specialized Experience* equivalent to the FG-14 grade level. Specialized Experience may include but are not limited to: manage, coordinate, direct, and oversee critical operational and integration systems engineering efforts to establish, maintain, and/or improve information systems, networks, and their hardware and software applications; and conduct and advise on testing operations for acceptance and operation of complete systems and equipment.

*Specialized Experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that are typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled.

SCREEN-OUT ELEMENT: Your qualifications will first be evaluated against the prescribed screen out element, which usually appears as question 1 in the on-line questionnaire. Those applicants who appear to possess at least the minimal acceptable qualification requirement are considered for further rating; those who do not are rated ineligible and are eliminated. The potential eligibles are then rated against the remainder of the Job Elements.
The screen-out element(s) for this position is/are:

JOB ELEMENTS: Those who meet the minimum level of experience and training for the screen-out element will then be evaluated in each of the following job elements:

• General Engineering
• Project Management
• Planning and Evaluating
• Technical Competence
• Administration and Management
• Supervisory Leadership

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). 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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: Work is generally performed in an office environment.

Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.

All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drugs use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support the requirements for the position, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

After the vacancy announcement closes, applications are evaluated for qualification. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your consideration for employment.