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Lead General Engineer - DIRECT HIRE

Department of Transportation
Maritime Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is in the Division of Maintenance and Repair, Office of Ship Operations. The employee will perform and lead others in technical duties relative to ship operation, lay-up, sea trials, maintenance management, shipyard and repair periods, ship conversions, acquisitions, and modernization. The employee will also be responsible for administrative duties managing problem solving complicated by interfaces and inter-relationships between programs, systems, functions, and policies.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
06/26/2025 to 07/11/2025
Salary
$142,488 to - $185,234 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Washington, DC
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—This position may be eligible for situational telework. Telework approval will be determined by your immediate supervisor or manager following the agency’s telework policy and guidance. If participating in the telework program, you will be required to sign a telework agreement detailing agency telework policy requirements, working conditions, and expectations for the position.
Travel Required
25% or less - Some travel will be required to and from office locations and field sites.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time - Full Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
14
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Secret
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
MARAD.HQ-2025-0043
Control number
839516000

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. citizen. Due to the potential of a high volume of applicants, not all applicants may receive consideration. Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position. The 'Rule of Three', Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply to this vacancy.

Duties

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As a Lead General Engineer, you will:

  • Serve as the Ready Reserve Force (RRF) Program Life Cycle Manager (LCM). The LCM will develop technical and administrative procedures to standardize the RRF’s Life Cycle Maintenance practices, methods, and operations to across similar class vessels to meet program objectives. 
  • Manage configuration control to determine efficiencies and consistency amongst similar class vessels.
  • Perform cross class analysis in all technical areas related to life cycle management. Coordinate with Area Divisions and Headquarter Project Leads to ensure shipboard equipment repairs or replacements are aligned to the Program Objective Memorandum for outyear funding requirements.
  • Coach the team in the selection and application of appropriate problem-solving methods and techniques, provide advice on work methods, practices and procedures, and assist the team and/or individual members in identifying the parameters of a viable solution.
  • Serve as the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for the RRF’s Service Life Extension Contract.

The ideal candidate will have a thorough understanding of marine engineering and life cycle management as related to ship maintenance, repair, and shipyard management, including knowledge of United States Coast Guard and the American Bureau of Shipping rules and regulations.  Experience using vessel fleet management software as applying to vessel operation and maintenance is required.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. citizen & meet specialized experience to qualify
  • Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date
  • Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
  • Direct Hire Authority will be used to fill this position

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

  • SELECTIVE SERVICE: Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for the Selective Service.
  • BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: Applicants may be required to complete a background/security investigation and meet preliminary requirements prior to onboarding.
  • SECURITY CLEARANCE: Applicants must be required to obtain and retain a Secret Security Clearance.
  • GOVERNMENT TRAVEL CARD: This position involves travel.  A government contractor-issued travel card will be issued and must be retained for official business only.
  • PCS/RELOCATION/RECRUITMENT:  Permanent Change of Station (PCS), Relocation, and Recruitment Incentive authorization varies by position/selection and a service agreement may be required.
  • PROBATIONARY PERIOD: Applicants may be required to successfully complete a one-year probationary period (unless already completed).
  • DRUG TEST: This position has been determined to be a critical safety/security position as defined in the Department of Transportation (DOT) Order, DOT 3910.1D entitled "Drug and Alcohol-Free Departmental Workplace." Therefore, if selected for the position you will be required to submit to a pre-employment/pre-appointment drug test, you will also be subject to Random Drug Testing.

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must meet the specialized experience qualifications.

To qualify for the Grade 14, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-13, it must include:

  • Experience in Marine machinery design, operations, maintenance, and preservation methods.
  • Experience writing technical specifications of work and engineering procedures.
  • Experience using vessel fleet management software as applying to vessel operation and maintenance is required.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

  1. Manages Resources - Select, acquire, store, and distribute resources such as materials, equipment, or money. Review and track execution of business plans and request for additional funds.
  2. Written Communication - Recognize or use correct English grammar, punctuation, and spelling; communicate information (for example, facts, ideas, or messages) in a succinct and organized manner; produce written information, which may include technical material, that is appropriate for the intended audience.
  3. Planning and Evaluating - Organize work, set priorities, and determine resource requirements; determine short- or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them; coordinate with other organizations or parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitor progress and evaluate outcomes.
  4. Self-Management - Set well-defined and realistic personal goals; display a high level of initiative, effort, and commitment towards completing assignments in a timely manner; work with minimal supervision; is motivated to achieve; demonstrate responsible behavior; keep supervisors aware of all work.

For all types of consideration, 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, religious, 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.

For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link:  https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4

All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

MANDATORY EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:

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

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) 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).

(2) Specialized Experience:
To determine which grade(s) you are eligible for, review the following grade specific details.  You will be asked questions as part of your application but make sure to verify how you meet this experience in your resume or you may be deemed ineligible.

(3) Upload the appropriate document(s) to your application for verification purposes. (Refer to 'Required Documents' section for additional guidance).
Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within six months of the closing date of this announcement. If selected, the final transcript must be received before your start date.  Other applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Transcripts are required for this position.

Additional information

The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Transportation and its Operating Administrations from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to the Department of Transportation by email at, FairChanceAct@dot.gov. To learn more, please visit our page at: The Fair Chance to Compete Act | US Department of Transportation 

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Qualified CTAP/ICTAP candidates receive priority and will be referred to the hiring manager.

PLEASE NOTE:

  • Drug Testing required for Secret Clearance.

How you will be evaluated

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

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level. 

All applicants:  For this announcement, applicants may be reviewed to determine if they meet the basic qualifications for this position, specifically the educational requirements.  Applications that are verified to meet the basic qualifications may be referred to the selecting official.

Applicants will not be rated or ranked.  Veteran’s Preference does NOT apply.

Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers. 


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