Mechanical Engineer

The primary purpose of this position is:
To serve as a professional engineer facilitating a team of engineers/architects from a variety of disciplines and technical staff on large and complex design and construction projects.

In order to qualify, you must meet the basic requirements described in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions, Professional and Scientific Positions BASIC REQUIREMENT OR INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT:

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)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.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

Applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the next lower grade GS-11, or equivalent in other pay systems. Examples of specialized experience includes having knowledge of a wide range of engineering theories, concepts, principles, standards, and methods related to energy management, electrical and mechanical systems, facilities and mechanical/electrical engineering concepts, principles, and practices. Modify standard practices, equipment, devices, processes, and techniques and resolve a variety of complex problems.

Plan and monitor large‑scale facility engineering projects so as to assure compliance with applicable objectives, standards, and requirements. Knowledge of state and local jurisdiction over the use of land and natural resources, the construction of facilities and utilities, and the distribution of utility services.

FEDERAL TIME‑IN‑GRADE (TIG) REQUIREMENT FOR GENERAL SCHEDUL.