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Experience requirements are described in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards for General Schedule
Professional Engineering Positions.
BASIC REQUIREMENT OR INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT:
- Candidates for these positions must possess: A degree: professional engineering. To be acceptable, the curriculum must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; 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.)
In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must have or will have within 120 days of closing this announcement, at least one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience at the next lower grade GS-12, or equivalent in other pay systems. Specialized experience includes: Implementing asset management principles for engineering issues related to facilities, utilities, and transportation networks; Conducting comprehensive sustainable infrastructure assessments; Conducts energy audits; Implements criteria and standards governing planning, design, construction, sustainment, restoration and modernization (SRM), operation, maintenance, and life cycle management; Making critical decisions and provides advice on extremely complex system problems and gives professional guidance on technical policies, procedures and improved technology, strategies, trends, or applications in the area of civil engineering.
FEDERAL TIME-IN-GRADE (TIG) REQUIREMENT FOR GENERAL SCHEDULE (GS) POSITIONS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible. One year at the GS-12 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-13 level. TIG applies if you are in a current GS position or held a GS position within the previous 52 weeks.
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. Professional engineering knowledge in a Civil Engineer discipline; installation planning and acquisition concepts; and strategies, principles, practices, and extensive familiarity with architecture and other engineering disciplines. Includes knowledge of existing and applicable software applications in the functional areas for which responsible.
2. Professional knowledge of Civil Engineering principles, practices, techniques, and procedures to effectively lead engineering functions associated with program and project development, execution, training, and advisory services in planning, design, and/or construction, operations, and maintenance of facilities and infrastructure.
3. Knowledge of Air Force engineering and planning programs; sound business practices; AFCEC responsibilities; performance and process improvement principles; and Federal Planning, Programming, and Budgetary System.
4. Skill in analyzing, planning, and adjusting work operations of organizational segments to meet program requirements and objectives within available resources; researching, analyzing, interpreting, and applying rules, regulations, and procedures in a variety of situations; developing conclusions/recommendations based on justifiable facts and evidence.
5. Ability to plan and organize work, coordinate the work of other engineer disciplines, maintain good working relationships, and gain support for program goals.
6. Ability to produce effective written and oral communications; produce complete and accurate staff work; and initiate change and improvement.
PART-TIME OR UNPAID EXPERIENCE: Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid and or part-time work. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week.
VOLUNTEER WORK EXPERIENCE: Refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service Programs (i.e., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student and social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge and skills that can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.