Duties
This position is emergency essential. Depending on the type of emergency the employee may be required to report to work during emergency situations.
Fire Protection Engineering:
Serves as an expert fire protection engineer with responsibility for developing procedures, methods, designs, plans, and specifications for fire prevention, fire protection, and fire detection in historical buildings of major size and complexity. Interprets Life Safety Code requirements for application and relevance and writes technical and administrative policies
Analyzes and compiles data from property loss and damage by fire in order to determine causes of fire. Evaluates effectiveness of prevention and protection measures for facilities.
Interprets Life Safety Code requirements for application and relevance and writes technical and administrative policies
Fire Protection Program Management:
Serves as professional authority for plans and specifications of new construction; modification, alteration, or additions to buildings, structures, and utilities; for technical sufficiency of incorporated fire prevention and protection facilities.
Recommends approval of specifications and drawings, samples, and material certifications submitted by contractors for contract and performance requirements.
Prepares correspondence, technical reports, estimates, fact sheets, status reports, and schedules as required to complete project assignment.
As COTR, prepares scopes of work, independent government estimates (IGEs), and actively manages maintenance and preventative maintenance contracts related to life safety, fire suppression systems, sprinkler systems, fire alarm systems, etc.
Coordinates with other engineers and architects in design development to ensure that all technical areas are covered, areas of overlapping responsibilities between technical disciplines receive proper design consideration, and that the total project objectives and schedules are met.
Consults with construction contractor personnel to resolve difficult and complex unforeseen problems and latent conditions developing during construction and, based on the condition, prepares sketches or change drawings and specifications solving the problem and incorporates these change documents into the contract performance documents.
Develops the designs, plans, and specifications for fire protection and fire detection systems of major size and complexity for use in structures, buildings, and facilities including various types of industrial shops and multi-story administrative support buildings.
Serves as Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) on assigned projects.
Performs other related duties as assigned.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- You must be a U.S. Citizen.
- You must be able to pass a drug test.
- Your resume and question responses must demonstrate the job-related KSAs.
- You must meet the definition of specialized experience.
- You must meet education requirements for Engineers.
To be employed by the Architect of the Capitol in a paid position, an individual must meet one of the categories below:
- A citizen of the United States;
- A person who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence and is seeking citizenship as outlined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)(B);
- A person who is admitted as a refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157 or is granted asylum under 8 U.S.C. 1158 and has filed a declaration of intention to become a lawful permanent resident and then a citizen when eligible;
- A person who owes allegiance to the United States (nationals of American Samoa, Swains Island, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and nationals who meet other requirements described in 8 U.S.C. 1408); or
- A person who is currently an officer or employee of the Government of the United States.
Qualifications
You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on the OPM web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications.
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 is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level.
Candidates for the GS-12 grade level must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower GS-11 grade level in the Federal service.
Specialized experience is defined as having experience in 4 the following 5:
1) Oversees and evaluating complex fire protection delivery systems.
2) Conducts fire safety surveys of government buildings.
3) Consults with construction contractor personnel to resolve difficult and complex unforeseen problems
4) Participates in design and design reviews for fire protection engineering aspects of facilities and construction projects.
5.) Inspects facilities to assess compliance with OSHA policies and/or NFPA standards
Candidates for the GS-13 grade level must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower GS-12 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position includes:
Specialized experience is defined as having experience in all of the following:
1) Oversees and evaluating complex fire protection delivery systems.
2) Conducts fire safety surveys of government buildings.
3) Consults with construction contractor personnel to resolve difficult and complex unforeseen problems
4) Participates in design and design reviews for fire protection engineering aspects of facilities and construction projects.
5) Inspects facilities to assess compliance with OSHA policies and/or NFPA standards
Education
In addition to the required specialized experience, you must meet the following:
The Ideal candidate has a Fire Protection Engineering degree.
Requirements for Engineers:
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
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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.)
For additional information on General Schedule Qualifications Standards for professional engineering positions, please visit:
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf
Special Instructions for Foreign Education:
Education completed outside of the United States must be deemed equivalent to that gained in conventional/accredited U.S. education programs to be acceptable for Federal employment.
Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part of foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree.
You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing if selected.
***A copy of your transcript(s) will be required upon selection***
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
A variety of health insurance plans; retirement system with investment options; paid holidays; paid sick and annual (vacation) leave; life insurance; incentive systems; subsidized transportation; training and development opportunities, etc.
The Architect of the Capitol offers eligible employees opportunity to participate in the Student Loan Repayment Program.
Selected applicant(s) may be eligible to earn a higher annual leave accrual rate credit towards annual leave accrual based on prior non-Federal or uniformed service work experience. The amount of service credit will be based on specialized experience or qualifying experience that is provided on the applicant profile submitted. As such, if you are a new employee to the Federal Government or a rehire, it is important that you provide a work history that lists all directly related positions held, and it must include the dates of employment (month/day/year).
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Review your resume and responses carefully. Your eligibility for consideration and qualifications for the position will be determined based upon a review of your detailed resume and your responses to job specific self-assessment questions.
Your resume will be evaluated based on evidence of your ability to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) for this position, possession of any specialized experience, and how well your background and experience relates to the self-assessment questions in the job announcement. The self-assessment questions relate to the following knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies:
Design: Knowledge in designing, customizing, overseeing and evaluating complex fire protection delivery systems.
Fire Management: knowledge of and understanding fire protection engineering concepts, principles, and practices.
Project Management: Knowledge in applying professional interpretations, policies, principles, new methods and techniques and novel applications to a variety of life safety and fire issues to meet statutory and regulatory laws.
Communication: Knowledge in developing and applying procedures, methods, designs, plans, and specifications for fire prevention and fire protection.
Your responses to the self assessment questions serve as the basis for your initial rating. You will receive a numerical score based on your responses to these questions. Next, your responses will be evaluated by a Human Resources Specialist and/or a subject matter expert against the information provided in your resume and optional cover letter. Your resume must support your answers to the self assessment questions. Falsifying your background, education, and/or experience is cause for not hiring you or disqualification for further consideration.
Please note that a complete application is required for consideration. (Please review the “Required Documents” section of this job announcement to see what must be included in a complete application).
You may preview questions for this vacancy.
How to Apply
You MUST apply online. FORMS RECEIVED BY FAX, EMAIL OR U.S. POSTAL SERVICE DELIVERY WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
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NEED HELP?
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All required supporting documents will be collected electronically via the USAJobs “Saved Documents” feature.
If you are unable to apply on-line, you may visit our Employment Center for technical assistance in entering your application. The Employment Center is located at 441 Second & D Streets S.W., Washington, D.C., Room H2-178, and is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. You may call (202) 226-7000 for directions.
Next steps
You will receive a notice generated by the USAJobs System when you have successfully submitted your application. We will review your application and transcript(s) (if you are qualifying based on education) to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements.
You can check the status of your application by logging into http://www.usajobs.gov. You may also sign up to receive automatic emails anytime the status of your application has changed by logging into your USAJobs Account, editing your profile and changing the ‘Notification Settings’ to indicate that you want to be notified by email when the status changes. Information regarding the status of your application should be updated in the system within 2 weeks after the closing date of this job announcement.