Fire Protection Engineer

Clarification from the agency

U.S. citizens or U.S. Nationals; Military Spouses; no prior Federal experience is required.

As a Fire Protection Engineer, you will:

• Develop and manage all elements of the fire protection and life safety programs for Department of Energy (DOE) Headquarters, serving as the primary expert and authority.
• Act as the official "system owner" for headquarters' fire alarms, sprinklers, and other life safety systems, providing expert technical direction for their modification, replacement, or addition.
• Prepare, evaluate, and approve facility drawings, construction plans, and technical specifications to ensure full compliance with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes and other regulations.
• Resolve complex or controversial life safety issues with the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) and provides authoritative advice to senior management.
• Design and conduct fire safety training programs, lead awareness campaigns, and coordinate Occupant Emergency Plans.
• Lead multidisciplinary teams in conducting building surveys and fire safety investigations to identify hazards, evaluate risks, and confirm that deficiencies are corrected.

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by a background investigation.
• May be required to successfully complete a probationary period.
• This position does not support 100% remote work. You will be required to report physically to the official reporting worksite as specified by the supervisor, but no less than 2 days per pay period.
• You are required to submit a Financial Disclosure Statement, OGE-450, Executive Branch Personnel Confidential Financial Disclosure Report within 30 days of entering the position and annually.
• This position is a Testing Designated Position (TDP) subject to applicant testing and random drug testing thereafter. Failure to test or a positive result on random drug tests conducted after appointment may result in removal from Federal employment.
• This position has been designated as High Risk and requires a security clearance at the Q. The incumbent is required to obtain and maintain this clearance; failure to do so may result in separation from federal service.
• This position is included in the Department of Energy's Technical Qualification Program (TQP). The selectee must meet core, position, and site-specific technical qualification standards within 18 months from the date of placement in the position.
• Position requires incumbent to possess a Fire Protection Professional Engineer license.
• Occasional travel may be required.

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENT:
0804, Fire Protection Engineer 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
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 1 For more information about EI and EIT registration requirements, please visit the National Society of Professional Engineers website at: http://www.nspe.org.2 The FE examination is not administered by the U. S. Office of Personnel Management. For more information, please visit: http://www.nspe.org/Licensure/HowtoGetLicensed/index.html. 2 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.)

In addition to meeting the basic requirements above, candidates must possess the specialized experience as described below.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-13) in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position is defined as meeting 3 of 4 of the following:

1. Develop fire protection and building safety programs for large, complex facilities (such as commercial office buildings, industrial facilities, or research laboratories.
2. Review and approve architectural and engineering drawings, facility design plans, and technical specifications to verify compliance with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) codes and standards.
3. Lead facility surveys, safety inspections, or fire incident investigations to identify hazardous conditions to develop engineering plans to eliminate or control those hazards.
4. Negotiate and secure approvals for code variances or equivalencies with building officials, fire marshals, or other regulatory authorities.

Education cannot be substituted for specialized experience at the GS-14 grade level.

"Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. 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.

Limit your resume to no more than two (2) pages. If more than two pages are submitted, only the first two pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility and qualifications. Your full resume will be made available to the hiring manager if you are referred.

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

How you will be evaluated

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

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

Once the application process is complete, your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications. If you are minimally qualified for this job, your responses to the self-assessment questions (True/False, Yes/ No, Multiple Choice questions) will be evaluated and you will be placed into one of three pre-defined quality categories under Category Rating procedures. These categories are "Best Qualified", "Well Qualified", and "Qualified. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Design
• Engineering and Technology
• Fire Management
• Flexibility
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Reasoning
• Safety Engineering
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork
• Technical Competence

Application of Veterans' Preference: If you are a preference eligible candidate, you will be listed at the top of whichever quality category your rating places you in. CP/CPS veterans are placed at the top of the highest category for all positions except professional and scientific positions at GS-9 and higher.

Career Transition Assistance Programs: To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet the eligibility criteria; and 2) be rated "well-qualified", which is defined as scoring in the Well Qualified category (or higher).

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date (07/13/2026) of this announcement.

To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12991336

To apply for this position, you MUST provide a complete application package which includes:

• Your RESUME showing all relevant work experience (paid and unpaid) including: duties performed; full name and address of the each employer; start and end dates (month/day/year); work schedule (part-time, full-time, number of hours if intermittent); salary; and any completed education and training (program title, subject area, number of hours completed, and completion date).
• Cover Letter, optional, expressing additional information not covered in your resume.
• Transcripts, if specific educational requirements are indicated in this job announcement.Unofficial transcripts or any report listing institution, course title, credits earned (semester or quarter hour) and final grade is acceptable. It is your responsibility to provide adequate proof that you meet the educational requirements.
• Veterans' Preference documentation,if applicable, DD-214 Member Copy 4 showing type of discharge/character of service; current active duty members- certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions dated within 120 days; SF-15 Form and related documentation; VA letter. For more information visit the USAJOBS Help Center & OPM CHCOC website for VOW information.
• Career Transition Assistance Program/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program documentation, if applicable(e.g., Certification of Expected Separation, Reduction-In-Force Separation Notice, or Notice of Proposed Removal; SF-50 that documents the RIF separation action; and most recent performance appraisal.) For more information see the OPM Guide to Career Transition.

Failure to submit any of the above mentioned required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted. Do not provide photos or list a Social Security Number or date of birth on any attachment.

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