Qualifications
To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must (1) meet the Education Requirement for the series, (2) provide a copy of transcripts for verification, AND (3) meet either the education or experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.
To qualify for the GS-12, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-11 in the following:
- Experience planning, initiating, and working on mechanical, electrical, and/or engineering programs.
- Experience conducting reviews, examinations and testing of motor vehicles and equipment or other complex mechanical systems, and the evaluation and reporting of test results.
- Experience writing and editing engineering test reports and test procedures.
- Experience conducting investigations, performing root cause analysis, and using various problem-solving techniques.
You cannot qualify on education at the GS-12 level; you must have experience.
To qualify for the GS-13, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-12 in the following:
- Experience planning, initiating, and working on mechanical, electrical, and/or engineering programs related directly to the motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment industries.
- Experience conducting reviews, examinations, and testing of motor vehicles and equipment, and the evaluation and reporting of test results, including experience writing and editing engineering test reports and test procedures.
- Experience conducting investigations including performing root cause analysis in the motor vehicle or motor vehicle equipment industries and using various problem-solving techniques.
- Experience providing cradle-to-grave contractual support to enable execution of technical programs.
You cannot qualify on education at the GS-13 level; you must have experience.
To qualify for the GS-14, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-13 in the following:
- Experience applying engineering principles and project management concepts to plan, implement, manage and report on testing of and investigations into Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) related to motor vehicle equipment, with emphasis on motorcycle vehicle lighting or child restraint systems, and a demonstrated ability to set priorities, establish and meet deadlines.
- Experience applying federal statutes, regulations, and authorities, as well as developing policies and test procedures to evaluate, analyze, and present technical information pertaining to enforcement of FMVSS while exhibiting professionalism and sound judgment.
- Experience communicating complex technical ideas orally and in writing, including the ability to write and edit technical documents in an effective, clear, and concise manner, and performing oral presentations to audiences of technical and non-technical backgrounds.
- Current certification as a level II, or greater, contracting officer representative (COR) and experience serving as the primary COR for active compliance testing contracts.
You cannot qualify on education at the GS-14 level; you must have experience.
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:
- Demonstrated knowledge and experience conducting reviews, examinations or testing of motor vehicles and equipment: or the testing of other complex electrical/mechanical systems and the evaluation and reporting of test results.
- Ability to plan, implement, manage and report on engineering test programs.
- Ability to express technical ideas orally and in writing, including the ability to write and edit engineering test reports and test procedures.
- Ability to set priorities, establish and meet deadlines.
- Knowledge of federal standards pertaining to motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment with a special emphasis on FMVSS regulating child restraint systems and motor vehicle lighting.
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/frequently-asked-questions/employment-faq/federal-hiring/how-do-i-apply-for-federal-jobs/
Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within six months of closing date of the announcement. Graduation transcript must be received before start date.
Other applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
Education
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.