Clarification from the agency

This position is being advertised under Direct-Hire Authority. Under this authority, competitive rating, ranking and veterans' preference procedures do not apply.

As a General Engineer, you will perform the following duties:

• Conducts studies of major categories of commodities and technical data in terms of their potential for unwanted technology transfer, and of technology transfer mechanisms of controlled commodities and technical data to identify effective control techniques and strategies.
• Monitors technology transfer developments and prepares analysis and recommendations, as appropriate, to keep the export control system grounded on a sound technical foundation.
• Integrates U.S. industry's economic/regulatory concerns into the Bureau's development of regulations and the Export Control Reform Act of 2018.
• Represents the Bureau and the Department's position at interagency meetings.
• Establishes and maintains contacts with exporters and manufacturers to provide technical advice for specific transactions and to remain informed on commodity and industry developments.
• Prepares technical analysis reports that evaluate the strategic applications of many of the commodities described on the Commerce Control List (CCL).

This Job Opportunity Announcement may be used to fill other General Engineer GS-0801-13, Full Performance Level (FPL) positions within the Department of Commerce in the same geographical location with the same qualifications and specialized experience.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
• This position requires a TOP SECRET/SCI CLEARANCE. You must be able to obtain and maintain the required clearance.
• You must successfully pass a background investigation. This may include a credit check, a review of financial issues, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use of possession of drugs.
• A sprobationary period may be required.
• Selective Service: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/).
• If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application.
• All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
• Bargaining Unit Position: No
• Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE form 450): Yes
• Permanent Change of Duty Station (PCS) Expense: will not be paid
• License required: No
• Drug Test Required: Yes. You will be required to submit to pre-employment testing to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment and random drug testing thereafter.
• Pre-employment physical required: No
• Two-Page Resume Limit: Resumes must not be more than two standard single-sided pages (or one page if submitting a front and back, hard-copy).

Qualifications

Basic Education 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) 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).

Specialized Experience Requirement: To qualify at the GS-13 grade level, you must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as:

• Applying engineering experience to analyze policies associated with commodities or technologies relevant to one or more of the following areas: Semiconductors, (including semiconductor manufacturing (e.g., covering material characterization, electrical testing, process modeling, or yield analysis), Lasers systems (e.g., optics, propagation physics, beam diagnostics, thermal effects), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) systems, computer science, electronics systems; and
• Collaborating with engineering and program management personnel on engineering projects on a wide range of commodities and technologies.

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government.

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.

How you will be evaluated

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

Under the provisions of the Direct-Hire Authority (DHA), rating, ranking and veterans' preference does not apply. While veterans' preference does not apply in DHA, preference eligibles are encouraged to submit their supporting documentation (DD-214 stating disposition of discharge or character of service, VA letter, SF-15, etc.).

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., two-page resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the USA Hire assessment.

Applicants who meet the qualification requirements, as defined in the job opportunity announcement, will be referred for selection consideration.

CTAP/ICTAP Applicants: Applicants applying as CTAP or ICTAP candidates, and who are determined CTAP or ICTAP eligible, must exceed the minimum qualification requirements to be referred under this selection priority placement program by attaining at least a rating of 85 out of 100. The resume, supporting documents, responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position will be assessed. CTAP/ICTAP eligibles who are not determined well-qualified by scoring at least 85 will not be referred under the CTAP/ICTAP selection priority placement program; however, you will be referred for selection consideration for those eligibilities where you have selected "Yes".

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

The technical assessment will evaluate you on the following competencies; please do not provide a separate written response:

• Technical Competence (General Engineering)
• Strategic Thinking
• Technical Credibility
• Planning and Evaluating
• Judgement
• Reading
• Reasoning
• Interaction

To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. Do NOT include the following types of information in your resume/application. If any are included, you will be deemed INELIGIBLE for consideration.

• Classified or government sensitive information
• Social Security Number (SSN)
• Photos of yourself
• Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.

To preview the questionnaire, click the following link:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12891421

A complete application consists of the following:

• Resume (that should not exceed two pages in length) which shows relevant experience; cover letter optional. If more than two pages are submitted for the resume, only the first two pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications. Your resume should list your educational and work experience including the dates (mm/dd/yy) of each employment along with the number of hours worked per week, if less than 40. Your resume may be used to validate your responses to the qualifications/assessments. Your resume should also indicate your citizenship and if you are registered with the Selective Service System if you are a male born after 12/31/59. Refer to the "How you will be Evaluated' section for types of information not to include in your resume/application.

• Veterans' documentation may be submitted, i.e., DD-214 stating disposition of discharge or character of service, VA letter, SF-15, etc.

• Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) documentation, if applicable.
  • CTAP or ICTAP applicant(s), MUST submit the following documents:
    • A copy of your specific RIF notice; notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate; or a Certificate of Expected Separation (CES); or certification that you are in a surplus organization or occupation (this could be a position abolishment letter, a notice eligibility for discontinued service retirement, or similar notice); or notice of disability annuity termination; or certification from your former agency that it cannot place you after your recovery from a compensable injury; or certification from the National Guard Bureau or Military Department that you are eligible for disability retirement; or a copy of your SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action" documenting your RIF separation, noting your positions, grade level, and duty location, and/or Agency certification of inability to place you through RPL, etc;
    • Any documentation from your agency that shows your latest performance appraisal rating; AND
    • Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.

• Education. This position requires proof of higher education. You must submit an unofficial (or official) transcript or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to http://www.opm.gov/qualifications/policy/ApplicationOfStds-04.asp for more information.

• Certain Military Spouses:
  • Spouse of a member of the armed forces serving on active duty:
    • A copy of the service member's active duty orders specifying they are currently on active duty, AND documentation verifying marriage to the member of the armed forces.
  • Spouse of service member who incurred a 100% disability:
    • A copy of the service member's DD-214 showing the service member retired or was released or discharged from active duty, a copy of a VA letter indicating the service member has a disability rating of 100 percent or more due to a service-connected disability, AND documentation verifying marriage to the member of the armed forces.
  • Un-remarried widow or widower of a service member killed while performing active duty:
    • A copy of the service member's DD-214 showing the service member was released or discharged from active duty due to their death while on active duty; documentation verifying the service member was killed performing active duty (DD 1300); documentation verifying marriage to the service member at the time the service member is killed while on active duty; AND a statement certifying you are the un-married widow or widower of the service member.

• Are you a current or former political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee? Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:
  • Position title;
  • Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee);
  • Agency; and
  • Beginning and ending dates of appointment.

You are not required to submit official documents at this time; copies are sufficient.

Failure to provide such documents when requested may result in lost consideration.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: See Note in Education Section for additional information.

Next steps