General Engineer/Physical Scientist (Facility Representative)

Clarification from the agency

Open to United States Citizens

As a General Engineer/Physical Scientist (Facility Representative), you will:

• Ensure contractor management control systems and procedures adhere to NNSA/DOE and national nuclear, radiological and/or industrial safety, and environmental compliance program requirements, policies and practices, and contractual obligations.
• Conduct walk-through inspections of the facilities and/or operations for the purpose of identifying hazards, incidents of non-compliance with standards and guidelines, and potential problem areas.
• Assure activities are performed within approved safe operating envelopes and in compliance with applicable orders, laws, and regulations.
• Make contractor and site management aware of issues and concerns and recommend potential solutions to regulatory, technical and/or programmatic issues and requirements.
• Participate in hearings, meetings, conferences and special working groups with Management & Operating contractor and other subject matter experts; Federal, state, and local regulators (e.g. Environmental Protection Agency, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, etc.), and oversight entitles (e.g. Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board).
• Serve as the primary interface between local NNSA/DOE management and the contractor, and maintain cognizance of all operational activities, both technical and administrative, in providing technical and policy guidance, direction and interpretation.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a United States Citizen.
• 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.
• If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. See www.sss.gov.
• If selected, your appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• This position has been designated as Critical Sensitive/High Risk and requires a security clearance at Q Access. The selectee is required to obtain and maintain this clearance; failure to do so may result in separation from federal service.
• You may be required to pass a polygraph.
• You are required to submit OGE-450, Confidential Financial Disclosure Report within 30 days of entering the position and annually.
• You must be able to obtain certification in the DOE's Technical Qualification Program (TQP) within 18 months of start date. This position is covered by the Technical Qualification Program (TQP), which requires the incumbent to acquire and demonstrate competencies identified in the TQP Functional Area Qualification and Field Office specific standards and requires certification of the competencies by NNSA supervision and TQP qualifying officials. https://ntc.doe.gov/student/stp/techqualprogram
• You must be able to obtain and maintain certification under the Department of Energy Human Reliability Program.
• You will be required to complete a two (2) year trial period unless you have previously completed a trial period in DOE in the same line of work and the prior service contains or is followed by no more than a single break in service that does not exceed 30 calendar days. Employees serving on a trial period may be terminated at any time during the probationary or trial period for performance, conduct, or business-related reasons in the interest of Federal service.

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This position may be filled as a 0801 General Engineer or a 1301 Physical Scientist. Each job series requires applicants to meet a Basic Education Requirement in addition to at least one full year of specialized experience as described below. You must meet all qualifications requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

To qualify for the 1301 Physical Scientist:

EDUCATION:

A. Degree: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics.

OR

B. Combination of education and experience: education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

To qualify for the 0801 General Engineer:

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

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), 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.

• Participating in technical evaluations of operational performance, including evaluations of supporting technical documentation, in a high-hazard facility (i.e., hazards with potential consequences affecting a large number of onsite or offsite personnel);
• Assisting in preparing portions of technical reports, briefing materials or other documentation detailing performance relative to safe and efficient operations or documenting operational incidents, accidents, malfunctions or non-routine operations; and
• Evaluating compliance with health and safety requirements of industrial, nuclear, or non-nuclear facilities.

To qualify for the EN-4 level:
In addition to the education requirements, candidates must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower NNSA pay band or GS grade level in the Federal Service (i.e., EN-03, NN-03, or GS-13). Specialized experience is:

• Conducting technical assessments, audits, or surveillances in a highly hazard facility;
• Preparing technical reports, briefing materials or other documentation detailing performance relative to safe and efficient operations or documenting operational incidents, accidents, malfunctions, or non-routine operations; and
• Overseeing and evaluating compliance with health, safety, and nuclear safety requirements of nuclear facilities.

How you will be evaluated

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

We will review your application to ensure you meet the job requirements. If you meet the qualifications requirements, your application will be referred to the selecting official for further review

To preview the application questionnaire, click the link below.
https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12987543

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

• Your two (2) page resume showing all relevant work experience (paid and unpaid) including: duties performed; full name and address of 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).
• Transcripts. 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. If qualifying on the basis of an alternate method, i.e., professional license, you must submit official documentation to support your claim with your application package. If selected for the position you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to onboarding.

Current and former Federal employees: Submit your most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action which reflects your full position title; appointment type; occupational series; pay plan, grade, and step; tenure code; and service computation date (SCD).

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.

Next steps