Interdisciplinary Branch Chief for Engineering or Architecture

Clarification from the agency

This is a Merit Promotion announcement for Department of the Interior (DOI) employees who are current Career or Career-Conditional Employees in the competitive service; Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) eligibles; CTAP eligibles.

• Provides national leadership for engineering programs supporting wildland fire facilities, infrastructure, and related systems.
• Plans, directs, and oversees the design, construction, renovation, rehabilitation, and modernization of fire facilities and infrastructure.
• Applies advanced engineering and architectural principles to evaluate facility condition, reliability, risk, readiness, and operational effectiveness.
• Directs multidisciplinary engineering work and ensures compliance with applicable codes, design standards, and agency requirements.
• Establishes and manages project controls for cost, schedule, scope, quality, and risk to ensure successful project delivery.
• Develops, interprets, and implements engineering policies, standards, specifications, technical guidance, and design criteria.
• Provides expert technical advice and recommendations to leadership, engineering professionals, contractors, and stakeholders on complex engineering issues.
• Oversees facility asset data, analytics, reporting, and lifecycle management to support infrastructure planning and investment decisions.
• Coordinates with federal, state, local, tribal, and private-sector partners on engineering initiatives, facility projects, and infrastructure programs.
• Ensures compliance with environmental requirements, safety standards, building codes, risk management practices, and quality assurance processes.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. citizenship required.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service or qualify for an exemption.
• Must successfully complete a background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Federal salary payments are made by direct deposit per Public Law 104-134.
• Must be at least 18 years old by the announcement closing date.
• May be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime, and shift work.
• Must complete required training and obtain/maintain a government travel and/or purchase charge card.
• This is a drug-testing position. A negative pre-employment drug test is required, and the position is subject to random drug testing.
• Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license and operate a government vehicle as required.

This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated.

Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement.

For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your 2 page resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time or part-time, hours must be included). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience. Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. You may only submit one resume. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed. If an applicant's resume is incomplete or does not support the requirements for minimum qualifications or specialized experience a rating of "ineligible" or "not qualified" will be applied and no consideration for employment will be granted.

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE:

In addition to the education requirements described above, the following additional experience and/or education for the grade specified is required.

GS-14: Applicants must have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS/GW-13 level, or higher in the Federal service, or equivalent. Examples of specialized experience include: Served as a senior engineer responsible for planning, designing, evaluating, and managing complex facilities, infrastructure, and engineering systems supporting organizational operations on a regional or national scale. Directed multidisciplinary engineering projects involving facility construction, renovation, modernization, asset management, and lifecycle planning, ensuring compliance with applicable codes, standards, safety requirements, and federal regulations. Developed engineering policies, standards, technical guidance, and design criteria, and provided expert consultation to leadership, engineering staff, contractors, and stakeholders on complex technical and operational issues. Managed project portfolios, budgets, schedules, contracts, and risk mitigation activities, resolving challenging engineering problems and ensuring successful project delivery. Analyzed facility condition, reliability, readiness, and asset data to support investment strategies, infrastructure planning, performance measurement, and long-term capital improvement programs. Coordinated with federal, state, local, and private-sector partners to advance engineering initiatives, support organizational objectives, and recommend resource allocations, infrastructure improvements, and operational readiness requirements.

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.

To receive consideration for this position, you must provide updated required documents and meet all qualification and Time-In-Grade 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.

Upon receipt of a completed application package, the Servicing Human Resources Office will review your resume and supporting documentation to determine whether you meet the minimum qualification requirements described in this announcement.

Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages. Resumes longer than two pages will not be reviewed. Applicants may submit only one resume. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine qualifications and eligibility. If more than one resume is submitted, only the most recent submission will be reviewed.

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., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessments required for this position. A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Assessment Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score will be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you can lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions can affect your rating.

Candidates who apply under Competitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are highly qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Best qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

Candidates who apply under Noncompetitive Merit Promotion procedures will undergo a quality review to determine if they are minimally qualified based on the content of their resume and their responses to the questionnaire. Qualified candidates will be referred if all required supporting documentation has been provided.

You will be evaluated on the following competencies:

• Accountability
• Architecture
• Building and Construction
• Design
• Structural Engineering
• Supervisory Skills
• Technical Competence

The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 07/01/2026:

1. Resume: Must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, full-time, part time, etc.). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience. If an applicant's resume is incomplete or does not support the requirements for minimum qualifications or specialized experience a rating of "ineligible" or "not qualified" will be applied and no consideration for employment will be granted. If military or civilian, please include your rank and/or grade.
   • The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text. Headers may be slightly larger but must remain legible. All resumes must maintain a minimum 0.5-inch margins on all sides to ensure readability and prevent excessive content compression. Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions are prohibited and will not be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.
2. Complete All Required Assessments.
3. Merit Promotion Eligibility Documentation such as:
   • Federal employees must submit a copy of their latest SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action" that reflects career or career-conditional tenure (such as the initial hire, promotion, or reassignment) showing position title, series, grade and tenure (please do not submit an Award SF-50) and, if different, an SF-50 showing highest permanent grade ever held. Time in grade will be determined by reviewing your resume and required SF-50's.
   • If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess the one-year time-in-grade, as required by this announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade, such as a Within Grade Increase.
   • Veterans Preference Documentation (e.g. DD-214, SF-15 (with required documentation), VA Letter as appropriate)
   • Documentation for the Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) eligibility, which includes ALL Appointment AND Termination SF-50s for EACH appointment as well as ALL performance evaluations, for each qualifying period of temporary employment claimed, or a statement why a performance appraisal is missing for any timeframe.
4. Other Supporting Documents, if applicable, such as:
   • Veterans Preference Documentation:
     • If you are a Discharged, Non-Disabled Veteran, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing character of discharge (Member 4 copy), or other Documentation of Service and Separation under Honorable Conditions, as listed on the SF15. If you don't have your DD-214, you may request it after discharge from the National Archives.
     • If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement from active duty, 2) under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, & 6) dated within 120 days of your separation.
     • If you are a Disabled Veteran, Purple Heart Recipient, or Mother or Spouse of a Disabled or Deceased Veteran, you must submit all additional proof required by the SF15, and if applicable, a completed SF15. You may request a copy of your Department of Veterans Affairs letter from www.ebenefits.va.gov or call 1-800-827-1000 to establish proof of disability.
5. Performance Appraisals and Awards:
   • All applicants must submit their most recent performance appraisal showing the official rating of record and signed by a supervisor. If submitting a performance appraisal not dated within the last 18 months, OR
   • A statement as to why it is the most recent must be submitted. If no performance appraisal is available, applicants must submit a statement as to why it is not available (including if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level).
6. College transcripts, showing basic education requirement is met.
7. Documentation for Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Plan consideration if you are a displaced Federal employee within the local commuting area. You must include: 1) Proof you are a displaced Federal employee, e.g., RIF Separation Notice, Notice of Proposed Removal, etc.; 2) SF-50s (Notifications of Personnel Action) showing career/conditional tenure competitive status, promotion potential and duty location; and 3) your most recent performance appraisal. To exercise selection priority, displaced or surplus Federal employees must be rated well-qualified or above 85 on the rating criteria for this position.

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