Qualifications
You must currently be a licensed Professional Engineer (PE) if applying for the 0801 series. You must be a Registered Architect (RA) if applying for the 0808 series. Your license or registration must be held in a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory of the United States. You MUST provide a copy of your current license/registration with your application.
A copy of a wall certificate that does not have an expiration date will not serve to verify this requirement.
Your resume must also demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-12 grade level or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following: 1) Planning, designing, and sketching overall solutions for architectural and engineering features of various complex and unusually difficult projects for preliminary as well as final design purposes; 2) Providing advice and recommendations concerning general architectural & engineering methods and systems as necessary to develop and coordinate projects for design, repair, alteration, rehabilitation, installation, improvement or demolition; 3) Performing basic architectural and/or engineering studies and investigations to determine the most economical methods of fulfilling a program requirement; 4) Reviewing the work by team members and Architect-Engineer (AE) consultants for conformance with applicable criteria to ensure safety, quality, cost effectiveness, and to ensure that Congressional, environmental, and administrative constraints on project scope and cost are not exceeded or violated; 5) Providing post construction award services (PCAS), including review and approval of contractor's submittals for conformance with the requirements of the contract drawings and specifications.
Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website:
Architecture Series 0808
opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf
Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (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.
Education
In addition to the above specialized experience and professional registration requirements, you must also possess the following basic requirements:
If you are applying for the 0801 (General Engineering) series - You must possess a bachelor's degree in engineering. To be acceptable, the curriculum must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; 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. YOU MUST SUBMIT A COMPLETE COPY OF YOUR TRANSCRIPTS.
OR
Have a 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 professional 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: Professional registration -- Current registration as a professional engineer by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico; Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Engineer-in-Training (EIT) examination, or the written test required for professional registration, which is administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico; Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and in engineering that included the courses specified in the basic requirements; Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering technology or in an appropriate professional field, e.g., physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance.
If you are applying for the 0808 (Architecture) series - You must possess a Bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited college or university in architecture or a related field that included 60 semester hours of course work in architecture or related disciplines of which at least (1) 30 semester hours were in architectural design, and (2) 6 semester hours were in each of the following: structural technology, properties of materials and methods of construction, and environmental control systems.
OR
Have a combination of college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished a thorough knowledge of the arts and sciences underlying professional architecture, and a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the architectural principles, methods, and techniques and their applications to the design and construction or improvement of buildings. The adequacy of such background is demonstrated by at least one of the following: 1) Related Curriculum: Degree from an accredited college or university in architectural engineering may be accepted as satisfying in full the basic requirements, provided the completed course work in architectural engineering provided knowledge, skills, and abilities substantially equivalent to those provided in the courses specified in response A; 2) Experience: An applicant lacking a degree in architecture must have had one year of experience in an architect's office or in architectural work for each year short of graduation from a program of study in architecture. In the absence of college courses, 5 years of such experience is required. This experience must have demonstrated that the applicant has acquired a thorough knowledge of the fundamental principles and theories of professional architecture.
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.