Summary
This position is part of the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management - National Energy Technology Laboratory, Department of Energy. As a Safety Engineer, you will support the NETL complex by implementing Safety and Healthy Programs and providing oversight, inspection, and auditing of NETL work.
This job is open to
The public
U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.
Military spouses
Military spouses of active duty service members or whose spouse is 100 percent disabled or died on active duty.
Clarification from the agency
U.S. citizens or U.S. Nationals; Military Spouses; no prior Federal experience is required.
Duties
As a Safety Engineer, you will:
- Serve as an expert in safety for construction and facility maintenance, leading all Safety Analysis and Review System (SARS) activities.
- Create, implement, and monitor safety and health programs to make sure they follow all federal, state, and local laws.
- Offer expert technical advice and recommendations to management, staff, and contractors regarding safety evaluations and compliance.
- Manage our safety and health assessment programs, which include inspections and audits, to find and report dangerous conditions and ensure safety measures are in place.
- Act as the Authority Having Jurisdiction for NETL's Life Safety Code and Fire Safety programs, reviewing relevant projects to ensure they meet code requirements and have proper safeguards.
- Develop and assess our safety goals, objectives, measurements, and targets, and then report on their progress and outcomes.
Requirements
Conditions of employment
- You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
- This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
- 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.
- If selected, you may be required to complete a one year probationary period.
- This position is not remote, the selectee will be expected to report to the duty station(s) listed. If selected, military spouses, veteran caregivers, and spouses of foreign service employees may be eligible for applicable workplace flexibilities.
- Occasional Travel
Qualifications
BASIC REQUIREMENT:A. Degree: professional 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 5 of the 7 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; 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) thorough knowledge of physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional engineering, and (2) good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of 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-Current registration as a professional engineer by any State, 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 are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration.2. Written Test-Evidence of having successfully passed the Engineer-in-Training (EIT) exam, or written test required for professional registration, which is administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners in the various States, 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.
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level. Specialized experience for this position is defined as meeting ALL of the following:
- Develop and monitor safety and health programs to ensure compliance with all federal, state, and local laws, as well as industry standards.
- Conduct accident investigations, perform safety assessments, and carry out inspections to find the underlying causes, decide on necessary corrective steps, and confirm that safety systems are effective.
- Provide technical advice and recommendations on safety issues to help guide decisions that improve overall safety performance.
"Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. 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.
Limit your resume to no more than two (2) pages. If more than two pages are submitted, only the first two pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility and qualifications. Your full resume will be made available to the hiring manager if you are referred.
Time-in-Grade: Current Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement to receive consideration.
You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
Education
This vacancy has a positive education requirement. In order to be rated as qualified, you must provide copies of your college transcripts. Failure to provide copies of your college transcripts may result in a rating of "Ineligible". Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website.
Additional information
- This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies across DOE.
- For general information on government-wide Telework polices visit: www.telework.gov
- Hiring incentives may be authorized in accordance with agency policy and if funding is available.
- Equal employment opportunity policy.
- Reasonable Accommodation Policy: https://www.energy.gov/hc/department-energy-reasonable-accommodation-program
- Veterans Information: https://www.energy.gov/careers/veterans-military-spouses
- Selective Service Registration: http://www.sss.gov/
- The Fair Chance Act prohibits specific inquiries concerning an applicant's criminal or credit background unless the hiring agency has made a
conditional offer of employment to the applicant. An applicant may submit a complaint to the agency within 30 calendar days of the date of alleged noncompliance by completing the Fair Chance Act Intake Form and submitting it to the Administrative Investigations Program at AdministrativeInvestigations@hq.doe.gov.
- Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
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.
Review our benefits
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.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Your application will be assessed based on your responses to an online job knowledge assessment, and you will be placed into one of three pre-defined quality categories under Category Rating procedures. These categories are "Best Qualified", "Well Qualified", and "Qualified". The online job knowledge assessment primarily consists of multiple-choice questions designed to evaluate your understanding of key concepts relevant to this position. Cheating on the assessment may result in removal from consideration.
After it has been determined that you meet the minimum qualifications, and score in the "Best Qualified" category on the job knowledge assessment, Subject Matter Experts (SME) will review your resume to determine and rate your technical qualifications for this position based on your responses to the narrative questions in the application. Responses are limited to 2000 characters. Additional documentation (e.g., cover letter, links embedded in your resume) will not be considered. Your score will place you into one of three pre-defined quality categories under Category Rating procedures. These categories are "Best Qualified", "Well Qualified", and "Qualified". Responses to narrative questions must be prepared solely by the applicant. The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, CoPilot) to draft, edit, or generate responses is strictly prohibited and may result in removal from consideration.
Your application and resume should demonstrate that you possess the following competencies. Do not provide a separate narrative written statement. Rather, you must describe in your resume how your past work experience demonstrates that you possess the competencies identified below. Use specific examples of employment or experience contained in your resume and describe how this experience has prepared you to successfully perform the duties of this position.
- Compliance
- Problem Solving
- Safety Engineering
- Technical Competence
Application of Veterans' Preference: If you are a preference eligible candidate, you will be listed at the top of whichever quality category your rating places you in. CP/CPS veterans are placed at the top of the highest category for all positions except professional and scientific positions at GS-9 and higher.
Non-Competitive Hiring Authority for Military Spouses: If you are a military spouse eligible under this authority, and you meet the minimum qualification requirements for the position, you will be referred to the selecting official for consideration on a separate list specific to only military spouses.
Career Transition Assistance Programs: To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet the eligibility criteria; and 2) be rated "well-qualified", which is defined as scoring in the in Well Qualified category (or higher).
You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date (03/25/2026) of this announcement.
To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click
https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12912958.
Required Documents
To apply for this position, you MUST provide a complete application package which includes:
- Your two (2) pageRESUME showing all relevant work experience (paid and unpaid) including: duties performed; full name and address of the 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).
- Cover Letter, optional, expressing additional information not covered in your resume.
- Transcripts, if specific educational requirements are indicated in this job announcement. 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.
- Veterans' Preference documentation,if applicable, DD-214 Member Copy 4 showing type of discharge/character of service; current active duty members- certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions dated within 120 days; SF-15 Form and related documentation; VA letter. For more information visit the USAJOBS Help Center & OPM CHCOC website for VOW information.
- Career Transition Assistance Program/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program documentation, if applicable(e.g., Certification of Expected Separation, Reduction-In-Force Separation Notice, or Notice of Proposed Removal; SF-50 that documents the RIF separation action; and most recent performance appraisal.) For more information see the OPM Guide to Career Transition.
- Military Spouse, if applicable, Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders authorizing you to accompany the Military member to the new duty permanent station; OR verification of the member's 100% disability (VA Letter); and/or verification of the member's death while on active duty (DD-1300 and Death Certificate) AND verification of the marriage to the service member (i.e., a marriage license or other legal documentation verifying marriage). For more information visit the USAJOBS Help Center.
Incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted. Do not provide photos or list a Social Security Number or date of birth on any attachment.
How to Apply
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section. A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the announcement closing date to receive consideration.
The application process is as follows:
- Read all instructions before you begin.
- Click "Apply Online."
- Complete the application and attach all required documents.
- Submit by 11:59 PM ET on the 03/25/2026.
Resume Tips:
- Max 2 pages and 5MB file size.
- PDF is recommended to preserve formatting; we also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, ODT, or Word (DOC/DOCX). No PDF portfolios.
- Use clear fonts like Lato, Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open Sans, Source Sans Pro, Roboto, or Noto Sans.
- Set 0.5-inch margins.
- Use 14-point font for titles, 10-point for main text.
Managing Your Application:
Support:
- USAJOBS Help: Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/ for login.gov or USAJOBS assistance.
- Application Issues: If you have difficulty applying online, contact the Agency Contact listed in this announcement during business hours. Take screenshots of any system errors.
To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
To verify the status of your application, during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account; applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each application status means, visit:
https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.
Next steps
Once you submit your online application, you will receive a confirmation notification by email that your submission was successful. After the closing of the announcement, we will review applications. If you are among the most qualified candidates and your name is referred to the hiring official, you may be contacted directly for a possible interview. We will notify you of the status of your Application Package at the time candidates are referred for consideration, and when the selection process is complete.
If you are interested in being added to our Schedule A or 30% or more Disabled Veterans repository, please submit your information by using the below links.
https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/859568600 - 30 Percent or More Disabled Veteran Repository 2026 for Department of Energy Headquarters and their associated field offices.
https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/859568900 - Schedule A Repository 2026 for Department of Energy Headquarters and their associated field offices.