INTERDISCIPLINARY General Engineer/Physical Scientist

As an Interdisciplinary General Engineer/Physical Scientist, you will:

• Be the lead for the Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Office (IEDO) technical subprogram in cement and concrete industry decarbonization Use sound technical judgment and initiative to resolve the challenges of changing conditions and other problems relative to the assigned projects and programs.
• Use physics, chemistry, materials science and/or Mechanical, chemical and/or civil engineering theories, principles, and practices.
• Analyze situations, identify problems, probe causes, and recommends courses of action or solutions.
• Work closely with a team, perform assessments, clearly and concisely document assessment results, and present findings orally and in writing to the approval authority.
• Coordinate with related engineering and physical science fields adequate to effectively discuss technical points and to recommend acceptable engineering solutions to problems.
• Perform and interpret calculations, analyses, and computations for unknown factors or relationships primarily in the matters of factual nature of involving well understood mechanisms.
• Provide scientific advice and guidance to officials, managers, scientists, and engineer.
• Serve as an expert for a significant segment of a specific area in one or more of the following: cement and concrete materials development, industrial decarbonization technologies, environmental and sustainability research; basic energy sciences; other areas of industrial decarbonization, and workforce development.
• Provide technical guidance on proposed research projects and programs of interest.
• Coordinate, implement, and evaluate segments of research programs in the assigned area of responsibility.
• Assemble essential information on topics of assigned segments of research through various source materials.
• Serve as project manager for activities across the office and subprogram
• Write and edit scientific and other communications including emails, reports, whitepapers, funding announcements, slides for presentations, etc.
• Give presentations in various settings including with stakeholders and at conferences.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Subject to satisfactory security and suitability requirements.
• May be required to successfully complete a 1-year probationary period.
• Appointments made with this authority may be processed as a new appointment into the Civil Service.
• This position is included in a Bargaining Agreement.
• This position does not support 100% remote work. You will be required to report physically to the official reporting worksite as specified by the supervisor, but no less than 2 days per pay period.

Qualifications

You must meet both the Basic Requirement and the Specialized Experience to qualify for this series as described below. See the Education section for the Basic Requirement.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

The specialized experience listed are the minimum requirements for the series, each particular vacancy may have additional experience necessary to meet the applicable grade level.

A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position is defined as:

You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-12). Specialized experience for this position is defined as meeting at least 2 of 4 of the following:

• Applying advanced engineering or scientific practices to research, analyze, interpret, and evaluate results of programs, projects, or processes;
• Planning and conducting complex engineering or scientific studies that included determining the relevancy and use of aesthetic, factual, economic/financial, engineering, or scientific information, in order to evaluate and recommend ways to improve program or process efficiency;
• Performing and interpreting calculations, analyses, and computations that involved unknown factors or relationships to develop recommendations for coordinating projects or programs in an efficient and cost-effective manner;
• Reviewing engineering or scientific reports or written evaluations to ensure quality and accuracy.

NOTE: There is no substitution of education for specialized experience for this position.

"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.

OPM Qualification Standards for the GS-0801 series can be found at the following website: OPM Qualification Standards for the GS-0801 series.

OPM Qualification Standards for the GS-1301 series can be found at the following website: OPM Qualification Standards for the GS-1301 series.

CTAP/ICTAP candidates: To be considered "well qualified" you must meet all of the requirements as described in this section.

This public notice may be used to fill multiple positions as needed; therefore, applicants must meet the qualifications at the time certificates are requested.

Education

BASIC REQUIREMENT FOR 0801 SERIES:

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

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:

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.

Written Test - - Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)2 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.

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.

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.)

BASIC REQUIREMENT FOR 1301 SERIES

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.

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".

If substituting education for specialized experience you must submit proof of your qualifying education. Failure to provide 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

The U.S. Department of Energy fosters a diverse and inclusive workplace and is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

• Hiring incentives may be authorized in accordance with regulation and policy.
• For general information on government-wide Telework polices visit: www.telework.gov
• Status and Non-Status applicants from outside DOE selected under this authority are required to serve a mandatory one (1) year probationary period. A DOE career status employee selected for this position may be required to serve a new one (1) year probationary period, pursuant to 5 CFR 315.802.
• If you believe that you are eligible for the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), please visit the OPM ICTAP/CTAP website for more information. In order to be considered under the ICTAP program, your application must score within the pre-established "well qualified" category as stated in the Qualifications section.
• New employees to the Department of Energy will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify
• Veterans and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. For more information, please visit the links at the bottom of this page or visit the FedsHireVets website.
• All males born after December 31st 1959 must abide by laws regarding Selective Service registration. To learn more about this law, visit the Selective Service web page, Who Must Register. If you are not registered and don't have an approved exemption, you will not be eligible for employment with the Federal government.
• EEO Policy: https://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/EEO_Policy_Statement
• Reasonable Accommodation Policy: https://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/Reasonable_Accommodation_Policy_Statement
• Veterans Information: https://help.usajobs.gov/index.php/Veterans_Information
• Selective Service Registration: http://www.sss.gov/

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

This position is announced under a government-wide Direct Hire Authority (DHA) for General Engineering positions in the GS-0801 series and Physical Science positions in the GS-1301 series. Under this Direct-Hire authority, applicants are required to meet minimum qualification requirements. Veteran's Preference, Schedule A, Category Rating, and other methods of consideration DO NOT APPLY under Direct-Hire Authority regulations.

Appointments made under this authority will be processed as new appointments to the Civil Service. Current Civil Service employees would, therefore, be given new appointments to the Civil Service. Current Federal employees may be required to serve a new probationary period (5 CFR 315.802(b).

If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses you provided in your online questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation before the vacancy closes, you may be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score may be adjusted accordingly.

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date (01/12/2024) of this announcement.

To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click here.

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:

• You must have a login.gov account to sign into USAJOBS: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/account/.
• To begin the application process in USAJOBS, click the Apply Online button.
• Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all required and supporting documentation.
• You must click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 pm (ET) on the announcement closing date.

You may update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period by returning to your USAJOBS account, select Update Application: https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login. 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/.

If you need help with login.gov or USAJOBS (e.g., account access, Resume Builder) visit the USAJOBS Help Center: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/.

If you experience difficulty applying on USAJOBS, after clicking the Apply Online button, or you are experiencing a significant hardship hindering your ability to apply online, the Agency Contact listed in the announcement can assist you during normal business hours. If you receive any system error messages, take screenshots if possible, to aid technical support.

Agency contact information

Deborah Dougherty

Email

deborah.dougherty@hc.doe.gov

Address

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy - Headquarters P.O. Box 5088 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 US

Next steps

Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. The status of your application will be updated in USAJOBS as it is evaluated.

You can check the status by logging into USAJOBS. You may also sign up to receive automatic emails anytime the status of your application changes by logging into your USAJobs Account and editing the Notification Settings.

You will be contacted directly if an interview is required.