INTERDISCIPLINARY General Engineer/Physical Scientist (Recent Graduate)

Summary

The Recent Graduates Program is a dynamic, one-year developmental program that promotes careers in the Federal Government to recent graduates. Participants in the Program receive training and professional development, complete an Individual Development Plan (IDP), and are assigned a mentor. Recent Graduates who successfully complete Program requirements may be eligible for non-competitive conversion to a term or permanent position in the civil service.

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Duties

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This position offers varying full performance levels (e.g., GS-11, GS-12, or GS-13 equivalent) depending on the specific needs of the selecting Program Office. Further details regarding specific grade levels and responsibilities will be discussed during the interview process.

As a GS-7 INTERDISCIPLINARY General Engineer/Physical Scientist you will:

• Serve as a professional engineer or scientist and performs general engineering or scientific work in support of projects assigned to higher grade engineers.
• Plan work procedures and select standard practices and data to be applied to engineering or scientific assignment and identified problems.
• Assist in coordinating and carrying out limited, well-defined engineering and/or scientific projects.
• Research and evaluate basic engineering and/or scientific designs, specifications and related documentation to perform and interpret calculations and computations and determine if factual information is relevant, accurate and useful.
• Prepare routine, recurring engineering and/or scientific reports for use by higher grade engineers or to convey factual engineering and/or scientific data and information.

As a GS-9 INTERDISCIPLINARY General Engineer/Physical Scientist you will:

• Perform a variety of general scientific and/or engineering tasks in support of larger projects.
• Research, analyze, interpret, evaluate, and carry out difficult but conventional scientific and/or engineering assignments in support of programs/projects.
• Review reports, plans, specifications, change orders, modifications, and other documents prepared by others and apply knowledge of technological advances in the appropriate scientific and/or engineering discipline to identify discrepancies or potential issues.
• Work with other scientists and/or engineers to identify and interpret a variety of factors, situations, and conditions to discern interrelationships among different scientific and/or engineering methods, processes and activities.
• Attend organizational unit and intradepartmental meetings to plan, coordinate, or advise on scientific and/or engineering work efforts, and to identify solutions to typical issues or operating problems.

Please note there may be many vacancies that may be filled in any of the listed locations. This is NOT a remote position. You will have to report to the duty station you are selected for. Please make sure you select the top 2 locations you are willing to report to and/or relocate to.

What constitutes a valid certificate program: The Pathways Programs regulation (see 5 CFR 362.102) defines certificate program as post-secondary education at either:

• A qualifying educational institution (trade or vocational school, 2-year or 4-year college or university, or graduate or professional school) equivalent to at least one academic year of full-time study that is part of an accredited college-level, technical, trade, vocational, or business school curriculum.; OR
• A qualifying career or technical education program of at least one year that awards a recognized postsecondary credential.

What types of programs would meet the eligibility criteria for a qualifying career or technical education program?

Three types of programs meet these criteria:

• Federally administered educational programs that provide rigorous academic content, technical skill proficiency, and a recognized postsecondary credential to prepare the individual for further education and/or a career in a current or emerging profession.;
• Registered Apprenticeship Programs; and
• Federally administered local, state, national, or international volunteer service programs.

What is a Federally administered career or technical education program?

A Federally administered career or technical education program is subject to programmatic oversight by a federal agency that includes:

• The nature and scope of work to be performed by participants,
• The type(s) and scope of training to be provided to participants,
• The types of skills participants will acquire or develop during the program (e.g., teaching, environmental, business, scientific, public health/health care, languages),
• The level and extent of mentoring participants will receive, and
• The metrics for successful completion of the program.
• Programmatic oversight may be reflected in partnership or cooperative agreements.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen, National, or Foreign National who meets both Immigration and Annual Appropriations Laws.
• This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by a background investigation.
• A Pathways Recent Graduate Participant Agreement is required.
• Recent Graduates serve a trial period for the entire duration of their excepted service appointment.
• Applicant must provide proof that they have obtained an associate's, bachelor's, master's, professional, doctorate, vocational, technical degree, or a certificate from a qualifying educational institution with the previous 2 years; OR
• Applicant must provide proof that they have completed a qualifying career or technical education program within the previous 2 years.
• Veterans precluded by a military service obligation have up to 6 years after completion of degree or certificate to apply.
• Positions may require submittal of a Financial Disclosure Statement, OGE-450, Executive Branch Personnel Confidential Financial Disclosure Report within 30 days of entering the position and annually.
• Positions may be 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.
• Positions may be included in the DOE's Technical Qualifications Program (TQP). Selectees for included positions are required to complete the TQP requirements within 18 months of entering the program or 12 months if previously qualified.

Qualifications

**Please note these series do have Basic Education Requirements that MUST be met. These are listed in the Education portion of the vacancy announcement. There is one for the 0801 series and one for the 1301 series.**

You must meet the eligibility and qualifications within 2 months of the closing date of this announcement.

To be eligible for the Pathways Recent Graduate program you must be a:

• Recent graduate who has completed, within the previous two years, a qualifying associates, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational, technical degree, or certificate from a qualifying educational institution or completed a qualifying career or technical education program that awards a recognized postsecondary credential (such as a Registered Apprenticeship Program or Job Corps).

-OR-

• Student who within 2 months of the closing date of this announcement will meet the education requirements and will graduate with a qualifying associates, bachelors, masters, professional, doctorate, vocational, technical degree, or certificate from a qualifying educational institution or completed a qualifying career or technical education program. A student may not be appointed to a position until they have graduated.

-OR-

• Preference eligible veterans who have been precluded from applying due to their military service obligation begin their two-year eligibility period upon release or discharge from active duty. Eligibility for these veterans cannot exceed six years after degree or certificate completion. You MUST submit a copy of the DD214 showing the duration and dates of service that precluded you from applying due to the military service obligation.

For the GS-07: You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience for this position at the GS-7 includes:

• Assisting in project execution using basic engineering/scientific principles.; AND
• Documenting engineering/scientific findings.

OR YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR THE GS-7 BASED ON EDUCATION: 1 year of graduate-level education. Graduate education must provide the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform in the position. Please see the information under Education.

OR YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR THE GS-7 BASED ON SUPERIOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: Bachelor's degree with superior academic achievement is defined as:(1) Class standing You must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision based on completed courses, (2) Grade-point average (G.P.A.) You must have 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum OR 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum, or(3) Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society You are a member of one of the national scholastic honor societies recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achshonor.org/). The Bachelor degree must still show the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform in this position.

OR YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR THE GS-7 BASED ON A COMBINATION OF EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE: You may qualify on a combination of education and experience, the total percentage of experience at the required grade level compared to the specialized experience requirement, as well as the percentage of completed education compared to the educational requirement must equal at least 100 percent.

For the GS-09: You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience for this position at the GS-9 includes:

• Conducting scientific/engineering research and analysis to interpret technical data for project support.; AND
• Drafting concise technical reports and scientific/engineering communications for varied audiences.

OR YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR THE GS-9 BASED ON EDUCATION: 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree. Graduate education must provide the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform in the position. Please see the information under Education.

OR YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR THE GS-9 BASED ON COMBINATION: You may qualify on a combination of education and experience, the total percentage of experience at the required grade level compared to the specialized experience requirement, as well as the percentage of completed education compared to the educational requirement must equal at least 100 percent. Only graduate level education in excess of the first 18 semester hours (27 quarter hours) may be combined to be considered for qualifying education.

Education

You must meet the following Basic Education Requirement listed below in order to qualify for the 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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Specified academic courses Successful complet...