General Engineer (Recent Graduate)

Nuclear energy is one of the most resilient environmentally sustainable and reliable energy sources on the grid today. The Office of Nuclear Energy works to advance nuclear energy science and technology to meet the nations energy environmental and economic needs.

As a GS-9 General Engineer (Recent Graduate) you will:

• Support program management for the NASA Strategic Partnership Program by developing scopes budgets schedules and milestones for Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS).
• Perform engineering analyses evaluate technical proposals for nuclear infrastructure initiatives and assist senior engineers on complex Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) projects.
• Review and evaluate engineering plans specifications inter-agency agreements (IAAs) and memoranda of understanding (MOUs) to resolve discrepancies and ensure technical accuracy.
• Participate in interagency and international working groups-coordinating among DOE headquarters national laboratories NASA and field elements and prepare regular technical status reports.

• Serve as technical specialist managing the NASA Strategic Partnership Program-establishing scopes budgets schedules milestones and procurement packages to support Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS).
• Analyze engineering requirements evaluate new proposals for nuclear infrastructure initiatives and resolve difficult technical challenges related to Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs).
• Manage and review inter-agency agreements (IAAs) memoranda of understanding (MOUs) and technical policies resolving conflicting requirements across engineering disciplines to maintain project alignment.
• Represent the program office in domestic and international working groups (e.g. US-UK working groups) coordinate across DOE labs and NASA and present technical status reports to diverse audiences.

CONVERSION REQUIREMENTS: DOE has the option to non-competitively convert a Recent Graduate to a permanent or term position upon successful completion of program requirements. This is not automatic nor guaranteed. Conversion is at the discretion of the hiring manager and employing office. To be eligible to be converted to a permanent or term position you must:

• Be a US Citizen or National
• Be recommended for conversion by your manager or supervisor.
• Complete all training and development requirements within the 1-year appointment period.
• Successful completion of 1 year of continuous service.
• Demonstrate successful job performance of at least a Fully Successful or equivalent on performance appraisal.
• Meet the Office of Personnel Managements qualification standards for the position to which the Recent Graduate will be converted (which may include a positive education requirement).
• A Recent Graduate may be converted to the highest General Schedule (GS) grade level qualified for at time of conversion.

Recent Graduates converted to a term position in the competitive service may subsequently be non-competitively converted to a career or career-conditional appointment without further competition.

• 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 associates bachelors masters 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.

You must meet the eligibility and qualifications within 9 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).

• Student who within 9 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.

• Preference eligible veterans who were prevented from applying during the two-year period due to their military service obligation may 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-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 Engineering Analyses and Reviews.; AND
• Supporting Technical Projects and Reporting.

OR YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR THE GS-9 BASED ON EDUCATION: 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a masters degree or masters 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: If you have some qualifying education and some qualifying experience but dont fully meet either requirement on its own you may be able to combine them. Only graduate education in excess of one year (18 semester hours or equivalent) can be used in this calculation. Experience must be reflected in your resume and transcripts are required.

1. Divide your qualifying graduate semester hours beyond the first 18 by 18. That gives you your education percentage.
2. Divide your months of qualifying experience by 12. That gives you your experience percentage.
3. Add the two together. If the total is 100% or more you qualify.

For the GS-11: You must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience for this position at the GS-11 includes:

• Evaluating and Resolving Engineering Problems.; AND
• Coordinating Engineering Project Activities

OR YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR THE GS-11 BASED ON EDUCATION: 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral 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-11 BASED ON COMBINATION:If you have some qualifying education and some qualifying experience but dont fully meet either requirement on its own you may be able to combine them. Only graduate education in excess of two years (36 semester hours or equivalent) can be used in this calculation. Experience must be reflected in your resume and transcripts are required.

1. Divide your qualifying graduate semester hours beyond the first 36 by 18. That gives you your education percentage.
2. Divide your months of qualifying experience by 12. That gives you your experience percentage.
3. Add the two together. If the total is 100% or more you qualify.

Experience may include paid or unpaid work including internships volunteer service student leadership military service apprenticeships or other relevant activities. Resumes must clearly describe duties dates and hours worked per week.

You must submit proof of eligibility (e.g. transcripts certificate of completion) to show that you meet the Pathways Recent Graduate Program requirements. Unofficial transcripts with the degree title list of courses grades earned completion dates and quarter or semester hours earned can be used as a substitute for official transcripts at the time of application; if you are selected for a position official transcripts will be required prior to entering on duty.

Note about Graduate Education: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate schools definition of one year of graduate study 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications; applicants resumes and supporting documentation should only reflect education received from schools accredited by such institutions. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: If a relevant course is not clearly qualifying (e.g. special topic seminar research thesis obscure or misleading course title etc.) please submit an official course syllabus and/or detailed course description from the university/college for that particular course to ensure you are properly evaluated. Provide all relevant transcripts not just your most recent one.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet Minimum Qualifications you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. Failure to provide such documentation with your application will result in lost consideration. For further information visit: Submit transcripts for all degrees earned.

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 bachelors 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 Boards 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 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 bachelors 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 bachelors 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.)

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.

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.