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Mechanical Engineer, GS-0830-12

Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Coast Guard
This job announcement has closed

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Summary

This position is located in Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), Surface Forces Logistics Center (SFLC), Icebreaker, Buoy, Construction Tender Product Line (IBCTPL), Engineering and Projects Branch, Systems and Equipment Section 1, in Alameda, California.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
01/13/2021 to 01/26/2021
Salary
$93,587 to - $121,668 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Location
Alameda, CA
1 vacancy
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Occasional travel in performance of duties may be necessary.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent - This is a permanent position.
Work schedule
Full-time - This is a full-time position.
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
12
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Q Access Authorization
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
21-1444-NE-AW-M
Control number
589336300

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Status Candidates, Merit Promotion, Current Federal Employees, Former Federal Employees, Overseas Employees, Former Overseas Employees, CTAP, ICTAP, VEOA, 30% Disabled, Schedule A, Individuals with Disabilities, Military Spouses, Land and Base Management, Peace Corps, Americorps, Vista For definitions of common terms found in this announcement: http://dhsconnect.dhs.gov/org/comp/mgmt/dhshr/hr/Documents/JOA_Common_Definitions.pdf

Duties

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You will serve as a professional mechanical engineer responsible for the preparation of preliminary and finalized design drawings for the alteration, installation, repair and maintenance of varied and complex mechanical systems particular to Coast Guard vessels under the jurisdiction of the Product Line.  These systems include propulsion systems utilizing gas turbines and marine diesel engines, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, piping for fuel oil, water and sewage and pneumatics and hydraulics. 

Being a Coast Guard civilian makes you a valuable member of the Coast Guard team.

Typical work assignments include:

- Developing, analyzing and reviewing designs and projects for a variety of complex mechanical systems or components on marine vessels.

- Conducting feasibility studies, developing designs for equipment, materials and methods of retrofit or installation, and developing cost and time estimates for designs and projects.

- Performing ship checks on Coast Guard cutters to obtain data for study, design and review and to ensure compliance with design and specifications.

- Directing and coordinating the preparation, accomplishment, and finalization of engineering technical contract documents.

- Providing technical information, support, advice and guidance to field units, other SFLC Divisions, other CG units and private industry representatives.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
  • Occasional trips to a shipyard or aboard a vessel will be required.
  • Unofficial transcripts are required at the time of application.

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement. This includes Time-In-Grade requirements for current status employees applying through merit promotion procedures. Status applicants applying for a promotion must have 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

A.  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

B.  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 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. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)

Note: An applicant who meets the basic requirements as specified in A or B above, except as noted under B.1., may qualify for positions in any branch of engineering unless selective factors indicate otherwise.

Additional Requirements: Applicants must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular ability, skill, and knowledge to successfully perform the duties of this position and is typically in or related to this line of work. Examples of specialized experience include: developing, analyzing and reviewing designs, specifications and independent cost estimates for a variety of marine mechanical equipment; reviewing system designs and specifications prepared by consulting engineers for compliance with requirements and recommends necessary revisions and improvements.

National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (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. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Office of Personnel management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees.  If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule, C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

Education

This position does have a positive education requirement. If you are including education on your resume, report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. See Required Documents section for detail.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet Federal qualification requirements if you can show that your foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence with your application. See Recognition of Foreign Qualifications click here

Additional information

Applicants will be required to complete questions contained on the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) at the time a tentative job offer is made. Certain responses on the form could pose a problem with suitability for employment determinations. If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete/make updates to the OF-306 and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, or imprisonment.

DHS uses e-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about e-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities at click here

Recruitment incentives may be authorized.

All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit.

The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

More than 1 selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade, and unit occur within 45 days from the date the certificate was issued.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for the application and hiring process, please contact 410-636-3504. Decisions on granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Visit Reasonable Accommodation

How you will be evaluated

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

We will review your résumé and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. If you meet the minimum qualifications, your experience, education and training will be rated using the on-line self assessment questions that are based on the following competencies or knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform this job:

1.  Professional knowledge of the concepts, principles, practices and methodology of the science of Mechanical Engineering.

2.  Knowledge of ship design and ship operating conditions, and of the specialized factors associated with a marine environment.

3.  Comprehensive knowledge of the principles, practices and techniques of ship repair, especially as applied to mechanical systems and equipment.

4.  Ability to monitor contractor’s work to ensure conformance to contract plans and specifications.

5.  Ability to use a standard computer workstation in order to prepare and store technical documents, correspondence, specification packages and maintenance records. 

Your resume and responses to the self-assessment questions are an integral part of the process for determining your qualifications for the position. Therefore, you must support your responses to the self-assessment questions by providing examples of past and present experience in your resume.

If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview.

Consideration will be given to performance appraisals and incentive awards as an indicator of quality of prior experience; no points will be assigned.


To preview questions please click here.

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