General Engineer

Job Details

Position Overview

Duties

As a General Engineer, you will:

• Provide authoritative technical advice, leadership, and solutions for broad, complex, and unprecedented Department of Energy (DOE) engineering projects and programs.
• Develop overall engineering strategies and explain, interpret, and defend DOE policies and project plans to senior leadership, external agencies, and private partners.
• Develop detailed project plans, budgets, schedules, and performance milestones, and monitor contractor and grantee progress to ensure quality and policy alignment.
• Act as a technical mediator and expert resource among multiple stakeholders with conflicting opinions, assessing technical risks and proposing alternatives to address complex problems.
• Oversee and advise on the design, construction, testing, operation, and maintenance of DOE facilities to improve engineering practices and protect environmental and public safety.
• Serve as a primary spokesperson on interagency task forces and at professional conferences, and prepare technical briefings, speeches, and congressional testimony to communicate program accomplishments.

Qualifications & Requirements

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

BASIC REQUIREMENT:

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 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.)

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level. Specialized experience for this position is defined as meeting at least 2 of 4 of the following:

• Planning, organizing, and managing the development of large-scale engineering systems, projects, or facilities that are broad in scope and lack established precedents.
• Developing project plans, schedules, and budgets, and monitoring the work quality, costs, and deliverables of contractors, grantees, or technical teams.
• Assessing the technical maturity, safety, and operational risks of alternative engineering technologies, and developing risk-mitigation strategies to prevent system or project failures.
• Reviewing engineering designs, work plans, and technical reports to ensure strict compliance with federal laws, industry safety codes, environmental regulations, or agency policies.

Education

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.
• You are required to submit a Financial Disclosure Statement, OGE-450, Executive Branch Personnel Confidential Financial Disclosure Report within 30 days of entering the position and annually.
• A preliminary background check must be completed before a new employee can begin work. Current Federal employees or other individuals with an existing completed background investigation may not be required to undergo another background check.
• Hiring incentives may be authorized for a highly qualified candidate based on budget availability and in accordance with federal regulations.
• Occasional Travel may be required.

Evaluations

Appointments made under the DHA are processed as "new" appointments. Current Federal employees may be required to serve a new probationary period (5 CFR 315.802(b).

1. Proof of Eligibility: A copy of your agency-issued Reduction in Force (RIF) separation notice, a copy of your separation SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) noting transition/displaced status, or other official agency documentation confirming your eligible status.
2. Proof of Performance Rating: A copy of your most recent performance appraisal/rating of record, which must include:
   • Your final rating (must be at least "Fully Successful" or equivalent); and
   • The rating scale/guide (explaining what each level/numeric score means), unless the rating scale is clearly defined on the appraisal document itself.

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you MUST provide a complete application package which includes:

• Your RESUME 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.
• 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.

Failure to submit any of the above mentioned required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an 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

1. Read all instructions before you begin.
2. Click "Apply Online."
3. Complete the application and attach all required documents.
4. Submit by 11:59 PM ET on the 08/24/2026.

• 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.

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