General Engineer - Direct Hire - SME

Summary

This position is within PHMSA's Office of Pipeline Safety. PHMSA protects people and the environment from risks related to hazardous materials transportation by pipeline. The Accident Investigation Division (AID) leads investigations of pipeline, underground natural gas storage, and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) events, the identification of accident trends and the sharing of lessons learned to enhance pipeline safety.

Duties

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As a General Engineer (Accident Investigator), you will:

• Accident and Incident Investigations - Conducts and oversees the investigation of pipeline related failure and safety investigations. May serve as a Primary Operations Supervisor (OPS) Investigator on Federally regulated pipeline failure investigations. Serves as the Federal OPS Coordinator on state regulated pipeline failure investigations.
• Failure Analysis and Sharing Lessons Learned - Ensures OPS collects the data, technical reports and information needed to conduct thorough and comprehensive failure analysis.
• Continually monitors the national pipeline infrastructure for incidents and accidents. Gathers information on serious and significant accidents and incidents involving pipelines, providing factual, accurate and timely information.

The ideal candidate is an experienced Engineer who is looking for challenging assignments investigating pipeline incidents and accidents. As an Accident Investigator, you will conduct, coordinate, manage and report comprehensive investigations of critical and nationally significant pipeline accidents and safety concerns. This position will coordinate with other federal and state agencies, industry, and the public regarding investigations, accident trends and lessons learned from investigations.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen & meet specialized experience to qualify
• Submit application and resume online by 11:59 PM EST on the closing date
• Required documents must be submitted by the closing date.
• Direct Hire Authority/SME will be used to fill this position

Qualifications

To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must (1) meet the Education Requirement for the series, (2) provide a copy of transcripts for verification, AND (3) meet either the education or experience qualifications for the grade at which you are requesting consideration.

To qualify for the GS-12, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-11, it must include:

• Experience in engineering disciplines concerning the design, construction, operation, maintenance and repair, integrity management, and failure analysis of gas and liquid pipelines.
• Experience in conducting and/or participating in investigations or projects to improve transportation safety.

To qualify for the GS-13, you must have at least one year of experience equal or equivalent to the GS-12, it must include:

• Experience in engineering disciplines concerning the design, construction, operation, maintenance and repair, integrity management, and failure analysis of gas and liquid pipelines.
• Experience in conducting and/or participating in investigations or projects to improve transportation safety.
• Experience in risk management, pipeline integrity management, and management systems principles and practices as they relate to protection of physical facilities and structures with critical environmental and safety impact.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:

• Incident Management: Knowledge of the tactics, technologies, principles, and processes to protect, analyze, prioritize, and handle incidents.
• Technical Problem Solving: Troubleshoots, diagnoses, analyzes, and identifies system malfunctions to determine the source and cause of the problem.
• Accident Investigation: Knowledge of guidelines, regulations, and procedures associated with an accident investigation including preservation of accident scene, root cause analysis, and evidence detection and handling.

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.

For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link: https://www.opm.gov/frequently-asked-questions/employment-faq/federal-hiring/how-do-i-apply-for-federal-jobs/

All applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

MANDATORY EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS:

A. 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

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) 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). All applicants must meet the education requirements under A or B to qualify for applying to an engineering position. Transcripts are required for this position.

Additional information

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

This is a remote position, and the selectee's official duty station will be their approved residential address.

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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.

Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.