Patent Examiner (Electrical Engineering) Direct-Hire Authority (DHA)

Duties

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The physical worksite for this position is located in Alexandria, Virginia. Presence at the Alexandria, VA campus is required as this role includes onsite functions that must be performed in person. Position may be eligible for situational telework in accordance with agency policy/business unit discretion. The agency currently allows for 52 hours of telework per leave year.

Be part of history in the making - and help shape what's next.

Learn how to become a patent examiner, explore the patent examiner disciplines crosswalk to find the areas that align best with your expertise, meet the people leading the way, and discover how you can use cutting-edge tools to protect breakthrough ideas.

As a Patent Examiner, you will:

• Examine patent applications and help protect groundbreaking ideas. You will assess patent applications for new inventions, ensuring they meet our standards and determining if they are eligible for a patent. Early in your career, you will work closely with supervisors and senior examiners and receive extensive guidance and feedback as you develop your skills and evaluate your findings.
• You will explore Innovation in your review of patent applications. You will use specialized and cutting-edge technology to search prior art - information known publicly before the filing of a U.S. patent application - to determine whether inventions meet patentability standards and are eligible for a patent.
• Prepare clear and thoughtful office actions. You will draft written communications to applicant to convey your findings in detailed explanations of your examination decisions. You will discuss them with supervisors or senior examiners and refine your work based on feedback before issuing official communications.

In addition, our Patent Examiner (Electrical Engineering) positions may offer a $30,000 recruitment bonus for new federal employees (with a 48-month service commitment). Employees will receive $10,000 after entrance on duty (EOD) and may be eligible for a 2nd installment of $20,000 after attaining promotion(s) to GS-12 within 36 months of EOD.

Please review the relevant conflict of interest laws and standards of ethical conduct that may affect you as a patent examiner. Carefully review the conflict of interest laws and standards of ethical conduct, if you have an interest in any company that manufactures devices or markets processes covered by your technology area, you will be subject to a disqualification regarding all patent applications in the technology area unless the value is below $15,000 for any one company and less than $25,000 for all companies.

If you are an attorney applicant, you must also be able to comply with the relevant rules of professional conduct regarding any possible professional responsibility conflicts in connection with your application.

Further, as an employee of the USPTO you are restricted as to your interest in patents consistent with 35 U.S.C. 4.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• Applications will only be accepted from United States Citizens and Nationals.
• If this is your first federal appointment, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period. Current federal service employees may be given a new appointment, and a new probationary period may be required.
• You must meet all qualification requirements upon the closing date of this announcement.
• You are required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.
• You must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov).
• This is a Non-Bargaining Unit position.
• This is a Public Trust position and has a risk level designation of "moderate."
• You will be required to file a confidential financial disclosure report, i.e., the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) Form 450, within 30 days of assuming the position and annually thereafter.
• You will be required to complete ethics orientation within 3 months of beginning of your position.

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENTS for all grade levels in this series include: A) (1) successfully completed a full four-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in engineering, OR (2) a combination of qualifying education and experience.

This can be demonstrated by one of the following:

1. Professional registrationCurrent registration as a professional engineer by any state, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico.
2. Written testEvidence of passing the Engineer-in-Training (EIT) examination or the written test required for professional registration, administered by the Boards of Engineering Examiners in various states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
3. Specified academic coursesSuccessful completion of at least 60 semester hours in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and including the courses specified in the basic requirements. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of a professional engineering curriculum as described in paragraph A.
4. Related curriculumSuccessful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering technology or in an appropriate professional field (for example, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology) may be accepted in lieu of an engineering degree, provided the applicant has had at least one year of professional engineering experience with professional engineering supervision and guidance.

The curriculum must:

1. Be accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum. OR
2. Include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas: (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 to particle and aggregate structure to properties); or (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.

OR

B) A combination of education and experience. This combination of college-level education, training, and/or technical experience must have furnished both: a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional engineering; AND a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their application to professional engineering.

Applicants must also meet the additional requirements listed below.

Applicants for the GS-7 position have many ways to qualify. In addition to the basic requirements as stated above, applicants mayhave A, B, C, D, or E listed below to qualify:

(A) One year of graduate-level education from an accredited college and/or university in an engineering field of study.

(B) Superior Academic Achievement. This can be defined by one of the following:

1. Class standingUpper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the "School of Engineering and Applied Science" or "College of Science and Technology" based on completed courses.
2. Grade point average (GPA) as recorded on the final transcript3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 as recorded on the official transcript, or as computed based on four years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final two 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 two years of the curriculum. The GPA is rounded to one decimal place (2.95 = 3.0 and 2.94 = 2.9). The final transcript must cover the period being used to determine the GPA.
3. Honor society membershipElection to membership in a national scholastic honor society. Please review the list of qualified honor societies.

(C) One year of specialized experience applying basic engineering, biological science, physics, or scientific principles, theories, concepts, and methodologies used in the evaluation of technology; assisting in the collection of and recognizing discrepancies in data. Examples of work include taking measurements and collecting information, learning to take proper samples, conducting routine calculations, checking of numerical data, preparing graphs and data profiles, and/or accomplishing routine analyses.

(D) A combination of graduate level education that is less than 1 year and less than 1 year of specialized experience that together meet the qualification requirements for this position.

(E) Successful completion of a 5-year program of study of at least 160 semester hours leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering.

Applicants for the GS-9 position have many ways to qualify. In addition to the basic requirements as stated above, applicants mayhave A, B, C, D or E listed below to qualify:

(A) Two years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree from an accredited college and/or university in an engineering field of study.

(B) One year of specialized experience, interpreting and applying intermediate engineering, biological science, physics, scientific principles, theories, concepts, and methodologies used in the evaluation of technology; participating in planning and conducting research; applying appropriate references to the claimed invention; etc. Work experience would have involved following established methods and procedures, or detailed instructions; using some judgment in applying basic principles and procedures; and independently completing recurring assignments, but referring deviations, problems, and unfamiliar situations to a designated person for decision or help.

(C) A combination of education and experience in college-level education, training, and/or technical experience.

(D) A combination of successfully completed progressive graduate level education, as described above, that is beyond the first year of progressive graduate study, and professional experience, as described above.

(E) A combination of superior academic achievement and 1 year of appropriate specialized experience.

Applicants for the GS-11 position have many ways to qualify. In addition to the basic requirements as stated above, applicants mayhave A, B, or C listed below to qualify:

(A) Three years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree from an accredited college and/or university in the fields of study as described.

(B) At least one year of specialized experience: interpreting and applying advanced engineering and/or scientific principles, theories, concepts, and methodologies used in the evaluation of technology; or planning and conducting technical research to draft technical papers; or applying appropriate references and case law to claimed inventions. Experience may include independent responsibility for a well-defined study or for a phase of a larger study that required the planning and carrying out of routine (physics, engineer, biological, etc.) work (such as those who have PhDs).

(C) A combination of successfully completed graduate-level education, that is beyond the second year of progressive graduate study, and professional experience, as described above.

Education

What are the work history and educational requirements for this position?

Below are the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the Patent Examiner (Electrical Engineering) position. Please see OPM's information on the Engineering Individual Occupational Requirements. OPM's prescribed Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Patent Examiner Series, GS-1224, is available at OPM Patent Examiner Series 1224.

If you are a student nearing graduation, within 9 months from the date of your applications, you can still apply! Just submit your application now, and we will verify your degree before your start date.

Unless otherwise indicated by the school, 18 semester hours will be considered an academic year of graduate study.

Education completed at foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the requirements. Please refer to General Schedule Qualifications Policies for more information. You are not required to submit official documents at this time; copies are sufficient.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign coun