Fire Protection Engineer

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: To qualify for this GS-13 Fire Protection Engineer position you must demonstrate (1) the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) for the federal 0800 series AND (2) at least 52 weeks of Specialized Experience (1) INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT (IOR): A. Degree in Engineering from a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET OR B. Degree in Engineering that includes 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 (those courses must be highlighted on your transcript) OR C. Combination of education and experience comprised of college-level education, training AND technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering AND (2) a theoretical and practical understanding of engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. This claim must be based on one of the following and supporting documents must be submitted: (1) Professional registration or licensure — current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT) or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, District of Columbia, Guam or Puerto Rico. (2) Written Test — evidence of successfully passing the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam or other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, 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 that included the courses specified in (1)(a)-(g) above. Courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program and must be highlighted on your transcript(s). (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 you have 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. ONLY APPLICANTS WHO DEMONSTRATE THIS IOR WILL BE EVALUATED. (2) SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE must have been gained in a federal position at or above GS-12 OR (if your position and/or experience is in another federal pay scale OR outside of federal service) by performing duties at a level of responsibility and difficulty equivalent to GS-12. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE is work that primarily consists of (1) assessment and prediction of fire hazards or risks; (2) mitigation of fire damage; (3) development or testing of fire protection technologies; (4) inspection, testing and operation of fire detection or suppression devices or systems; and (5) assessment of fire protection requirements. If you have this experience, your resume must describe, in your own words, the duties you perform that demonstrate it. Since Specialized Experience also has a time component, it must be evident that the duties you describe are at the required level for at least 52 weeks. Reviewers cannot assume you perform duties you don’t describe. An affirmative response to the online questionnaire is not sufficient to demonstrate experience. MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS (IOR and Specialized Experience) must be met by the closing date of this announcement. CONDITIONS OF POSITION: Due to the nature of work in this position, the following conditions are essential for successful performance and selected candidates must fully comply with these conditions to meet performance requirements. Successful performance of work in this position and adherence to these conditions will be assessed during the 1-year probationary period that may be served by new appointees. This is an emergency/mission critical position. You may be called to work after-hours, on weekends and holidays. (1) Work is generally sedentary. However, it includes frequent inspections and surveys of workplaces that involves some walking, standing, bending and climbing. (2) You may be required to report to work or remain at your workstation to perform critical services when building occupants are generally excused for all or part of a workday because of hazardous weather and other emergency situations. (3) You may be on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and/ or according to rotational schedules. (4) In case of snow, you may be required to report during irregular hours and travel in hazardous weather conditions. (5) You may be required to travel to agency delegated and non-delegated buildings. (6) Occasional duties may involve outside activities where you may be subject to inclement weather. (7) During inspections or surveys you may be exposed to risks associated with fire hazards. You will be required to wear safety shoes, safety glasses and protective clothing. (8) When performing inspections or surveys, you may visit construction sites, building systems and spaces, and work may involve moderate risks or discomforts that may require special safety precautions such as working around moving parts, carts and machines. (9) You may be exposed to high noise levels, dust, toxic or irritant chemicals and may be required to wear Personal Protective Equipment such as steel-toed shoes, masks, coats, boots, goggles, gloves or shields. (10) You may be required to wear a respirator on an as-needed basis and may be required to shave to support the proper fit of a respirator. Information on this job series can be found at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf
See QUALIFICATIONS and EDUCATION sections for important information about this position. Serves as the agency technical expert on fire protection to headquarters and field facilities staff providing expertise and advice to agency upper management, office directors and other engineering disciplines. See DUTIES for additional responsibilities of this position.