General Engineer

US Department of Energy Headquarters; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

US Department of Energy Headquarters seeks a General Engineer to serve as the chief authority for the agency's SBIR/STTR portfolios, overseeing RD&D grants and cooperative agreements. The role supports small business awardees in delivering strong commercialization outcomes.

Applicants must meet the Basic Requirement and Specialized Experience, with a strong engineering education background and a proven track record leading technical programs and presenting analyses to executives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in engineering from ABET-accredited program and calculus coursework.
• Combination of education and experience meeting FE or EI/EIT/licensure criteria.
• Specialized experience: leading large RD&D programs or tech portfolios.

Responsibilities

• Serve as main authority for SBIR/STTR portfolios.
• Oversee research grants and cooperative agreements.
• Support small business awardees in achieving commercialization results.

Skills

Leadership

Program management

Technical analysis

Education

ABET-accredited engineering degree

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Tools

Grants management systems

Job description

This position is part of the Department of Energy's, Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC). As a General Engineer, you will serve as the main authority for all of the agency's Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Research (SBIR/STTR) portfolios, oversee Research and Development grants and cooperative agreements, and support small business awardees in delivering strong commercialization results.

You must meet both the Basic Requirement and the Specialized Experience to qualify for this series as described below.
BASIC REQUIREMENT: 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 next lower grade level GS-14 in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position is defined as meeting 2 of the following 3:
1. Leading, planning, and managing large-scale, complex scientific or engineering research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) programs or technology portfolios from concept through execution.
2. Developing strategies, milestones, or frameworks to transition technologies from laboratory or early prototype stages into the commercial marketplace.
3. Serving as an authoritative technical expert by preparing in-depth technical analyses, reports, or business cases and delivering briefings or recommendations to senior executives, corporate leaders, or government officials to resolve technology commercialization issues.
"Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. 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.
CTAP/ICTAP candidates: To be considered "well qualified" you must meet all of the requirements as described in this section.
You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement.