General Engineer (Direct Hire)

NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Wallops Island (VA); On-site; USD 78,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Wallops Island, seeks a General Engineer with emphasis on heating, ventilation, air conditioning, controls, and propane distribution. The role includes identifying center needs, preparing engineering and budget documentation, reviewing designs, and acting as project manager on facility design and construction projects.

The candidate will develop engineering management activities for complex facilities, perform analyses of existing systems, and coordinate with

Qualifications

• Experience preparing engineering cost estimates and budgets.
• Ability to review engineering designs and specifications.
• Experience coordinating multi-disciplinary engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Act as a Project Engineer coordinating all phases of engineering, construction and inspection.
• Develop facilities engineering management activities for complex facilities.
• Manage varied project scopes and make decisions affecting areas of responsibility.
• Prepare design, specifications and cost estimates and supervise drafting for mechanical projects.
• Coordinate with multi-discipline teams and inspect existing systems for future work.
• Prepare scopes of work and construction estimates for private architectural‑engineering firms.

Skills

Project management

Facilities engineering

Multi-discipline coordination

Cost estimation

Design review

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

ABET-accredited program

Job description

Summary

The Facilities Management Branch at Goddard Space Flight Center, Wallops Island is seeking to hire a General Engineer with special emphasis on heating, ventilation, air conditioning, controls, and propane distribution. The work includes the identification of future Center needs; assisting in the preparation of engineering and budgetary documentation; reviewing engineering designs; and acting as project manager on facility design and construction projects.

Duties

• Duties described below are at the highest grade advertised. Duties assigned at lower grade levels will be of more limited scope, performed with less independence and limited complexity; duties will be commensurate with the grade of selected employee.
• Act as a Project Engineer, with the responsibility for coordinating all phases of engineering, construction and inspection of construction, renovation and repair projects.
• Develop or coordinate a broad range of facilities engineering management activities covering a variety of complex facilities.
• Accomplish varied and complex project management duties in conjunction with coordinating project teams and make decisions affecting areas of responsibility that are controversial and precedent setting.
• Prepare design, specifications and cost estimates and supervise drafting effort for mechanical engineering projects.
• Provide extensive coordination with multi-discipline engineering teams.
• Perform analysis of existing mechanical systems and develops the scope and requirements for future construction, rehabilitation or repair projects to maintain facilities, improve operations or to provide facilities to meet new requirements.
• Prepare outlines of services, scopes of work, construction estimates, or engineering fee estimates for work to be performed by private architectural-engineering firm personnel.

Conditions of employment

• This position is open to U.S. citizens, nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.
• This position may require a one-year probationary period. If selected, the requirement to serve such period will be determined by Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 11. **See Additional Information section**
• You must meet qualifications requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
• Position subject to pre-employment background investigation or higher-level clearance. Investigation/Clearance may differ and be required based on the duty location/NASA Center requirements.
• Financial Disclosure, Drug Testing, and/or the Travel Requirements for this position may differ and be required based on the duty location/NASA Center requirements.

Specialized experience

Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular ability, skill, and knowledge to successfully perform the duties of this position and is typically in or related to this line of work.

To qualify for GS-11

• One year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level:
• Preparing engineering cost estimates using project scopes and available cost data to support budgeting and preliminary project planning;
• Reviewing facility contracts to ensure compliance with engineering and facility requirements and address potential project issues;
• Supporting engineering projects by assisting with technical inspections, documenting project progress, coordinating assigned engineering activities, or tracking schedules.

OR

• Completed all requirements for a doctoral degree (i.e., Ph.D. or equivalent) in an appropriate field

OR

• Completed 3 full academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or equivalent doctoral degree in an appropriate field

OR

• Have an equivalent combination of experience and graduate study as discussed in a), b) and c) above

To qualify for GS-12

• One year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level:
• Developing engineering cost estimates to support project budgeting and planning;
• Reviewing facility contract documents and technical specifications to identify discrepancies and verify compliance with applicable engineering project requirements;
• Coordinating engineering project activities by conducting technical inspections and monitoring project progress to maintain established schedules.

To qualify for GS-13

• Analyzing project cost estimates and assess facility contracts, technical specifications, and scopes of work to establish project budgets and support engineering planning and execution;
• Evaluating facility contracts by reviewing technical specifications and contractor performance to ensure compliance with contractual and engineering requirements;
• Managing engineering projects by performing technical inspections, monitoring project progress, coordinating engineering activities, and maintaining project schedules.

Your resume must include a clear and detailed narrative description, in your own words, of how you meet the required specialized experience. Experience statements copied from a position description, vacancy announcement or other reference material constitutes plagiarism and may result in disqualification and losing consideration for the job.

Please visit https://www.nasa.gov/careers/how-to-apply/#Artificial-Intelligence to review NASA's guidance on the use of artificial intelligent (AI) or AI-assisted tools during the application process.

Education

Basic Requirement:

You must have successfully completed a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major in 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

Have a 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:

• 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, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those individuals 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 individual who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.
• Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination or any other written test required for professional.
• 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.
• 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 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. (The above examples of related curricula are not all inclusive.)

U.S. degrees must have been awarded from colleges or universities that are accredited by recognized accrediting organizations. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, go to http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs. These education credentials must be deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

All degrees must have been received in the year of, or any year subsequent to the original date of accreditation.

Additional information

Additional selections may be made for similar positions across NASA within the local commuting area(s) of the location(s) identified in this announcement. By applying, you agree to have your application shared with interested selecting official(s) within NASA. CTAP/ICTAP will be cleared for any additional selection from this announcement.

For purposes of Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) selection priority, well-qualified is defined as possessing knowledge, skills, abilities, and/or competencies which clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position, as determined through SME review of the resume/application. If you have special priority selection rights under ICTAP, you must:

• Indicate your eligibility when applying for a position.
• Exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position.
• Submit proof that you meet the requirements for ICTAP as indicated in "Required Documents."

For additional information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility, please review the following resource: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/#ictap.

Any applicant that received a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment (VSIP) from the federal government within the last five years based on the closing date of this announcement, if selected, may be required to repay the full amount prior to establishing a start date. For additional information on the VSIP repayment requirement, please review: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/voluntary-separation-incentive-payments/.

Per Executive Order 14343, this position is not part of a bargaining unit.

Probationary Period

You may be required to serve a one-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. If selected, the requirement to serve such period will be determined by Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 11.

In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government;
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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

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. Learn more about federal benefits.

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.