NUCLEAR ENGINEER

U.S. Fleet Forces Command; Kittery (ME); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

U.S. Fleet Forces Command seeks a Nuclear Engineer to serve in the Nuclear Testing Engineering Division (2310) of the Nuclear Engineering and Planning Department at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

You will lead complex calculations, review analyses, and direct investigations related to naval propulsion systems. The role requires deep nuclear engineering knowledge, strong mathematical and analytical skills, and the ability to interpret advanced drawings and schematics.

Qualifications

• Naval nuclear propulsion plant systems knowledge and performance degradation.
• Experience with advanced mathematics, physics and modeling for nuclear systems.
• Ability to analyze complex engineering problems and propose solutions under uncertainty.
• Ability to read and interpret complex drawings, schematics and system layouts.

Responsibilities

• Provide leadership in development and review of complex nuclear propulsion calculations and reports.
• Lead investigations of major equipment failures and synthesize findings.
• Develop and deliver training focusing on risk reduction and integration of nuclear engineering in planning.
• Plan and execute work influencing organization-wide practices and projects with nuclear considerations.

Skills

Naval nuclear propulsion knowledge

Advanced mathematics & physics

Engineering analysis & modeling

Reading complex drawings & schematics

Education

ABET-accredited engineering degree or equivalent

Professional registration or licensure (EI/EIT/PE) or FE exam

Job description

Summary

You will serve as a

• TEMPORARY POSTION NOT TO EXCEED 1 YEAR AND MAY BECOME PERMANENT WITHOUT FURTHER COMPETITION. ***

You will serve as a NUCLEAR ENGINEER in the NUCLEAR TESTING ENGINEERING DIVISION (2310), NUCLEAR ENGINEERING and PLANNING DEPARTMENT of PORTSMOUTH NAVAL SHIPYARD.

• TEMPORARY POSTION NOT TO EXCEED 1 YEAR AND MAY BECOME PERMANENT WITHOUT FURTHER COMPETITION. ***

Duties

• You will provide authoritative technical direction and oversight in the development, review, and approval of the most complex and critical engineering calculations, analyses, and reports pertaining to naval nuclear propulsion plant systems.
• You will lead investigations of major equipment failures, persistent deficiencies and synthesize technical and operational evidence into defensible findings.
• You will develop and deliver advanced training for engineers, supervisors, and contractors that focuses on systemic risk, failure prevention, and integration of nuclear engineering considerations into planning.
• You will plan, direct, and execute work that influences organization wide practices and integrates nuclear engineering into complex projects and operations.

Requirements

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Conditions of Employment

• Must be a US Citizen.
• Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
• Must participate in the direct deposit pay program.
• New employees to the Department of the Navy will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov
• Generally, current federal employees applying for GS jobs must serve at least one year at the next lower grade level. This requirement is called time-in-grade. Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
• Within the Department of Defense (DoD), the appointment of retired military members within 180 days immediately following retirement date to a civilian position is subject to the provisions of 5 United States Code 3326.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• You will be required to obtain and maintain an interim and/or final security clearance prior to entrance on duty. Failure to obtain and maintain the required level of clearance may result in the withdrawal of a job offer or removal.
• You will be required to wear personal protective equipment such as helmets, gloves, coveralls, glasses, goggles, respirators, and safety shoes continuously for the duration of the work shift.
• Work is performed in areas where potentially harmful physical and chemical agents are present (e.g. fumes, dust, heat, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation and chemicals). You will be required to participate in medical surveillance programs.
• This position is subject to work an uncommon tour, including nights, weekends, and holidays to meet mission requirements. Overtime or night differential pay and/or unusual duty hours may be required.
• This position may require travel from normal duty station to CONUS and OCONUS and may include remote or isolated sites. You must be able to travel on military and commercial aircraft for extended periods of time.

Qualifications

• Your resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-12 grade level or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following: Specialized experience:

Specialized experience

• Experience with naval nuclear propulsion plant systems and components, including their design, operation, maintenance, regulatory requirements, performance characteristics, and long-term degradation mechanisms.
• Experience working with advanced mathematics, physics, and engineering sciences applied to sophisticated modeling, optimization, and performance evaluation of nuclear systems.
• Experience analyzing the most complex engineering problems, developing innovative and practical solutions, making sound judgments under conditions of uncertainty
• Experience reading and interpreting the most complex technical drawings, blueprints, and schematics, including advanced engineering diagrams, system layouts, electrical schematics, and process flow diagrams.

Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website:

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=List-by-Occupational-Series

AND

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/nuclear-engineering-series-0840/

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (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.

Education

Applicants must meet the following positive education qualifications requirements of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualifications Standards Manual:

Applicants Must Possess

• Basic Requirements for Nuclear Engineering Series 0840:

Basic Requirements for Nuclear Engineering Series 0840

• 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

• 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)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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.)

Note: An applicant who meets the basic requirements as specified in A or B above, except as noted under B.1., may qualify for positions in any branch of engineering unless selective factors indicate otherwise.

Additional information

This position is covered by the Department of Defense Priority Placement Program.

Additional vacancies may be filled by this announcement.

A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if the selectee fails to meet the pre-employment requirements, including failure to report to any of the scheduled appointments.

During the application process you will have the ability to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions in the local commuting area. Depending on the hiring organization and the position being filled, job requirements (e.g., security clearance, travel, drug testing, financial disclosure filing, bargaining unit status, etc.) may vary. Other hiring managers filling similar positions may offer relocation expense reimbursement and/or may offer recruitment incentives for new employees, depending on funding availability and in accordance with policy. If you opt-in and are referred on a certificate, your resume will be available to other hiring managers for 180-days from the date the job announcement closes. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Federal annuitant information: The selection of an annuitant is subject to the Department of Defense and Department of the Navy policy on the employment of annuitants. Policy information may be found at: http://www.secnav.navy.mil/donhr/Documents/CivilianJobs/FedCivAnnuitants.pdf

PPP

applicants will be placed at the FPL, if determined well qualified (WQ). To receive priority consideration, the FPL must be the same grade level or equivalent of the retained grade or the grade held immediately prior to separation.

ICTAP Applicants

To be considered well-qualified and exercise selection priority as an ICTAP candidate, displaced Federal employees must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a rating in the highly qualified category (score 85) or higher. ICTAP candidates must provide copies of all the following documentation at the time of application: 1) agency notice; 2) most recent performance appraisal; and 3) most recent SF-50 or notification of personnel action that includes position, grade level, and duty location. Applicants who do not provide this documentation will not receive consideration as an ICTAP candidate. For more information about ICTAP eligibility please review the following link https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/federal-employees/career-transition/

Military Spouse Preference

applicants will be placed at the highest grade for which they have applied and are determined Best Qualified (BQ). A BQ military spouse possesses knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies comparable to others who meet the competitive referral criteria for the specific position.

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.

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