Supervisory General Engineer

US Geological Survey; Tuscaloosa (AL); On-site; USD 108,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

US Geological Survey in Tuscaloosa, AL is seeking a Supervisory General Engineer to support R&D, procurement, repair/maintenance, testing, and evaluation of instruments and equipment. The role oversees lab and field testing, QA/QC, and documentation to guide instrument performance decisions.

The position requires an ABET-accredited engineering degree (or equivalent) and at least one year of specialized experience at GS-12 level. Federal steps 01–10; salary ranges listed.

Qualifications

• Engineering degree with ABET accreditation or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Evidence of professional registration/licensure or FE exam is acceptable under alternative standards.
• Experience planning and conducting instrument testing and evaluating performance.

Responsibilities

• Plan and conduct laboratory and field testing of instrumentation and equipment.
• Apply QA/QC requirements and analyze results to resolve technical issues.
• Document findings and recommendations to determine equipment performance and reliability.

Skills

Laboratory testing

Quality assurance

Technical analysis

Documentation

Education

ABET-accredited engineering degree

Engineering combination/licensure options

Job description

You will serve as a Supervisory General Engineer at the Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility (HIF) providing support to assess research and development, procurement, repair and maintenance, testing, and evaluation of instruments and related equipment.

Salary

The salary range is between $107,510 (Step 01) - $139,764 (Step 10)

First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-10/30/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

Minimum Qualification Requirements

To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications:

Basic Educational Requirement AND/OR Specialized Experience for the series to which you are applying.

Basic Educational Requirements

In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following:

• A. 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. You must submit transcripts.

-OR-

• B.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.)

-AND-

• Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: Planning and conducting laboratory and field testing of instrumentation and equipment; applying quality assurance and quality control requirements; analyzing results and resolving complex technical issues; and documenting findings and recommendations to determine equipment performance, reliability, and suitability for operational use. You must include hours per week worked.

Volunteer Experience

Volunteer Experience: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (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. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.