Supervisory Mechanical Engineer

Bureau of Reclamation; Grand Coulee (WA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Bureau of Reclamation, Pacific Northwest Region, is seeking a qualified engineer for the Construction and Engineering Group at the Grand Coulee Field Office. This position requires oversight of mechanical construction activities, coordination with multi-disciplinary teams, and field inspections.

A current PE license is mandatory and travel to construction sites is anticipated. Applicants must meet ABET-accredited education requirements or an equivalent combination and be prepared to provide

Qualifications

• Engineering degree with ABET accreditation or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Must possess professional engineering license (PE) or be eligible for licensure (EI/EIT).
• Experience coordinating complex mechanical construction and reviewing technical docs is required.

Responsibilities

• Oversee complex mechanical construction activities.
• Direct work of engineers and construction personnel.
• Review contractor submittals, specifications, and drawings.
• Conduct field inspections to ensure safety, environmental, and technical compliance.
• Coordinate mechanical engineering with civil, electrical, and other disciplines.
• Administer construction contracts and propose modifications.
• Provide expert mechanical engineering guidance to contractors and project teams.

Skills

Mechanical construction management

Contract administration

Field inspections

Interdisciplinary coordination

Education

ABET-accredited engineering degree

Professional engineer license (PE)

Job description

This position locates in the Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Pacific Northwest Region (PN), Office of the Regional Director, Construction and Engineering Group (CEG-1020000) located at Grand Coulee Field Office in Coulee Dam, Washington.

You may be required to travel overnight away from home for the purpose of visiting construction sites, performing field work, and attending meetings. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.

Qualifications:

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-10/13/2026-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.

Selective Placement Factor: This position requires a special qualification that has been determined to be essential to perform the duties and will be used as a screen out element. If you do not provide evidence that you possess the following selective factor(s), you will be rated not qualified.

You must possess a current, valid Professional Engineer License. You must provide a copy of your license with your application package.

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

Basic Educational Requirement AND 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 (you must include a copy of your transcripts):

• 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.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:
  • 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.)

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To qualify for this position at the GS-13 grade level:

• Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular competencies needed to successfully perform the duties of this position. Examples of specialized experience may include: overseeing complex mechanical construction activities; directing the work of engineers or construction personnel; reviewing and evaluating contractor submittals, technical specifications, and engineering drawings; conducting field inspections to ensure compliance with safety, environmental, and technical requirements; coordinating mechanical engineering work with civil, electrical, or other technical disciplines; administering construction contracts or recommending contract modifications; and providing expert mechanical engineering guidance to contractors, project teams, or stakeholders.

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.