This vacancy is for a GS - 0850 - 11/12/13, Electrical Engineer located in the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Coast Guard, USCG MARINE SAFETY CENTER. Promotion Potential: If this position is filled at a level below the full performance level, the selectee may be promoted without further competition. This implies no promise or guarantee of a promotion.
This position has a positive Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of Specialized Experience or substitution of education for experience or combination (if applicable) in order to be found minimally qualified. Transcripts must be submitted with your application package. You MUST meet the following requirements: Basic Requirements: 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: 1. 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 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) 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.) In addition to meeting the basic requirements above, applicants must possess one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level in the Federal service. 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 at the GS-11 grade level, applicants must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the federal sector. 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. Specialized experience must include the following: Experience reviewing electrical systems new construction, conversion, overhaul and/or repair. Experience drafting written correspondence to convey technical issues and engineering principles and regulations. Experience analyzing various electrical systems meeting US and international marine standards. OR Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree OR Combination of graduate level education and specialized experience that meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position. To qualify for the GS-12 grade level, applicants must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the federal sector. 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. Specialized experience must include the following: Experience analyzing and evaluating electrical systems new construction, conversion, overhaul and/or repair. Experience drafting written correspondence to convey technical issues and engineering principles and regulations. Experience evaluating various electrical systems meeting US and international marine standards. NOTE: Education cannot be substituted for experience at this grade level. To qualify for the GS-13 grade level, applicants must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level in the federal sector. 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. Specialized experience must include the following: Experience analyzing designs for a wide variety of shipboard electrical and electro-mechanical systems. Experience drafting written correspondence to convey technical issues and engineering principles and regulations. Experience evaluating test results to ensure specifications and operating requirements are met. Experience evaluating programs for the analysis of short circuit studies and coordination studies of shipboard power distribution systems. NOTE: Education cannot be substituted for experience at this grade level. National Service Experience (i.e., 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. The Office of Personnel management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule, C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.
You will serve as an Electrical Engineer and be responsible to provide expertise on a broad range of electrical shipboard equipment and systems to Headquarters and Coast Guard field personnel and representatives of the marine industry. Being a Coast Guard civilian makes you a valuable member of the Coast Guard team. Typical work assignments include: Analyzing designs for a wide variety of commercial shipboard electrical and electro-mechanical systems submitted by specialists in marine electrical, power distribution, and control engineering. Negotiating engineering compromises, based upon electrical and marine engineering principles and practical experience with shipboard systems for system designs and components not directly addressed by the regulations. Drafting written correspondence to ship owners and operators, naval architects, design engineers, consultants, equipment manufacturers, shipbuilders, Coast Guard field units, and the Commandant describing Coast Guard action on plans and information submitted for review. Reviewing and determining the merit of formal appeals of and requests for reconsideration of interpretation and application of federal and international regulations applicable to commercial shipboard electrical, electronic and electro-mechanical systems. Providing technical guidance and regulatory interpretations, participating in meetings with marine industry representatives, Coast Guard field inspectors, and Authorized Classification Society representatives working on the behalf of the Coast Guard.