Description
Summary
This position is part of the, Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. The incumbent will be responsible for the chemical engineer/investigator, providing technical and analytical assistance in chemical investigations. You will serve in a trainee capacity, performing routine and recurring developmental assignments to acquire knowledge and an understanding of functions, principles, practices, and methods used in the area of Chemical Engineering.
Duties
- Assists in chemical investigations by providing logistical support for on-site activities. This includes equipment and materials, obtaining local services such as court reporters, and communicating with local officials.
- Performs research and analyses of issues relating to investigations. Research subjects include existing regulations applicable to the industry, and a variety of topics resulting from the work of investigation teams.
- Writes reports of accidental release events to include the facts, circumstances, and conditions associated with the incident and develops the cause/probable cause based on information obtained during the investigation process.
- Evaluate additional information about the incident against the criteria of the incident selection process and provide appropriate recommendations.
More oversight is required for employees at the lower grade level.
Requirements
Conditions of employment
- US Citizenship is required.
- Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation.
- Direct Deposit of pay is required.
- Selective Service registration is required for male applicants, unless exempt.
- Must have completed, within the previous 2 years (up to 6 years for certain veterans), a qualifying associate's, bachelor's, master's, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution.
- A 1-year trial period is required.
- Physical Requirements: If selected, you will be required to obtain, prior to entrance on duty, a physical examination by a licensed physician certifying your ability to perform the duties of this position.
- A Pathways Recent Graduate Participant Agreement is required.
- Eligibility Requirements: To be eligible for the Pathways Recent Graduates Program, the following qualifications must be met:
- Be a U.S. citizen;
- Possess a qualifying associate's, bachelor's, master's professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution, within the previous 2 years.
- Veterans: If you are a veteran, as defined in 5 U.S.C. 2108, who, due to military service obligation, was precluded from applying to the Recent Graduates Program during any portion of the 2-year eligibility period, you shall have a full 2-year period of eligibility upon your release or discharge from active duty. In no event, however, may your eligibility period extend beyond 6 years from the date on which you completed the requirements of an academic course of study.
- Eligibility Requirements: To be eligible for the Pathways Recent Graduates Program, the following qualifications must be met:
Qualifications
Applicants must carefully review the information in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section for important information and instructions about the multi-hurdle assessment process for this position.
Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement OR when the applicant total reaches 250, will be considered.
BASIC REQUIREMENT FOR ENGINEERS: (NOTE: You must attach a copy of your transcripts. Failure to submit transcripts will result in an ineligible rating.)
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 different 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. Please visit ABET's website Home - ABET for more information on engineering programs that have received accreditation.
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 a 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. For more information about EI and EIT registration requirements, please visit the National Society of Professional Engineers website at: National Society of Professional Engineers |
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. The FE examination is not administered by the U. S. Office of Personnel Management. For more information, please visit How To Get Licensed
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.) 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.
In addition to meeting one of the Basic Requirements above, applicants must meet the following Minimum Qualification requirement in order to be considered for this position:
At the GS-07, you must meet one of the following qualifications:
A. One full year of graduate-level education (18 semester hours) in an accredited or pre-accredited college or university in one of the following fields of Engineering listed above. The education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work; OR
B. One year of graduate-level education OR Superior Academic Achievement. OR
C. One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 level. Specialized experience is that which has equipped the applicant with the competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience for this position includes 1. Assisting senior investigators in conducting chemical incident investigations, and 2. Prepares preliminary reports based on factual findings during investigations for senior investigator review., and 3. Research basic chemical investigation guidance, policies, and laws. All must be found to be qualified OR
D. A combination of education and experience as listed above in A or C, when combined equals 100% of the total requirements. OR
E. Successfully completed a 5-year program of study of at least 160 semester hours leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering from an accredited institution. OR
F. I have an engineering bachelor's degree and have appropriate experience as a technician equivalent to grade GS-5 or higher.
At the GS-09 level, you must meet one of the following qualifications:
A. One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-07 level. Specialized experience is that which has equipped the applicant with the competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience for this position includes 1. Provides analytical and technical assistance in the investigative process including applying engineering principles, concepts, and practices in accidental chemical releases, and 2. Research chemical investigative data and prepare reports, and 3. Conducts quality assurance reviews to improve the effectiveness of the products or services to internal and external stakeholders when applicable; All must be found to be qualified OR
B. Successfully completed 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or a master's or equivalent graduate degree., if related to one of the following fields of Engineering that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to successfully complete the work of the position; OR
C. A combination of education and experience as listed above in A and B, which equals 100% of the total requirement. OR
D. Successfully completed a 5-year program of study of at least 160 semester hours leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering and 1 year of appropriate professional experience. OR
E. I have successfully completed a bachelor's degree in engineering with superior academic achievement and 1 year of appropriate professional.
Please visit OPM for more information: all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf
Education
TRANSCRIPTS: You must provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all of your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement. All documentation needs to be legible. If selected, you will need to provide official transcripts. Note: PDF Portfolio documents will not be processed or accepted as they appear as a one-page document.
Only education from institutions that are accredited or pre-accredited/candidate for accreditation may be used to meet education requirements.
FOREIGN EDUCATION: 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 and such education has been 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/
Superior Academic Achievement:
Must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled, such as that identified in Education above. It is based on:
(1) Class Standing: Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses;
OR
(2) Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.): Applicants must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on your official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better)based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum;
OR
(3) Honor Society Membership: Applicants may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies.
Combination of experience and education: The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate-level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be combined with experience.
Graduate Education:
1. Regardless of the field of undergraduate study, completion of the requirements for a master's or higher degree in engineering is fully qualifying for the grade indicated, provided the applicant's total background, i.e., education and any experience, demonstrates evidence of knowledge, skills, and abilities that are substantially equivalent to those acquired through the successful completion of the courses specified in the Basic Requirements for Engineers, A-- (DEGREE) listed above.
2. With a bachelor's degree in engineering, graduate education in a related field is acceptable in lieu of graduate study in engineering for appropriate types of positions. For example, a Bachelor of Science in engineering plus a master's degree in business administration would be qualifying for Industrial Engineer, GS-9, but not for GS-9 laboratory positions in research and development. The key consideration in determining if such graduate education should be credited is whether or not the education provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work of the position being filled.
