
Mechanical Engineer
Washington, DCFull-time$122–158K/yrPosted 1 day ago
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Requirements
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Job overview
The Mechanical Engineer works in the National Gallery of Art’s Facilities Management Division, advising the Head of Facilities/Engineering on maintenance programs and mechanical systems. The role manages design plans and specifications for system repairs, replacements, renovations, and maintenance; prepares scopes of work for engineering contracts; reviews contractor designs and bids; advises staff on complex design and installation problems; and performs and directs engineering surveys.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Benefits
Full job description
Summary
We are the nation's art museum, home to a renowned collection of over 160,000 works of art from antiquity to today. Millions of people come through our doors each year—with even more online—making us one of the most visited art museums in the world. Located on the National Mall, admission to the West and East Buildings, Sculpture Garden, special exhibitions, and public programs is always free.
Duties
This position is located in the Facilities Management Division, National Gallery Of Art (NGA), Washington, DC, a organization providing a board range of facilities engineering and support services. The incumbent provides mechanical engineering advice, guidance and direction to the Head of Facilities/Engineering on all relevant matters including repair, program planning, alteration, upgrade and renovation of all aspects of the Gallery mechanical systems and equipment, facilities condition assessments, and maintenance service and repair contracts. Duties for this position include: Providing mechanical engineering expertise and recommendations to the Head of Facilities/Engineering in overseeing the Gallery's facilities maintenance management programs. Managing, coordinating and developing design. plans, and specifications for the repair, replacement, renovation and maintenance of the Gallery's chilled water distribution system, air handling unit systems (supply/ventilation exhaust air), steam systems, and plumbing (domestic irrigation storm water) systems. Preparing the scope of work for architect and engineer (A&E) contracts and reviewing the contractor's designs. Analyzing bids in the preparation of pre-award documents and providing technical responses to questions from prospective bidders. Serving as the technical advisor and expert to Administration Facilities Management and the Gallery's engineers and technicians on complex mechanical design problems and installation of mechanical systems. Performing and directing engineering surveys. Requirements
Qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement. For information on qualification requirements, see Qualification Standards Handbook for General Schedule Positions viewable on OPM Website. It is your responsibility to ensure that you submit appropriate documentation prior to the closing date. Your resume serves as the basis for qualification determinations and must highlight your most relevant and significant experience as it relates to this job announcement. Be clear and specific when describing your work history since human resources cannot make assumptions regarding your 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). Your resume must include the dates of all qualifying experience (from month/year to month/year) and the number of hours worked/volunteered per week. Qualifications
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)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 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. AND Specialized Experience Statement: Candidates must possess at least one year of specialized experience, equivalent in responsibility to the GS-12 level in the Federal service or private sector, managing construction projects or facilities service contracts, developing scopes of work/cost estimates, site inspections, preparing reports regarding performance of work, project closeout, invoice review for payment AND reviewing mechanical engineering reports or plans for commercial/ government clients. Associated Group standard: Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Professional and Scientific Positions You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement. 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.
Education
This position has an education requirement. Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website. How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses to the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, and methods related to planning, designing, developing, testing or evaluating thermodynamic, mechanical, electro-mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic, or structural equipment, systems, models, tools, or specialized mechanical devices. Knowledge of conceptualizing, developing, producing, understanding, and using plans, models, blueprints, and maps, including the use of tools and instruments to produce precision technical drawings, working prototypes, components, or systems. Skill in writing in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience. Skill in expressing information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information. Skill in performing engineering surveys. Category Rating: Qualified candidates will be assigned to one of the three quality categories: The quality categories are defined as: Qualified (70-79.99), Well Qualified (80-89.99), or Best Qualified (90-100). Qualified Category = Does not exceed the basic qualifications requirements described in the "Qualifications" section of this announcement. Well Qualified Category = Meets the basic qualifications requirements described in the "Qualifications" section of this announcement and demonstrates proficiency in the Critical Competencies defined below. (This category must be met to be considered under ICTAP procedures) Best Qualified Category = Meets the basic qualifications requirements described in the "Qualifications" section of this announcement and excels in the Critical Competencies defined below. The category assignment is a measure of the degree in which your background matches the competencies required for this position. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. The Category Rating Process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of many," but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligibles who meet the minimum qualification requirements and have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent or higher will be listed in the highest quality category (except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-09 level or higher). Note: Applicants who are referred to the hiring office for selection consideration may be required to submit writing and/or work samples as part of the interview/selection process. If the hiring office decides to request a writing and/or work sample as part of its selection process, the vacancy contact will reach out to you by email to: (1) inform you of this requirement; and (2) provide further instructions. You may preview questions for this vacancy. Benefits
The Federal Government offers a comprehensive benefits package. Flexible Spending Accounts - http://www.fsafeds.com/ Health Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/index.asp Leave - http://www.opm.gov/oca/leave/index.asp Life Insurance - http://www.opm.gov/insure/life/index.asp Retirement Program - http://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/ Other Information
The National Gallery of Art fosters a fair workplace and is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The EEO policy is found at: http://www.nga.gov/employment-opportunities/equal-employment-opportunity This position is not included in the bargaining unit. Relocation expenses will not be paid. 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. Reasonable Accommodation Policy: http://help.usajobs.gov/reasonable-accommodation Veterans Information: http://help.usajobs.gov/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/veterans Selective Service Registration: http://www.sss.gov/ Veterans Employment Opportunity Act (VEOA): To be eligible for a VEOA appointment under Merit Promotion procedures, the veteran must be a preference eligible or a veteran separated after 3 years or more of continuous active service performed under honorable conditions. Noncompetitive Appointment Authorities: For more information on noncompetitive appointment authority eligibility requirements visit the following websites: Persons with Disabilities-Schedule A Special Hiring Authorities for Veterans Special Hiring Authority for Certain Military Spouses Other Special Appointment Authorities Reasonable Accommodation Requests: The National Gallery of Art provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need an accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the contact person listed in this announcement.
How this job compares
Set against the 7,686 open Mechanical Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 6, 2026.
- Pay
- This posting$122–158K/yr
- Washington, D.C. median$118–174K/yr33 salary ranges
- US median$106–160K/yr4,648 salary ranges
This range's midpoint, $140K, is close to the Washington, D.C. median midpoint ($140K) — in the middle half of Mechanical Engineer salary ranges in Washington, D.C..
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 46 open Mechanical Engineer jobs in Washington, D.C. and 7,686 across the US. 2% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Hiring the most in Washington, D.C.
- Sargent & Lundy9 open
- Oracle6 open
- Jacobs5 open
- Experience
- This posting asks for at least 1 year of experience — less than three in four Mechanical Engineer postings that state a minimum ask for (median 5 years, across 6,392 postings).
- Education
- 5,272 of the 7,686 open Mechanical Engineer jobs (69%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.
Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 6, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.
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