Fire Protection Engineer (Direct Hire)

Summary

Serves as the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) responsible for interpreting and applying fire protection, life safety, building, electrical, and operational requirements supporting NASA facilities and mission operations. Provides technical oversight, compliance determinations, and risk-informed recommendations for facility design, construction, modernization, and operational activities to ensure safe, reliable, and compliant execution of institutional and mission objectives.

Duties

• Duties described below are at the highest grade advertised. Duties assigned at lower grade levels will be of more limited scope, performed with less independence and limited complexity; duties will be commensurate with the grade of selected employee.
• Serves as the Center Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) for interpretation and application of fire protection, life safety, building, electrical, and operational code requirements.
• Reviews, approves, and provides final determinations on requests for code equivalencies, waivers, deviations, and alternate methods of compliance.
• Advises senior leadership, programs, projects, and institutional organizations on regulatory compliance, risk acceptance, and safety requirements affecting mission operations.
• Establishes and maintains policies, procedures, and technical standards governing facility design, construction, modification, and operation.
• Serves as the AHJ in multidisciplinary technical reviews of facilities, infrastructure, launch support systems, and institutional projects to ensure compliance with applicable requirements.
• Resolves complex technical issues involving code interpretation, life safety, fire protection, facility operations, and mission support activities.
• Coordinates with federal, state, local, and Agency stakeholders to ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and NASA directives.
• Provides strategic leadership supporting facility modernization, operational readiness, mission assurance, and long-term infrastructure planning.

Qualifications

In addition to the Basic Education Requirement (in the Education section below), to qualify for this position you must meet the requirements below and have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade, which has equipped you with the particular competencies needed to successfully perform the duties of the position described above. To qualify for GS-14, you must have one year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level: Evaluating facility designs, construction activities, engineering projects, or operational systems for compliance with codes, standards, and safety requirements; Leading technical analyses, inspections, assessments, or reviews related to fire protection, life safety, facilities engineering, or infrastructure systems; Developing recommendations and providing strategic guidance to address code compliance issues, technical deficiencies, or facility-related risks. To qualify for GS-15, you must have one year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 level: Serving as a technical authority responsible for interpreting and applying fire protection, life safety, building, electrical, or operational codes and standards; Evaluating and approving code compliance strategies, deviations, waivers, equivalencies, or risk-informed technical decisions affecting facilities or operations; Advising senior management, engineering organizations, or operational programs regarding regulatory compliance, facility safety, and technical requirements. Your resume must include a clear and detailed narrative description, in your own words, of how you meet the required specialized experience. Experience statements copied from a position description, vacancy announcement or other reference material constitutes plagiarism and may result in disqualification and losing consideration for the job. Please visit https://www.nasa.gov/careers/how-to-apply/#Super-Intelligence to review NASA's guidance on the use of super intelligent (SI) or SI-assisted tools during the application process.

Education

Basic Requirement: You must have successfully completed a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree. You must have successfully completed a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major in 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 Have a 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 individuals 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 individual 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. 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. 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 you have 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. (The above examples of related curricula are not all inclusive.) U.S. degrees must have been awarded from colleges or universities that are accredited by recognized accrediting organizations. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, go to http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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. These education credentials must be 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/. All degrees must have been received in the year of, or any year subsequent to the original date of accreditation. How You Will Be Evaluated

Direct Hire Authority: These positions will be filled through the Office of Personnel Management's Direct Hire Authority. Category rating and veterans' preference will not be considered in evaluating applicants. For more information on Direct Hire Authority, please see: OPM Direct Hire Fact Sheet. Veterans: Under the provisions of Direct Hire Authority, veterans' preference does not apply. However, applicants who are eligible for veterans' preference are encouraged to include that information in their application and submit supporting documentation (i.e. DD-214, or other substantiating documents). For more information please see: Veterans' Preference information on the FedsHireVets website. You will be evaluated for this position based on how well you meet the qualifications and eligibility requirements listed in this vacancy announcement. To determine your qualifications and referral status, we may review your resume and supporting documentation and compare it against your responses to the assessment questionnaire. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or assessment questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. You will be assessed on the following competencies: Fire Protection Engineering Fire Management Compliance Technical Competence To preview the application questionnaire, click on the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13112789 NASA considers 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. NASA will not ask you to disclose criminal history record information during the application process or before we make a conditional/tentative offer of employment. If you apply for this position and are selected, NASA will conduct a suitability/security background investigation after you accept a tentative job offer. If you feel you are asked to disclose your criminal history before you accept a tentative offer and wish to file a complaint within 30 days, please contact: [email protected]. Other Information

Additional selections may be made for similar positions across NASA within the local commuting area(s) of the location(s) identified in this announcement. By applying, you agree to have your application shared with interested selecting official(s) within NASA. CTAP/ICTAP will be cleared for any additional selection from this announcement. For purposes of Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) selection priority, well-qualified is defined as possessing knowledge, skills, abilities, and/or competencies which clearly exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position, as determined through SME review of the resume/application. If you have special priority selection rights under ICTAP, you must: Indicate your eligibility when applying for a position. Exceed the minimum qualification requirements for the position. Submit proof that you meet the requirements for ICTAP as indicated in "Required Documents." For additional information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility, click here - https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/#ictap. Any applicant that received a Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment (VSIP) from the federal government within the last five years based of the closing date of this announcement, if selected, may be required to repay the full amount prior to establishing a start date. For additional information on the VSIP repayment requirement, click here - https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/voluntary-separation-incentive-payments/. Per Executive Order 14343, this position is not part of a bargaining unit. Probationary Period You may be required to serve a one-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. If selected, the requirement to serve such period will be determined by Title 5 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 11. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.