Facilities Engineer

Summary

This position is located within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Southeast Area, US National Poultry Research Center (USNPRC), Athens, GA. The primary purpose of the position is to provide professional engineering services to the USNPRC Facilities Operations Director in support of that official's responsibilities in the overall operations and maintenance of USNPRC special purpose biosafety and biocontainment facilities and general physical facilities.

Duties

• Oversee utility plant operations, building systems, and distribution networks—including boilers, chillers, generators, etc. to ensure safe, reliable, and compliant facility function.
• Inspect, regularly, campus buildings, utility systems, and specialized laboratory spaces; document facility conditions, identify deficiencies, and estimate maintenance needs and costs for multi year planning.
• Design and review mechanical, electrical, and civil engineering modifications in facilities, including biosafety systems.
• Develop and evaluate engineering designs, drawings, specifications, and project requirements for construction, renovation, and maintenance of biosafety and biocontainment facilities.
• Develop and update the Capital Projects and Repair Plan (CPRP), identifying and estimating costs for capital projects exceeding $25K.
• Develop project estimates, preparing documents for procurement, and managing construction or service contract performance as Contracting Officer's Representative (COR).
• Work as an Engineering Project Manager to manage and supervise Architect-Engineer design services task orders including plan/submittal reviews, payment evaluations, recommendations to the Contracting Officers (CO), and contractor evaluations.
• Write product requirements documents (PRDs) and statements of work (SOWs) for facility repair, construction and renovation contracts.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement, including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. Basic Requirements for Facilities Engineer, GS-0801: You must have either a degree 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 You must 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)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 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 allinclusive.) AND In addition to the basic requirements above, all applicants must also meet the following minimum qualification requirements: Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. The specialized experience requirements for the Facilities Engineer, GS-0801-13 is at least one year of specialized experience comparable to at least the GS-12 grade level, in the federal government, or its non-Federal equivalent, which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is described as experience applying mechanical, electrical, and civil engineering principles to operate and maintain complex biosafety and biocontainment facilities, laboratories, and animal housing; interpreting building blueprints and system drawings; developing Project Requirement Documents (PRDs) and Scopes of Work (SOWs) for facility repair, construction, and renovation; and managing projects and construction activities; and managing construction projects valued greater than $3 million and conducting facility condition assessments to prepare capital project plans. 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 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

Please see above for education qualification requirement information. How You Will Be Evaluated

Due to the Direct-Hire Authority (DHA), applicants are not rated and ranked numerically, and Veteran's preference does not apply. Applicants are strongly encouraged to provide complete information about their job-related experience and education. Your resume must document that you meet the Qualification Requirements detailed above. Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements established for the position will be placed in the Eligible category. Although Veteran's preference does not apply due to the existence of the DHA for this position, applicants are still encouraged to provide documentation related to veteran's preference. Applications will be evaluated in accordance with Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) Delegated Examining Procedures and USDA policy. 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 on 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): Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Influencing/Negotiating Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork The USA Hire Assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position. Those determined to be qualified will be referred to the selecting official for consideration. Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service. Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right. To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13058124 Other Information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100. The Office of Personnel Management has granted Direct Hire Authority for Scientific, Technical, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) positions. There is a critical hiring need, and these positions play a critical role within the Agency. The USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has authority to recruit and fill Permanent (Career/Career-Conditional) positions under Direct Hire Authority. Under this authority, any U.S. citizen may apply. For more information on the Government-wide Direct Hire Authority positions click here. Recruitment or Relocation Incentive may be authorized. The final determination to pay an incentive will be made by the hiring official at the time of job offer. This is a Testing Designated Position (TDP). Selectee must submit to a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment and random testing thereafter. Final appointment and continued employment is conditional on negative results for illegal drug use. This position may be eligible to telework up to four days per week, based upon the duties of the position. This position may also be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements.