
SUPERVISORY MECHANICAL ENGINEER
United States Fleet Forces Command
Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, VAFull-time$108–140K/yrPosted today
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Job overview
The Supervisory Mechanical Engineer serves in the Submarine Propulsion Machinery Group at Norfolk Naval Shipyard. The role oversees technical planning and work schedules, coordinates specifications and contractor engineering support, and provides technical assistance for troubleshooting submarine propulsion equipment. It also includes guiding engineers and technicians, evaluating engineering processes and designs, and supporting repair and modernization work involving nuclear-powered submarines.
Skills & qualifications
Skills
Qualifications
Full job description
Summary
You will serve as a SUPERVISORY MECHANICAL ENGINEER in the Submarine Propulsion Machinery Group (C266P), Propulsion Machinery Branch (C266), Fluid/Mechanical Engineering and Planning Division (C260), Office of Chief Engineer (C240), Engineering and Planning Department (C200) of NORFOLK NAVAL SHIPYARD.
Duties
- You will be responsible for ensuring that short and long range technical plans meet the shipyard needs and goals.
- You will review workload schedules, progress reports and manning requirements to determine requirements and to direct and coordinate changes in the Group’s work and schedules.
- You will coordinate the development of technical specifications and if required, the engineering support to contractors, initiating requests for technical services.
- You will develop performance standards and performance appraisals, and assures they are completed within the required time limits.
- You will attend and participate in conferences and discussions with other shipyards and outside activities such as NAVSEA, SUBMEPP, NAVSEEES, NUWC, etc.
- You will provide technical assistance to the NNSY waterfront in troubleshooting all systems, equipment, and components related to submarine main propulsion equipment and supporting systems.
Qualifications
Your resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-12 grade level or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following: Experience performing detailed evaluations of new processes or innovative variations to existing processes for the purpose of improving operations. Experience providing technical guidance to junior grade engineers and technicians within and across the organization. Experience evaluating design objectives, performing complex technical evaluations, identifying most economical and efficient procedures considering all influences and preparing procedures, drawings, etc. for project execution. Experience and technical knowledge of engineering aspects unique to nuclear powered submarines and associated propulsion machinery such as but not limited to main propulsion turbines, reduction gears, bearing, seals, shafting, propellers, turbine generators, and their associated control systems and supporting equipment and systems. Experience making plans, setting objectives, and executing decisions pertaining to mechanical engineering services associated with the repair and modernization of the equipment and systems listed above. Knowledge of special emphasis and certification program work including SUBSAFE, Level I, and Steam Plant Cleanliness. Experience coordinating with government and private contractors to ensure that all technical issues are addressed and that all project objectives and schedules are met. Experience in on-the-spot decision making and ownership of engineered executed actions Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=List-by-Occupational-Series AND https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (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.
Education
Applicants must meet the following basic education requirements of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualifications Standards Manual: Successful completion of a professional engineering degree. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree (or higher) in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (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. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. OR 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 more information about EI and EIT registration requirements, please visit the National Society of Professional Engineers website at: http://www.nspe.org OR 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 The FE examination is not administered by the U. S. Office of Personnel Management. For more information, please visit: http://www.nspe.org/Licensure/HowtoGetLicensed/index.html. OR Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and in engineering that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A (above). The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A (above) OR 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 one 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. How You Will Be Evaluated
When the application process is complete, we will review your resume to ensure you meet the hiring eligibility and qualification requirements listed in this announcement. You will be rated based on the information provided in your resume and application package, along with your supporting documentation to determine your ability to demonstrate the following competencies: DEVELOPING OTHERS ENGINEERING PROJECT MANAGEMENT MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES ORAL COMMUNICATION PROBLEM SOLVING WRITTEN COMMUNICATION This recruitment will utilize the following technical assessment tools: Structured Resume Review, and Structured Interview. You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment. All eligibility, qualifications, and time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Other Information
This position is covered by the Department of Defense Priority Placement Program. Additional vacancies may be filled by this announcement. A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if the selectee fails to meet the pre-employment requirements, including failure to report to any of the scheduled appointments. During the application process you will have the ability to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions in the local commuting area. Depending on the hiring organization and the position being filled, job requirements (e.g., security clearance, travel, drug testing, financial disclosure filing, bargaining unit status, etc.) may vary. Other hiring managers filling similar positions may offer relocation expense reimbursement and/or may offer recruitment incentives for new employees, depending on funding availability and in accordance with policy. If you opt-in and are referred on a certificate, your resume will be available to other hiring managers for 180-days from the date the job announcement closes. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. Federal annuitant information: The selection of an annuitant is subject to the Department of Defense and Department of the Navy policy on the employment of annuitants. Policy information may be found at: http://www.secnav.navy.mil/donhr/Documents/CivilianJobs/FedCivAnnuitants.pdf PPP applicants will be placed at the FPL, if determined Well Qualified (WQ). To receive priority consideration, the FPL must be the same grade level or equivalent of the retained grade or the grade held immediately prior to separation. ICTAP Applicants: To be considered well-qualified and exercise selection priority as an ICTAP candidate, displaced Federal employees must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a rating in the highly qualified category (score 85) or higher. ICTAP candidates must provide copies of all of the following documentation at the time of application: 1) agency notice; 2) most recent performance appraisal; and 3) most recent SF-50 or notification of personnel action that includes position, grade level, and duty location. Applicants who do not provide this documentation will not receive consideration as an ICTAP candidate. For more information about ICTAP eligibility please review the following link: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/federal-employees/career-transition/ Military Spouse Preference applicants will be placed at the highest grade for which they have applied and are determined Best Qualified (BQ). A BQ military spouse possesses knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies comparable to others who meet the competitive referral criteria for the specific position.
How this job compares
Set against the 7,607 open Mechanical Engineer jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 4, 2026.
- Pay
- This posting$108–140K/yr
- Virginia median$100–144K/yr184 salary ranges
- US median$105–160K/yr4,544 salary ranges
This range's midpoint, $124K, is close to the Virginia median midpoint ($123K) — in the middle half of Mechanical Engineer salary ranges in Virginia.
- Openings
- Olive Jobs lists 226 open Mechanical Engineer jobs in Virginia and 7,607 across the US. 2% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
- Hiring the most in Virginia
- Amazon26 open
- Jacobs19 open
- Huntington Ingalls Industries14 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 6,333 postings).
- Education
- 5,226 of the 7,607 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 4, 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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