Fire Protection Engineer

Job summary

This is a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) solicitation utilizing the DHA for Certain Personnel of the DoD Workforce to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service. About the Position: This position serves as the Europe District's technical authority and consultant on Fire Prevention/Protection (FPP) engineering and provides expert advice and engineering expertise on the interpretation of FPP policy directives for an extensive design and construction program.

Major duties

Serve as the technical expert in the Fire Prevention/Protection (FPP) functional area, responsible for establishing and implementing District-wide FPP engineering regulations, codes, criteria, standards, and technical processes. Provide technical review and advice in fire protection designs and construction issues in the field. Coordinate the work of other architects and engineers and provide standardization in the application of criteria and standards. The work involves complex features such as engineered smoke removal, automatic water sprinkler, various extinguishing systems, fire resistant materials for construction, life safety analysis of building features, and fire detection/alarm systems. Conduct fire protection engineering surveys and inspections of existing buildings, structures, equipment, water supplies, fire reporting systems and fire suppression systems at various areas throughout Europe. Prepare assessments and recommendations. Manage Fire Prevention/Protection requirements at the project programming stage and through the occupancy stage. Provide consultation to District offices, users of facilities, and DoD customers regarding fire protection and detection systems design, information, data, and technical issues. Review and approve fire prevention, protection, and detection designs, scopes of work, performance work statements, studies, and analyses prepared by in-house personnel and Architect-Engineer (A-E) firms for technical accuracy and code compliance. Develop contract documentation in the preparation of design studies, scopes of work, performance work statements, assessments, contract drawings, etc., for USACE. Perform construction site inspections to confirm ongoing and completed work complies with FPP regulations, advising on required compliance with applicable codes and standards. Review fire protection system test plans submitted by Contractors. Witness operational tests of fire suppression and life safety systems to validate acceptance of Contractor work. Coach less experienced Fire Protection engineers through design, review, construction, operation and maintenance involved in fire protection activities.

Qualification

Who May Apply: US Citizens In order to qualify, you must meet the education and experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. Basic Requirement for Engineers: A. Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree (or higher degree) 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. 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), 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) examination, or any other written test required for professional registration, by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, or 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 A above. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program. 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 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. In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below: Specialized Experience for GS-12: One year of specialized experience which includes: 1) Applying fire prevention/protection (FPP) engineering principles to the design and review of construction projects; 2) Ensuring designs comply with fire and life-safety codes; AND 3) Conducting fire protection engineering surveys and inspections of buildings and structures. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-11). Specialized Experience for GS-13: One year of specialized experience which includes: 1) Applying expert fire prevention/protection (FPP) engineering principles to the design and review of a wide range of construction projects; 2) Creating and/or evaluating technical designs to ensure compliance with fire and life-safety codes; 3) Conducting fire protection engineering surveys and inspections of buildings and structures; AND 4) Establishing FPP engineering regulations and technical processes. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-12). **A current Professional Engineer license is highly desired and preferred. The license must have been obtained by passing the fire protection engineering examination administered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and surveying (NCEES). You MUST submit a copy of your license with your application package (If applicable.).

Education

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show 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/

Evaluations

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees. If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet. Veterans and Military Spouses will be considered along with all other candidates. Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). If you are a Federal employee in the competitive service and your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority for this position. To receive selection priority, you must: (1) meet ICTAP eligibility criteria (2) be rated well-qualified for the position and; (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. To be considered well-qualified and receive selection priority applicants must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a score of 90 or above. Additional information about the program is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. This position may be filled at the GS-12 or the GS-13 level. If selected at the GS-12 level, you may be non-competitively promoted to the full performance level of GS-13 when eligible and at management's discretion.