NIST works with industry and science to advance innovation and improve quality of life. We're looking for a Mechanical Engineer to join our team! This notice is issued under direct-hire authority to recruit new talent to occupations for which NIST has a severe shortage of candidates.

Duties

Designs mechanical test programs for mission-critical projects, suitable for large ranges of length scale, strain rate, initial temperature and stress state, from yield up to and including fracture, and incorporates Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and temperature measurement (single point or thermographic) as appropriate. When necessary, designs customized test fixtures and test equipment to meet testing needs. Analyzes test data using analytical or numerical analysis methods (including finite element analysis (FEA)), and develops customized data analysis computer codes where appropriate, for example using the Python programming language. Develops theories linking microstructure to properties and performance, leveraging microstructural characterization measurements such as Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD) and High Energy X-Ray Diffraction (HEXRD) and building on previous work through careful reviews of relevant technical literature. Disseminates results in peer-reviewed journals, data publications and conference presentations.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service
• Suitable for Federal employment
• Bargaining Unit Position: No
• If qualifying based on education: transcripts are required.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: 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 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 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 all inclusive) For ZP-3: In addition to the above basic requirements: All applicants must have one year (52 weeks) of the specialized experience at the GS-9 level (ZP-II at NIST). Specialized experience is defined as experience on Mechanical testing of polycrystalline metals including magnesium, titanium, Inconel and stainless steel alloys at a range of length scales, strain rates, and temperatures using conventional test frames (servo-hydraulic and electro-mechanical) and Kolsky bars, and microstructure-property modeling using analytical and numerical analysis techniques (ABAQUS-FEA). OR Master's or equivalent graduate degree in related field. OR Combination of specialized experience and graduate education. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done. We will credit all qualifying volunteer experience in your application. The qualification requirements in this vacancy announcement are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook. Applicant Reconsideration

Education

This position has an education requirement. Transcripts must be submitted to validate that the education requirement has been met. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted in the application package. However, an official copy will be required prior to a final offer of employment.

Education completed outside of the U.S. must be evaluated by an accredited organization to ensure that it is comparable to education received in accredited institutions in the U.S. Click here to view a listing of accredited organizations from the Department of Education's website. A copy of the foreign education evaluation (containing the results with a course by course listing) is required with your application.

Contacts

• Address Materials Science and Engineering Division 100 Bureau Drive Gaithersburg, MD 20899 US
• Name: Amanda Reliford
• Phone: (202) 309-8886
• Email: [email protected]