About the Position: This position is with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Cold Regions Research Engineer Lab (CRREL). This is a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) solicitation to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service.

Duties

Utilizes professional knowledge in engineering to conduct research studies. Leads numerical modeling and quantitative studies for DoD applications. Conducts extensive background literature reviews and visits field sites to observe and/or identify precedent or related work performed, and to observe and identify problems being encountered. Establishes manpower, equipment, and funding requirements. Designs and conducts experiments, performs analysis of data obtained to determine validity, sufficiency, and applicability. Supports higher-level researchers and engineers. Presents findings that are expected to fill gaps in existing knowledge, practices, and/or technique in the area of specialization.

Requirements

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• Appointment to this position is subject to a probationary period unless the appointee has previously met the requirements as described in 5 CFR Part 315.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens In order to qualify, you must meet the 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 Research General Engineer: You must submit a copy of your transcript. 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: GS 12 Qualification Requirements: 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: One year of specialized experience which includes: Conducting basic and applied research in engineering and mathematics Initiating laboratory and field investigations Designing and conducting experiments Performing analysis of data Formulating specific conclusions that are presented in a series of published contributions OR Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: Engineering OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. This announcement MAY be used to fill like vacancies six months from the closing date. All qualification requirements, including time after competitive appointment, must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Contacts

• Address RG-W2R2AA US ARMY ENGR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMT CTR DO NOT MAIL Vicksburg, MS 39183 US
• Name: Army Applicant Help Desk