Join NIST's Fire Research Division! Conduct cutting-edge research of wildland-urban interface fires, advancing modeling of fire dynamics and smoke transport. Focus on prescribed fire, improve fire spread simulators, and validate models with geospatial data. Collaborate with teams to develop tools supporting fire planning and safety. This notice is issued under direct-hire authority to recruit new talent to occupations for which NIST has a severe shortage of candidates.

Duties

In this position, you will: Conducting research in wildland-urban interface fires with a focus on: Advancing modeling of wildland fire dynamics and smoke transport. Emphasizing prescribed fire and the wildland-urban interface. Contributing to cutting-edge research supporting the development of robust numerical models for improved planning and implementation of prescribed fire. Developing, implementing, and evaluating numerical models of wildland fire dynamics, including: Combustion, heat transfer, and fluid flow. Enhancing the Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) software to better model fire spread and near-field smoke transport in outdoor flows. Processing and analyzing geospatial field data to validate and refine numerical models for accuracy and reliability. Collaborating with an interdisciplinary team of scientists, engineers, and external partners to align model capabilities with stakeholder objectives.

Requirements

• U.S. citizenship
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service
• Suitable for Federal employment
• Bargaining Unit Position: No

Qualifications

Basic Requirements (if applying under 0801 series): A. 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. 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), 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, 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. Basic Requirements (if applying under 1301 series): Degree: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics. or Combination of education and experience -- education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education. In addition to the basic requirements above for BOTH the 1301 series and the 0801 series, applicants must have at lease one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level (ZP-II at NIST). Specialized experience is defined as as experience in Numerical modeling in fluid dynamics, combustion, or atmospheric transport processes, Proficiency in programming languages, for example Python, Matlab, or FORTRAN, AND experience using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software and tools, for example, Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS). OR A master's or equivalent graduate degree. OR A combination of graduate level education and specialized experience. 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, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. 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 before a final offer of employment.

Use of foreign education for qualifications. An accredited organization must evaluate education completed outside of the U.S. 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 course-by-course listing) is required with your application.

Contacts

• Address Fire Research Division 100 Bureau Drive Gaithersburg, MD 20899 US
• Name: Tailor Thompson
• Phone: 000-000-0000
• Email: [email protected]