Materials Engineer

Summary This position is located in the Office of Nuclear Material Safety & Safeguards (NMSS), Division of Fuel Management (DFM), Materials & Structural Branch (MSB). The supervisor is Tom Boyce. This position is Bargaining Unit with the National Treasury Employees Union, Chapter 208. This position IS subject to Confidential Financial Disclosure reporting requirements. This position IS subject to security ownership restriction reporting requirements Responsibilities The successful candidate will perform the full range of Material Engineer duties: 1. Provides technical assessments in the areas of materials, metallurgical and mechanical engineering relating to areas that may include design, analysis, fabrication, operation, maintenance, inspection and testing of systems and components of facilities and components, particularly nuclear fuel facilities and fuel storage and transportation systems. 2. Conducts reviews of analytical evaluations related to materials behavior, irradiation effects, environmental effects, chemical effects, fracture mechanics, structural integrity and non-destructive examinations (NDE) of facilities and components. 3. Participates in the development of guides, standards, criteria, and methods of analysis related to fuel facilities and storage and transportation of spent fuel and other radioactive material. 4. Participates in discussions with representatives of external organizations having interests and responsibilities in the materials engineering aspects of nuclear power plants, fuel facilities, and fuel storage and transportation systems, including standards development organizations, government agencies such as the Department of Energy (DOE), NRC applicants and licensees, and various industry organizations. Requirements Conditions of Employment U.S. Citizenship Required This is a Drug Testing position. Background investigation leading to a clearance is required for new hires. You must meet the qualifications for this position by no later than 30 calendar days after the closing date of this announcement and before placement in the position. Qualifications In order to qualify for this position, you must have at least one year of specialized experience at the next lower grade level in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate the following: 1. Demonstrated knowledge and experience in the field of materials science and metallurgy, particularly as applied to the design, construction, operation, maintenance, inspection, and evaluation of nuclear facilities, including reactors, fuel transportation and storage installations, and fuel cycle facilities. 2. Demonstrated experience in leading, managing, or participating with others in complex, highly technical research projects or tasks leading to timely issue resolution. 3. Demonstrated ability to work effectively with internal and external organizations on technical projects on a variety of subjects related to materials or metallurgical engineering. 4. Demonstrated ability to communicate and present technical information clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE is defined as experience that demonstrates thorough knowledge of the principles, theories, and practices in the field of materials science to be able to review and evaluate the materials properties of proposed designs of fuel cycle facilities and transportation and storage systems to ensure compliance with regulatory standards. Education Qualifications for All Professional Engineering 0800 Series: Basic Requirements: Degree: 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 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: 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. 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. 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. 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.) More detailed information about these alternatives are described in the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Qualification Standards Operating Manual which may be accessed at the following website: pm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/materials-engineering-series-0806/n Qualifications for Metallurgy 1321 Series Degree: metallurgy or metallurgical engineering that included at least 20 semester hours in metallurgical subjects. or Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Additional Information The duty location of this position is Rockville, MD. In general, employees are expected to be in the office at a minimum of 4 days per pay period. Telework schedules, including full-time telework, are approved, on a case-by-case basis. If selected, telework will be determined in accordance with Agency policy and the Collective Bargaining Agreement, if applicable.