Interdisciplinary Engineer

Summary

This position is located in Resilience, Hazard Mitigation Directorate, Building Science and Planning Division, Earthquake & Wind Sciences Branch. The ideal candidate for the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program has the skills to advance seismic risk reduction, building science, and hazard-resistant building codes and standards.

Duties

What will I do in this position if hired? In this position, you will oversee projects to advance the state-of-the-art of seismic risk reduction for new and existing buildings and lifelines for FEMA's National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP). Typical assignments include: Providing subject matter expertise on the development, integration and application of NEHRP guidance and seismic risk reduction across FEMA programs. Supporting the development of hazard-resistant building codes and standards and coordinating with FEMA Components, interagency partners, and external stakeholders to advance seismic risk reduction. Advancing innovative approaches to applying building codes and standards to reduce risk from earthquakes and other natural hazards. What else do I need to know? At FEMA, our mission is to help people before, during and after disasters, and every employee at FEMA has a role in emergency management. Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee's official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions.

Qualifications

The qualification requirements listed below must be met by the closing date of this announcement. This position has an Individual Occupational Requirement. Basic Requirements (for Engineers): A. 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- 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. Basic Requirement for (Architect): A. Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in architecture or in a related field that included 60 semester hours of course work in architecture or related disciplines of which at least (1) 30 semester hours were in architectural design, and (2) 6 semester hours were in each of the following: structural technology, properties of materials and methods of construction, and environmental control systems. -OR- B. Combination of Education and Experience: College-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the arts and sciences underlying professional architecture, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the architectural principles, methods, and techniques and their applications to the design and construction or improvement of buildings. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by at least one of the following: (1) Related Curriculum - Degree in architectural engineering provided the completed course work in architectural engineering provided knowledge, skills, and abilities substantially equivalent to those provided in the courses specified in statement A above, or (2) Experience: 1 year of experience in an architect's office or in architectural work for each year short of graduation from a program of study in architecture. In the absence of any college courses, 5 years of such experience is required. This experience must have demonstrated that you have acquired a thorough knowledge of the fundamental principles and theories of professional architecture. Current Federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the Federal service. The qualification requirements listed below must be met by the closing date of this announcement. In addition to the IOR listed above, to qualify for this position at the GS-13 level, you must possess one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal government, which has equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. Experience may be obtained in the federal government, a state or local government, or private sector, and must demonstrate the following: Supporting the management of complex and technical programs and projects; AND Collaborating with diverse technical and non-technical stakeholders to achieve successful outcomes; AND Applying knowledge of building science, seismic structural design, construction, mitigation, and retrofits; OR Applying hazard-resistant building codes, specifications, and standards. Please read the following important information to ensure we have everything we need to consider your application: Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. Your resume serves as the basis for experience related qualification determinations, and you must highlight your most relevant and significant work experience and education (if applicable), as it relates to this job opportunity. Please use your own words, be clear, and specific when describing your work history. We cannot make assumptions regarding your experience. Are you qualifying based on your work experience? Qualifications are based on your ability to demonstrate in your resume that you possess one year of the specialized experience for this announcement at a comparable scope and responsibility. To ensure all of the essential information is in your resume, we encourage you to use the USAJOBS