CHEMICAL ENGINEER
U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board Board
Washington, DC
Full-time
Engineering
Posted on April 26, 2024
This position is part of the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. The incumbent will be responsible for organizing, managing, and coordinating the investigation and analysis of major incidents involving the accidental release of a regulated substance or other extremely hazardous substance into the ambient air from a stationary source and writing, developing and presenting reports with safety recommendations.
Duties
- Serves as a Chemical Engineer for the U.S. Chemical Safety & Hazard Investigation Board.
- Performs on-scene investigation activities to support the investigation of accidental release events.
- Assists in surveying sites, determining the scope of the investigation, and working with local jurisdictional officials to secure the scene and to assure that evidence is not jeopardized.
- Manages resources and expenditures related to the investigation per Board orders, directives, and policies.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- US Citizenship is required.
- Suitable for Federal employment, determined by background investigation.
- Direct Deposit of pay is required.
- Selective Service registration required for male applicants, unless exempt.
- Status candidates must meet time-in-grade (see Qualifications).
Qualifications
Applicants must carefully review the information in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section for important information and instructions pertaining to the multi-hurdle assessment process for this position.
Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.
Basic Requirement for Engineers: (NOTE: You must attach a copy of your transcripts. Failure to submit transcripts will result in an ineligible rating.)
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 different 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. Please visit ABET's website (Home - ABET) for more information on engineering programs that have received accreditation.
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 a 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. For more information about EI and EIT registration requirements, please visit the National Society of Professional Engineers website at National Society of Professional Engineers | (nspe.org)
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.
The FE examination is not administered by the U. S. Office of Personnel Management. For more information, please visit: How To Get Licensed (nspe.org)
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.) Note: An applicant who meets the basic requirements as specified in A or B above, except as noted under B.1., may qualify for positions in any branch of engineering unless selective factors indicate otherwise.
In addition to meeting one of the Basic Requirements above, applicants must meet the following Minimum Qualification requirement in order to be considered for this position:
At the GS-11, you must meet one of the following qualifications:
A. One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level. Specialized experience is that which has equipped the applicant with the competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience for this position includes. 1. Assists in implementing capital projects using corporate and/or industry standards, 2. Analyzed engineering/scientific data to identify issues for program/project improvement and conducted troubleshooting and optimization activities, 3.Participated as a member of an investigation team, such as a Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) team, and 4. Conducts routine to advance inspections of facilities, components, and operations, sometimes requiring unique inspection methods or techniques (ALL MUST BE FOUND IN RESUME TO BE QUALIFIED) OR
B. Three (3) years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to A Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree if related to Chemical Engineer; OR
C. A Combination of education and experience as listed above.
Combination of experience and education: The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate-level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be combined with experience.
Education: One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered an academic year of graduate study.
At the GS-12, you must meet the following qualifications:
One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level. Specialized experience is that which has equipped the applicant with the competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience for this position includes 1. Analyzed engineering/scientific data to identify issues for program/project improvement and conducted troubleshooting and optimization activities, 2. Served on an investigation team, such as a Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) or process upset investigation team, 3. Performs audits of Safety Management Systems (SMS) plans, and 4. Participated as a subject matter expert to support the implementation of Mechanical Integrity Management Program corrective action items. (ALL MUST BE FOUND IN RESUME TO BE QUALIFIED)
TIME-IN-GRADE: Current career or career-conditional employees of the Federal government, or former career or career-conditional employees, who have a break in service of less than one year, are required to meet the time-in-grade restriction of one year of Federal experience at the next lower grade, with few exceptions outlined in 5 CFR 300.603(b).
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.
Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.
Basic Requirement for Engineers: (NOTE: You must attach a copy of your transcripts. Failure to submit transcripts will result in an ineligible rating.)
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 different 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. Please visit ABET's website (Home - ABET) for more information on engineering programs that have received accreditation.
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 a 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. For more information about EI and EIT registration requirements, please visit the National Society of Professional Engineers website at National Society of Professional Engineers | (nspe.org)
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.
The FE examination is not administered by the U. S. Office of Personnel Management. For more information, please visit: How To Get Licensed (nspe.org)
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.) Note: An applicant who meets the basic requirements as specified in A or B above, except as noted under B.1., may qualify for positions in any branch of engineering unless selective factors indicate otherwise.
In addition to meeting one of the Basic Requirements above, applicants must meet the following Minimum Qualification requirement in order to be considered for this position:
At the GS-11, you must meet one of the following qualifications:
A. One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level. Specialized experience is that which has equipped the applicant with the competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience for this position includes. 1. Assists in implementing capital projects using corporate and/or industry standards, 2. Analyzed engineering/scientific data to identify issues for program/project improvement and conducted troubleshooting and optimization activities, 3.Participated as a member of an investigation team, such as a Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) team, and 4. Conducts routine to advance inspections of facilities, components, and operations, sometimes requiring unique inspection methods or techniques (ALL MUST BE FOUND IN RESUME TO BE QUALIFIED) OR
B. Three (3) years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to A Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree if related to Chemical Engineer; OR
C. A Combination of education and experience as listed above.
Combination of experience and education: The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate-level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be combined with experience.
Education: One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered an academic year of graduate study.
At the GS-12, you must meet the following qualifications:
One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level. Specialized experience is that which has equipped the applicant with the competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience for this position includes 1. Analyzed engineering/scientific data to identify issues for program/project improvement and conducted troubleshooting and optimization activities, 2. Served on an investigation team, such as a Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) or process upset investigation team, 3. Performs audits of Safety Management Systems (SMS) plans, and 4. Participated as a subject matter expert to support the implementation of Mechanical Integrity Management Program corrective action items. (ALL MUST BE FOUND IN RESUME TO BE QUALIFIED)
TIME-IN-GRADE: Current career or career-conditional employees of the Federal government, or former career or career-conditional employees, who have a break in service of less than one year, are required to meet the time-in-grade restriction of one year of Federal experience at the next lower grade, with few exceptions outlined in 5 CFR 300.603(b).
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.
Education
If qualifying based on EDUCATION you MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all of your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement.
Only education from institutions which are accredited or preaccredited/candidate for accreditation may be used to meet education requirements.
FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that 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://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html
Additional information
Career Transition Assistance Programs: CTAP/ICTAP provides placement assistance to permanent Federal employees who are surplus, displaced, or involuntarily separated. Applicants claiming CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit a copy of their most recent performance appraisal, proof of eligibility, and most current SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with their application. To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, applicants must be well-qualified (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements), score at least 85 on the assessment questionnaire, and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry. For information on CTAP and ICTAP visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/federal-employees/career-transition/
Appointment Authorities: For more information on appointment authority eligibility requirements:
Persons with Disabilities-Schedule A
Special Hiring Authorities for Veterans
Special Hiring Authority for Certain Military Spouses
Other Special Appointment Authorities
OPM Interchange Agreement and Other Miscellaneous Authorities
Special Hiring Authorities for Veterans
Special Hiring Authority for Certain Military Spouses
Other Special Appointment Authorities
OPM Interchange Agreement and Other Miscellaneous Authorities
Telework Suitability:
Not Eligible- This position is a remote position.
Stipulations of Employment:
Selection may require completion of a 1-year probationary period.
If selected, you will be required to obtain, prior to entrance on duty, a physical examination with a respirator test by a licensed physician certifying your ability to perform the duties of this position.
Work Schedule:
This position allows for a flexible work schedule.
Miscellaneous:
This position is covered by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), Local 2211.
CSB uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit http://www.uscis.gov/e-verify.
This position is being advertised concurrently with vacancy announcement #CSB-24-DE-12395945NS using Delegated Examining (DE) procedures. If interested, refer to that announcement to determine if you meet DE requirements and can apply to that announcement. NOTE: You must apply separately to each announcement in order to be considered under both.
This vacancy announcement may be used to fill similar positions within 90 days.
If selection is made below the full performance level, promotion up to the full performance level may be made without further competition. However, promotion(s) will depend on the performance of the incumbent and are not guaranteed.
