General Engineer

Summary This position is part of the CMEI Assistant Secretary for Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation, Department of Energy. As a General Engineer, you will serve as a subject matter expert in critical materials for the development and implementation of activities to improve research, development, demonstration and adoption of technologies. Duties The Department of Energy's mission is to ensure America's security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions.

The Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) works to drive and inspire innovation to transform materials and manufacturing for secure supply chains and a competitive energy economy.

We are truly honored that DOE has been named America's #1 Best Employer for Veterans in 2023 by Forbes-not only among Government agencies, but among employers across the U.S. We are so proud of this ranking which reflects our commitment to the employment of veterans. As so many veterans at DOE renew their service to our Nation, we are deeply committed to their success and advancement. Veterans shape the future of energy

As a General Engineer, you will:

• Direct and manage complex, high-visibility engineering and physical science programs of national significance.
• Serve as a top technical authority and expert consultant on interdisciplinary engineering and physical science matters.
• Formulate and evaluate long-range organizational policies, standards, objectives, and strategic plans.
• Oversee the design, execution, and evaluation of major technical projects, studies, and technological developments.
• Advise senior leadership and represent the agency on critical or controversial technical issues with internal and external stakeholders.
• Resolve unprecedented technical and programmatic problems where guidelines are absent, scarce, or conflicting.

Qualifications

You must meet both the Basic Requirement and the Specialized Experience to qualify for this series as described below.

BASIC REQUIREMENT:

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.ORCombination 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.)

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level GS-14 in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position is defined as meeting 2 of 3 of the following:

• Functioning as a recognized technical expert and consultant, applying advanced concepts in engineering and physics to evaluate major technical proposals, operational designs, or scientific data.
• Developing long-range plans, project strategies, operational policies, or technical standards to ensure successful program execution, resource alignment, and schedule adherence.
• Evaluating critical technical issues, assessing organizational impacts, and communicating complex technical information to brief senior management or represent the organization to external stakeholders.

"Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. 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.

Limit your resume to no more than two (2) pages. If more than two pages are submitted, only the first two pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility and qualifications. Your full resume will be made available to the hiring manager if you are referred.

Time-in-Grade: Current Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement to receive consideration and current employees must have at least a fully successful or equivalent performance rating to receive consideration.

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education This vacancy has a positive education requirement. In order to be rated as qualified, you must provide copies of your college transcripts. Failure to provide copies of your college transcripts may result in a rating of "Ineligible". Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website.

How you will be evaluated Your application will be assessed based on your responses to an online assessment that measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. The assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. For applicants applying under Merit Promotion or VEOA procedures, your score on this assessment will determine if you are considered a 'best qualified' candidate. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment.

Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here.

Your application and resume should demonstrate that you possess the following competencies. Do not provide a separate narrative written statement. Rather, you must describe in your resume how your past work experience demonstrates that you possess the competencies identified below. Use specific examples of employment or experience contained in your resume and describe how this experience has prepared you to successfully perform the duties of this position.

• Attention to Detail
• Customer Service
• Decision Making
• Flexibility
• General Engineering
• Influencing/Negotiating
• Integrity/Honesty
• Interpersonal Skills
• Learning
• Physics
• Planning and Evaluating
• Problem Solving
• Reasoning
• Research
• Self-Management
• Stress Tolerance
• Teamwork
• Technical Competence

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date ( 11/18/2026) of this announcement.

To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13108844. How to apply Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section. A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the announcement closing date to receive consideration.

The application process is as follows:

The application process is as follows:

• Read all instructions before you begin.
• Click "Apply Online."
• Complete the application and attach all required documents.
• Submit by 11:59 PM ET on the 11/18/2026.

Resume Tips:

• Max 2 pages and 5MB file size.
• PDF is recommended to preserve formatting; we also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, ODT, or Word (DOC/DOCX). No PDF portfolios.
• Use clear fonts like Lato, Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open Sans, Source Sans Pro, Roboto, or Noto Sans.
• Set 0.5-inch margins.
• Use 14-point font for titles, 10-point for main text.

Managing Your Application:

• Update: Edit your application in USAJOBS before the closing date.
• Status: Log into USAJOBS to view your application status. Learn more here: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.

Support:

• USAJOBS Help: Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/ for login.gov or USAJOBS assistance.
• Application Issues: If you have difficulty applying online, contact the Agency Contact listed in this announcement during business hours. Take screenshots of any system errors.

To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To verify the status of your application, during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account; applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each application status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.

Other information

• Shared Certificates: The Department of Energy shares lists of applicants among its internal Departmental Elements and organizations. You may be referred for consideration to other DOE Hiring Managers throughout the Department for more than one position based on this application. By applying to this announcement, you understand your application materials may be shared with multiple Hiring Mangers throughout DOE. If additional positions are filled from this announcement conditions of employment may differ. You will be notified if you are referred for additional positions.
• New employees to the Department of Energy will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify.
• Veterans and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply. For more information, please visit the links at the bottom of this page or visit the FedsHireVets website.
• If you believe that you are eligible for the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), please visit the OPM ICTAP/CTAP website for more information. In order to be considered under the ICTAP program, your application must score within the pre-established "well qualified" category as stated in the Qualifications section.
• More than one selection may be made from this vacancy announcement.
• Some positions may require completion of a probationary period of up to 1 (one) year.
• Many positions require successful completion of a background investigation.
• Your performance appraisal and incentive awards will be given due consideration in the selection process based on their relation to the duties of the position and the consistency with which they may be considered in evaluating you against other candidates.
• Hiring incentives may be authorized in accordance with agency policy and if funding is available.
• Equal employment opportunity policy.
• Employees or applicants may request Reasonable Accommodation (RA) for assistance, when applying or competing for a job or performing a job due to their medical condition or to exercise their religious beliefs. If you need reasonable accommodation in the application or selection process, please contact the Staffing Specialist listed on this vacancy announcement.
• Veterans Information: https://www.energy.gov/careers/veterans-military-spouses
• Selective Service Registration: http://www.sss.gov/
• The Fair Chance Act prohibits specific inquiries concerning an applicant's criminal or credit background unless the hiring agency has made a conditional offer of employment to the applicant. An applicant may submit a complaint to the agency within 30 calendar days of the date of alleged noncompliance by completing the Fair Chance Act Intake Form and emailing it to the Administrative Investigations Program at AdministrativeInvestigations@hq.doe.gov.
• Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.