Job Summary

This position is with Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), Technical Support, Mechanical and Engineering Safety Division (M&ESD). MSHA works to prevent death, illness and injury from mining; promote safe and healthful workplaces for U.S. miners. MSHA carries out the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine Act) as amended by the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act of 2006.

Job Description

You must meet the Basic Requirements to qualify for Physical Scientist/Mechanical Engineer, as described below. Transcripts must be submitted to verify education requirements. Basic Requirement - Mechanical Engineer: 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), 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. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.) Basic Requirement - Physical Scientist: A. 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 B. 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 as described above, your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience defined below. Be sure these types of examples are evident in your resume. Specialized Experience is the experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the position successfully, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level. GS-12: Must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, experience and skills to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience must include four of the following: Working knowledge of engineering and physical science concepts and methods used in contemporary mining and blasting technology coupled with practical experience in mining to serve in applying such knowledge to the issues and problems encountered in explosive and blasting safety. This is applicable to related explosive and blasting safety in other relevant areas (construction, demolition, explosive manufacturing, etc.) Experience in conceiving, planning, and implementing new or known solutions to engineering and scientific problems and safety issues, including the ability to evaluate third party testing procedures for applicability to regulatory compliance. Application of engineering and physical science concepts, related scientific fields, and mining practices, to utilize the appropriate scientific principles in performance of approval processing, field and laboratory investigations, and evaluations of explosives, blasting, or mining equipment. Provide engineering and scientific solutions to critical technical problems or questions related to safety and health features of varied and complex explosives and blasting systems and practices as they relate to mining equipment, methods, and regulatory issues. Experience in developing new or improved procedures, policies and testing requirements, training programs/materials, and professional and scientific papers, and to provide training on and present such information to varied stakeholders. Apply applicable regulations, standards, policies, related professional organizations' standards, and other applicable federal Agencies' standards to improve explosives and blasting safety in mining applications. There is no substitution of education in lieu of specialized experience at the GS-12 grade level.