General Engineer (Keystone)

Summary

See below for important information regarding this job.

Additional vacancies may be filled from this announcement.

• This position is a Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) Keystone Program Opening.

• Prior to appointment, all candidates will be required to sign a Keystone Conditions of Employment Agreement.

• Additional vacancies may be filled from this announcement.

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Duties

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• This is an entry-level (developmental) career ladder position in the Pricing Division of the Cost and Pricing Command
• Provide technical pricing support for defense acquisition program contract proposals.
• Familiarity with federal statutes, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS), DCMA policies and procedures applicable to technical pricing support, engineering surveillance, analysis, and support.
• Acquire essential knowledge of engineering surveillance activities such as Contract Receipt and Review (CRR) related to contract cost, schedule and performance, Independent Research and Development/Bid and Proposal expenses.
• Acquire essential knowledge of engineering surveillance activities such as first article inspections, production, plant layout, manufacturing processes and techniques, and contract schedule changes.
• Become familiar with DCMA engineering surveillance performance indicators to assess the contractor's performance.
• Become familiar with contractor performance data including systems engineering, software engineering, manufacturing engineering, supply chain management, industrial analysis, and EVM performance for trends.
• Attend and complete required training as outlined in the Training Plan, to include Acquisition Workforce Back to Basics requirements.
• Complete administrative actions (such as submitting training forms) and actively participate in mentoring to improve knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• Security Requirements: Non-Critical Sensitive with Secret Access
• Appointment is subject to the completion of a favorable suitability or fitness determination, where reciprocity cannot be applied; unfavorably adjudicated background checks will be grounds for removal.
• Selective Service Requirement: Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service.

Qualifications

To qualify for an General Engineer (Keystone), your resume and supporting documentation must support:

A. Basic Requirement: A Bachelor's Degree or higherin professional engineering. To be acceptable, the program must:

(1) be in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; 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

A 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 professional 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:

A. 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.

B. 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.

C. Specified academic courses Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and in engineering that included the courses specified in the Basic Requirements above. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of a professional engineering curriculum as described in the Basic Requirements above.

D. 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.

AND

B. Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position and is directly in or related to this position. To qualify at the GS-07 level, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level or equivalent under other pay systems in the Federal service, military or private sector. Applicants must meet eligibility requirements including minimum qualifications, and any other regulatory requirements by the cut-off/closing date of the announcement. Creditable specialized experience includes:

- Knowledge of engineering principles, practices, methodologies, and theories.

- Knowledge of the design, engineering management, and engineering support of complex hardware and software systems.

- Knowledge of engineering techniques.

- Knowledge of statistical techniques and terminology required to determine sample sizes, gather and analyze data, and interpret results.

- Skill in effective oral and written communications in order to prepare and make formal and informal presentations.

OR

C. Education Substitution: Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Education must be from a college or university accredited by an organization approved by the U.S. Department of Education. See If using education to meet basic qualifications, YOU MUST SUBMIT A TRANSCRIPT as supplemental documentation. To qualify based on education in lieu of specialized experience, you must possess: 1 year of graduate-level education or superior academic achievement.

OR

D. Combination: Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualifications and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grade GS- 07

E. Additional Experience and Training Provisions for Graduates of Engineering Programs: a) Superior academic achievement at the baccalaureate level in an engineering program is qualifying for GS-7; b) A combination of superior academic achievement and 1 year of appropriate professional experience is qualifying at GS-9; c) Applicants with an engineering bachelor's degree who have appropriate experience as a technician equivalent to grade GS-5 or higher may have such experience credited for grade GS-7 only on a month-for-month basis up to a maximum of 12 months; d) Successful completion of a 5-year program of study of at least 160

Education

If the position has a minimum education requirement you MUST provide transcripts (unofficial are acceptable at the time of application) to support your educational claims. Or, if you are using education to qualify in lieu of specialized experience you MUST provide transcripts (unofficial are acceptable at the time of application) to support your educational claims. The transcripts must include your name, the name of the college or university, class/course list, completed number of credits/hours, and the date degree conferred (if applicable). Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Licenses must be current at time of application.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours that your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

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.

Additional information

• This position does not meet criteria for appointment of Reemployed Annuitants. The DoD criteria for hiring Reemployed Annuitants can be found at: DoDI 1400.25-V300.
• Tour of Duty: Flexible
• FLSA: Non-Exempt
• Bargaining Unit: No
• Selectee may be required to serve a trial/probationary period.
• Acquisition, Technology & Logistics (AT&L) NON-CAP: Position requires DoD Acquisition Engineering & Tech Management, Foundational certification within required timeframes. Selectee must also achieve 80 hours of Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) every 2-years. Click here for more details and Resources.
• Mobility Agreement Required: This position may require extended temporary duty (TDY), or a permanent change in duty station (PCS) to any location within the Continental United States (CONUS). A signed mobility agreement to accept directed TDY or PCS is required. Failure to comply with the signed agreement may result in personnel separation in accordance with appropriate U.S. Office of Personnel Management regulations or may adversely affect career.
• Current federal employees may be entitled to pay retention, if selected.
• Military spouses working remotely are exempt from in-person work under the conditions explained by OPM's February 12, 2025 memorandum and the March 20, 2025 Frequently Asked Questions.
• NOTE: During the Keystone Program, participants will receive specialized formal classroom training, computer-based training, and on-the-job (OJT) training. The training development program will consist of the following:
  
  
  • Report initially to the Contract Management Office (CMO)/Center in the duty location for which you were selected.
  • Travel TDY (Temporary Duty Travel) for one week to attend training at the DCMA Learning Campus (DLC) in Fort Lee, VA.
  • Spend 6 months in the CMO/Center for on-the-job (OJT) and developmental training.
  • Return within the three-year developmental training to the DLC, HQ or other CMO locations for assessment/various functional specific training.

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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.

Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.