Research Engineer

Summary

The Department of Commerce ranked top 5 in the 2023 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government amongst large agencies for the 12th year in a row! The ranking showcases the Department's continued commitment to increasing our employee engagement, employee satisfaction, and positive perceptions towards diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion. This notice is issued under direct-hire authority to recruit new talent to occupations for which NIST has a severe shortage of candidates.

Duties

The Structures Group provides performance prediction tools to reduce the vulnerability of building and infrastructure systems to extreme events (e.g., wind, fire, earthquake, impact, blast) through cost-effective reliability-based multi-hazard approaches. If selected, you will lead research in structural and coastal engineering to study effects of coastal hazards, including hurricane wind, storm surge, and flooding in support of Hurricane Ian program and other wind- and surge-related research efforts within NIST, including: Provide expertise in hydrodynamic simulations, computational fluid dynamics, and/or computational wind engineering to formulate and lead comprehensive research program to (1) characterize the risks posed by hurricanes and other extreme wind events on the built environment and to (2) quantify their effects on the performance of buildings (structural system and envelope) and other structures. Provide knowledge of current wind and structural engineering practices to identify and lead development or revision of standards and codes for improved resilience of the built-environment against wind- and surge-induced hazards. Participate in standards and codes development organizations to champion the implementation of NIST research results in codes, standards, and guidelines. Preferred candidates will have previous knowledge of wind and coastal engineering. Additionally, knowledge of one or more of the following technical areas, such as structural engineering, mechanics of materials, and statistical analysis, is a plus.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: A. Degree in 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. In addition to the basic requirements above, applicants must have at least one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience at the GS-14 (ZP-IV at NIST) grade level. Specialized experience is defined as experience in hydrodynamic simulations, computational fluid dynamics, and/or computational wind engineering. 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). 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. The qualification requirements in this vacancy announcement are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook. Applicant Reconsideration