Summary The Architect of the Capitol, Office of Safety and Code Compliance, Fire Marshal Division is seeking a reliable and detail oriented Fire Protection Engineer to review and provide recommendations for the design, construction and/or modification of fire protection systems, equipment, assemblies for buildings under the jurisdiction of the Architect of the Capitol. Responsibilities Tour of duty for the position is: Monday - Friday 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This position requires periodic substantial periods of night and/or weekend work. Duties and Responsibilities: New Construction and Renovation Planning and Evaluation Manages fire protection engineering portions of major new construction and/or renovation projects and incorporates fire protection design practices into all phases of design and construction. Ensures adequate fire protection and life safety requirements are incorporated into all segments of the project. Reviews fire protection and life safety features of construction plans. Specifies and analyzes project design including a wide variety of fire protection systems for fire detection, containment, extinguishment, smoke control and evaluation. The systems involve complicated integration of fire protection, mechanical, electrical and architectural systems that must interface with facility equipment and operations. Problem Resolution Uses advanced technical knowledge of the limitations of proven concepts and practices of fire prevention/protection systems, equipment and/or hardware to correctly evaluate problem resolution alternatives or the risk associated with using or replacing a nonconforming component. Maintains technical insight into the cause and the plan of action when damaged, failed or otherwise nonconforming hardware, equipment or systems are encountered. Prepares policy development, requirements analysis and definition, technical evaluations and makes recommendations to management within the functional and/or technical area of expertise. Ascertains proper performance on completed projects, as required during the investigative portion of a project or, as assigned, performing thorough system testing in the form of airflow measurement and/or balance, heat transfer measurement, sound level testing and temperature measurement as applicable. Project Management Undertakes varied and complex project management duties in conjunction with coordinating project teams and making decisions affecting areas of responsibility that are controversial and precedent setting. Ensures proper and sufficient resource allocation by a variety of agency and contractor organizations. Reviews and critiques designs developed by associate architects and engineers and reviews the submittals from and performance of contractors, to ensure compliance with the program/project requirements and with nationally recognized and organizationally adopted codes, standards or directives as adopted by the AOC. Provides oversight and direction to associate architects and engineers performing surveys, studies, designs, etc., for the AOC. Consults with Building Superintendents and Facilities Managers for the purpose of arranging for work to be done on the equipment in the buildings and to coordinate the work schedules to maintain the highest level of fire safety while ensuring the least inconvenience possible to the occupants of the buildings. Performs field investigations, reviews preliminary design concepts, performs or reviews design calculations, reviews final working drawings, evaluates engineered products, evaluates equipment submittals and performs construction supervision and coordination as required on each assigned project. Data Analysis and Technical Guidance Makes field surveys of existing fire protection, mechanical or electrical installations when required for a specific hazard or project. Analyzes large blocks of unknown or controversial data and provides expert technical advice and guidance on unique and complex problems and issues that arise in fire prevention and protection programs. Records and reviews field data in the form of sketches, drawings, calculations or other manner for the purpose of assessing and evaluating existing or proposed fire protection systems, equipment, assemblies or buildings and their conformance to nationally recognized and organizationally adopted codes, standards or directives with jurisdictional adopted codes, specifically in the code editions adopted by the AOC. Contractor Oversight Examines plans, specifications and cost estimates for technical adequacy. Reports progress and/or problems. Directs necessary changes, resolves controversial problems, ensures consensus standards. Ability to evaluate and incorporate the latest developments in the field into the technical guidelines for which responsible. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen. You must be able to pass a drug test. Your resume and question responses must demonstrate the job-related KSAs. You must meet the definition of specialized experience. To be employed by the Architect of the Capitol in a paid position, an individual must meet one of the categories below: A citizen of the United States; A person who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence and is seeking citizenship as outlined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)(B); A person who is admitted as a refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157 or is granted asylum under 8 U.S.C. 1158 and has filed a declaration of intention to become a lawful permanent resident and then a citizen when eligible; A person who owes allegiance to the United States (nationals of American Samoa, Swains Island, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and nationals who meet other requirements described in 8 U.S.C. 1408); or A person who is currently an officer or employee of the Government of the United States. Qualifications You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on the OPM web site at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, 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. Candidates for the GS-12 grade level must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower GS-11 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as having experience in at least 4 of the following: (1) Assisting in the incorporation of fire protection engineering practices in all phases of design and construction documentation and the implementation for code adherence; (2) Ensuring the incorporation of adequate fire protection and life safety requirements are in all aspects of facility management; (3) Applying numerous fire protection codes, standards, and building codes to various types of facilities. (i.e.; business, child care, industrial, assembly and historic); (4) Conducting fire protection and life safety surveys of various types of buildings. (i.e.; business, child care, industrial, assembly and historic); (5) Providing expert technical advice and guidance on unique and complex problems and issues arising in the fire protection program; and (6) Applying knowledge of the principles, concepts, and practices of fire protection engineering. And: Candidates for the GS-13 grade level must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower GS-12 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as having experience in at least 5 of the following: (1) Managing in the incorporation of fire protection engineering practices in all phases of design and construction documentation and the implementation for code adherence; (2) Ensuring the incorporation of adequate fire protection and life safety requirements are in all aspects of facility management; (3) Conducting fire safety surveys of various types of buildings. (i.e.; business, child care, industrial, assembly and historic); (4) Applying numerous fire protection codes, standards, and building codes to various types of facilities. (i.e.; business, child care, industrial, assembly and historic); (5) Developing risk assessments in accordance with the Federal Fire Safety Act; (6) Reviewing drawings and specifications for building construction and renovation to ensure compliance with current standards for fire protection and life safety; and (7) Serving as a subject matter expert for providing technical advice and guidance in the field of fire protection engineering to upper levels of management, engineers, and other personnel. Education A copy of your transcript(s) will be required upon selection Degree: professional engineering. To be acceptable, the curriculum must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum 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------------------------- 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: -Professional registration -Written Test -Specified academic courses -Related curriculum For additional information on General Schedule Qualifications Standards for professional engineering positions, please visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf Additional Information Welcome Veterans. The Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) gives veterans' preference rights in the legislative branch to certain veterans as applied by the Congressional Accountability Act. Veterans' preference is applied on this vacancy announcement. If you are a veteran and have been separated under honorable conditions, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 or other proof of eligibility; SF-15, if applicable; and Department of Veterans Affairs documentation of disability, if applicable. For more information, please visit http://www.opm.gov/veterans/html/vetguide.asp#6. If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System. If you are exempt from registration under Selective Service Law, you must provide appropriate proof of exemption. Please visit the Selective Service System website for more information. DRUG TESTING: The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is a Drug Free Workplace. As part of the AOC’s suitability assessment, a candidate tentatively selected for a position who is not currently an AOC employee is required to submit to screening for illegal drug use. Satisfactory completion of a drug test is a condition of employment with the Agency. A candidate must test negative prior to being eligible for appointment into a position. We will schedule, provide and cover the cost for the drug test. The selectee(s) under the vacancy announcement for this position is subject to a criminal record check by the U.S. Capitol Police and satisfactory adjudication to be eligible for employment at the Architect of the Capitol. The Architect of the Capitol is an E-VERIFY Participant. E-VERIFY is an Internet-based system that compares information from an employee's Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration records to confirm employment authorization in the United States. If you are selected for this position, the documentation that you present for purposes of completing the DHS Form I-9 will be verified through the DHS "E-VERIFY" electronic system. For more information on E-Verify, please visit http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/gc_1185221678150.shtm The Architect of the Capitol is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information and/or disability. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Moving expenses are not authorized. Relocation expenses are not authorized. Probationary Period - A newly appointed selectee is subject to the completion of a one-year trial/probationary period, regardless of whether or not a trial/probationary period has been completed previously with the Architect of the Capitol or another Federal agency. This vacancy announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies in any of the jurisdictions of the Architect of the Capitol. All application materials become the property of the Architect of the Capitol.