This position is part of the Office of Nuclear Energy - Headquarters, Department of Energy. The Recent Graduates Program is a dynamic, one-year developmental program that promotes careers in the Federal Government to recent graduates. Recent Graduates who successfully complete Program requirements may be eligible for non-competitive conversion to a term or permanent position in the civil service.
Nuclear energy is one of the most resilient, environmentally sustainable, and reliable energy sources on the grid today. The Office of Nuclear Energy works to advance nuclear energy science and technology to meet the nation's energy, environmental, and economic needs.
As a GS-9 General Engineer (Recent Graduate) you will: Support program management for the NASA Strategic Partnership Program by developing scopes, budgets, schedules, and milestones for Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS). Perform engineering analyses, evaluate technical proposals for nuclear infrastructure initiatives, and assist senior engineers on complex Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG) projects.
Review and evaluate engineering plans, specifications, inter-agency agreements (IAAs), and memoranda of understanding (MOUs) to resolve discrepancies and ensure technical accuracy. Participate in interagency and international working groups-coordinating among DOE headquarters, national laboratories, NASA, and field elements and prepare regular technical status reports.
As a GS-11 General Engineer (Recent Graduate) you will: Serve as technical specialist managing the NASA Strategic Partnership Program-establishing scopes, budgets, schedules, milestones, and procurement packages to support Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS). Analyze engineering requirements, evaluate new proposals for nuclear infrastructure initiatives, and resolve difficult technical challenges related to Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs).
Manage and review inter-agency agreements (IAAs), memoranda of understanding (MOUs), and technical policies, resolving conflicting requirements across engineering disciplines to maintain project alignment. Represent the program office in domestic and international working groups (e.g., US-UK working groups), coordinate across DOE labs and NASA, and present technical status reports to diverse audiences.
CONVERSION REQUIREMENTS: DOE has the option to non-competitively convert a Recent Graduate to a permanent or term position upon successful completion of program requirements. This is not automatic, nor guaranteed. Conversion is at the discretion of the hiring manager and employing office. To be eligible to be converted to a permanent or term position you must: Be a US Citizen or National Be recommended for conversion by your manager or supervisor.
Complete all training and development requirements within the 1-year appointment period. Successful completion of 1 year of continuous service. Demonstrate successful job performance of at least a "Fully Successful" or equivalent on performance appraisal. Meet the Office of Personnel Management's qualification standards for the position to which the Recent Graduate will be converted (which may include a positive education requirement).
all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf A Recent Graduate may be converted to the highest General Schedule (GS) grade level qualified for at time of conversion. Recent Graduates converted to a term position in the competitive service may subsequently be non-competitively converted to a career or career-conditional appointment without further competition.
REMINDER: Submit transcripts for all degrees earned. You must meet the following Basic Education Requirement listed below in order to qualify for the 0801 series: 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 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: 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.) What constitutes a valid certificate program: The Pathways Programs regulation (see 5 CFR 362.102) defines certificate program as post-secondary education at either: A qualifying educational institution (trade or vocational school, 2-year or 4-year college or university, or graduate or professional school) equivalent to at least one academic year of full-time study that is part of an accredited college-level, technical, trade, vocational, or business school curriculum.; OR A qualifying career or technical education program of at least one year that awards a recognized postsecondary credential.
What types of programs would meet the eligibility criteria for a qualifying career or technical education program?
Three types of programs meet these criteria: Federally administered educational programs that provide rigorous academic content, technical skill proficiency, and a recognized postsecondary credential to prepare the individual for further education and/or a career in a current or emerging profession.; Registered Apprenticeship Programs; and Federally administered local, state, national, or international volunteer service programs.
What is a Federally administered career or technical education program?
A Federally administered career or technical education program is subject to programmatic oversight by a federal agency that includes: The nature and scope of work to be performed by participants, The type(s) and scope of training to be provided to participants, The types of skills participants will acquire or develop during the program (e.g., teaching, environmental, business, scientific, public health/health care, languages), The level and extent of mentoring participants will receive, and The metrics for successful completion of the program.
Programmatic oversight may be reflected in partnership or cooperative agreements.
PathwaysNewRecruitActions@hc.doe.gov
This position is with Department of Energy Headquarters, Department of Energy.
The posted pay range is $70623 – $111087/yr.
This position requires a Q Access Authorization security clearance.
Applications close on 2026-10-12.
This position is open under the 'Graduates' hiring path.
Source: USAJOBS.gov — U.S. Federal Government
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