Safety Engineer, Marlton, NJ

Summary

This position is within the Department of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), located in Marlton, NJ. This position is inside the NCFLL bargaining unit. Additional selections may be made if funding is available.  

Responsibilities

Selectee will be expected to report to the duty station listed within announcement. A writing sample may be required at the time of interview.

At the GS-09 level:

Assists in planning and conducting portions or limited inspections or compliance reviews (or independently conducts inspections of business establishments and worksites whose operations are generally characterized by the presence of moderately stable, low-risk processes or some higher hazards or unsafe working conditions or technically difficult operations which are covered by specific written guidelines) in establishments and worksites.

Identifies areas in need of immediate corrective action or conditions which are of imminent danger to life or limb.

Compiles and prepares a variety of recurring reports as directed by the specialist's supervisor.

Inspects worksites, machine and equipment operations, environmental conditions, work practices, protective devices and equipment, and safety procedures. Records and photographs apparent violations of standards for use as evidence of existing hazards and unsafe working conditions.

Assists agency attorneys in the preparation of evidence supporting the agency's findings of safety and occupational health violations where the employer contests the inspection results.

Prepares final report or assigned portion of report, showing apparent violations, and recommends penalties and abatement dates. Recommends strategies and techniques for resolving unsafe or hazardous conditions.

Assists in conducting and/or participates in opening and closing conferences with management officials, employees, and employee representatives reviewing hazards or unsafe working conditions cited or observed, advising employers of their legal responsibilities to providing an occupationally safe worksite, and of their legal right to appeal inspection findings.

Studies records and files covering mishaps, injuries, and equipment maintenance data. Reviews safety activities for evidence of compliance with prescribed safety requirements.

Conducts research assignments using internet technology to prepare for onsite inspections or in response to requests for information.

Communicates with various parties at inspected worksites. Assists in investigating mishaps resulting in fatalities or injuries and serious incidents.

Interviews supervisors and employees for information on specific working conditions to evaluate the total worksite environment. Documents ongoing case files with relevant documentation to support a legally sufficient case.

Knowledge of process safety management.

At the GS-11 level:

Performs the same duties as listed above with less supervisory oversight as well as:

Plans, schedules, and conducts a full range of inspections of establishments and worksites where there is a strong probability of encountering hazardous work processes and materials, and unsafe environmental conditions from minor to serious in severity.

Works to secure immediate corrective action of conditions which are of imminent danger to life or limb. Works to obtain the cooperation of various parties at inspected worksites. Investigates mishaps

Travel Required

50% or less - Travel to perform safety inspections and related activities.

Supervisory status

No

Promotion Potential

12 - There is no obligation to provide future promotions to you if you are selected. Promotions are dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the need for an employee promoted to the higher level, and supervisory approval.

Qualifications

This series has an Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR), which is listed below in the 'Education' section. You must meet both the Individual Occupational Requirement AND the specialized experience, as listed below. 

Specialized Experience Requirements: In addition to the basic education requirements, applicants must also meet either the specialized experience or the substitution of education for experience described below.

For GS-09: One year of professional engineering experience equivalent to the GS-07 level. In order to be creditable this experience must be non-routine, professional engineering work: (1) in an engineering discipline directly related to the safety engineer position such as one of the following fields of engineering: mechanical, electrical, chemical, civil, industrial, or materials engineering; (2) Demonstrating ability to apply engineering knowledge to engineering problems in an industrial or construction setting; (3) Positive and continuing development of professional knowledge, skill and ability to successfully perform all the functions of the job; (4) Analyzing work processes and conditions, identifying and eliminating/controlling safety and occupational health hazards in construction, general industry or maritime; and (5) demonstrating general knowledge of OSHA or related safety and occupational health standards or codes.

For GS-11: One year of professional engineering experience equivalent to the GS-09 level. In order to be creditable this experience must be non-routine, professional engineering work: (1) in an engineering discipline directly related to the safety engineer position such as one of the following fields of engineering: mechanical, electrical, chemical, civil, industrial, or materials engineering; (2) demonstrates ability to apply engineering knowledge to engineering problems in an industrial or construction setting; (3) Knowledge of OSHA standards or related safety and occupational health standards or codes; and (4) Expertise and broad knowledge either in construction, general industry or maritime as it applies to analyzing work processes and conditions, identifying and eliminating/controlling safety and occupational health hazards.

Or

Substitution of Education for Professional Experience: Applicants who do not meet the specialized experience described above but possess education as described below may qualify based on that education or combination of education and experience (transcripts are required - student copies are acceptable).

For GS-09: a Master's degree or two full years of graduate education in one of the following fields of engineering: mechanical, electrical, chemical, civil, industrial, materials or in a field of science directly related to safety and occupational safety and health. A combination of superior academic achievement and one year of appropriate professional experience is qualifying at GS-09.

For GS-11: three years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. Education must be in one of the following fields of engineering: mechanical, electrical, chemical, civil, industrial, materials or in a field of science directly related to safety and occupational safety and health.

Education

This series has an Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): Basic Education Requirements: A. All applicants must show successful completion of a full 4-year professional engineering curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering in an accredited college or university. To be acceptable, the curriculum must: 1. be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board of 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) statistics, 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); (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)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.

2. 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.

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.)

Any applicant falsely claiming an academic degree from an accredited school will be subject to actions ranging from disqualification from federal employment to removal from federal service.