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General Engineer

U.S. Department of Labor
Email

Open & closing dates

05/08/2026 to 05/21/2026

Salary

$56,039 - $120,309 per year

This position is with Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), Technical Support, Mine Emergency Operations (MEO) Division.

MSHA works to prevent death, illness and injury from mining; promote safe and healthful workplaces for U.S. miners. MSHA carries out the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (Mine Act) as amended by the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response (MINER) Act of 2006.

 

The responsibilities described are for the full performance level GS-12. At developmental grade levels, assignments will be of more limited scope performed with less independence, and limited complexity.
 

  • Designs, maintains, and operates equipment for Mine Emergency Operations (MEO) including underground communications and tracking systems and MEO computer systems.
  • Planning, initiation, and direction of the most difficult technical issues related to engineering problems regarding MEO and mine seals.
  • Reviews engineering design plans, studies, and investigative reports.
  • Reviews the most complex and politically sensitive submittals regarding MEO and mine seals. Makes necessary recommendations for approval or disapproval of such plans.
  • Interfaces with researchers both inside and outside of the government, and design engineers/consultants to develop and implement engineering solutions to identified MEO or mine seal issues.
  • Provides engineering expertise and services during mine disasters, fatalities, and serious nonfatal accidents and other non-emergency investigations.
  • Meets with manufacturers and others to evaluate the latest MEO equipment and make recommendations on its suitability and operational functionality.
  • Develops and presents seminars and training courses and makes formal presentations to MSHA personnel, mining and labor organizations, and other government agencies.
  • Serves as an expert witness in both civil and criminal litigation.

 

For this position, specialized experience is defined as professional engineering work the demonstrates a thorough comprehensive knowledge of concepts, principles, and practices of engineering in the mining industry including knowledge of rock mechanics concepts and methods of experimental stress analysis, underground mining equipment, and a comprehensive knowledge of long-wall mining as practiced in the United States.

GS-7:
Must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-5 that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, experience and skills to successfully perform the duties of the position.
Specialized experience must include two of the following:

  • Apply professional training in engineering towards completing minor phases of technical projects.
  • As a trainee, provide engineering support services to assist higher-grade employees during work phases, such as design analysis, investigations, studies or surveys of various mining systems, and equipment.
  • Assist higher-grade employees with field inspections.

OR

Applicants must have one full year of graduate level education (coursework directly related to position being filled);

OR

Superior Academic Achievement:
Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Engineering, based on completed courses.
Grade-point average (G.P.A.) -- Applicants must have a grade-point average of:

  • 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or
  • 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.

Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society -- Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies recognized by the Association of College Honor Societies. Membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision. (Proof of membership must be submitted.)

OR

Successful completion of a 5-year program of study of at least 160 semester hours leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering;

OR

An appropriate combination of graduate level education and specialized experience as described above.

GS-9:
Must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-7 that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, experience and skills to successfully perform the duties of the position.
Specialized experience must include three of the following:

  • Assist in the review and analysis of underground mine seal designs.
  • Assist with providing engineering consultative services to mine investigations and inspections.
  • Assist in mine emergency procedures and operations.
  • Prepare written technical reports and presentations for review by a higher-graded employee.
  • Participate in the design, maintenance, and operation of technical mine equipment such as communication systems and tracking systems and mine emergency operation computer systems.

OR

Possess a master's or equivalent graduate degree with course work directly related to the position being filled that provided the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of this position; OR, Possess two (2) full years of progressively higher level graduate education with course work directly related to the position being filled that provided the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of this position;

OR

Successful completion of a 5-year program of study of at least 160 semester hours leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering and 1 year of appropriate professional experience. Professional engineering experience is defined as nonroutine engineering work that required and was characterized by (1) professional knowledge of engineering; (2) professional ability to apply such knowledge to engineering problems; and (3) positive and continuing development of professional knowledge and ability.

OR

Possess a combination of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in or related to the work of this position and graduate level education (only graduate education in excess of 18 semester hours may be used to qualify applicants for this grade level) with course work directly related to the position being filled that provided the specific knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position.


GS-11:
Must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, experience and skills to successfully perform the duties of the position.
Specialized experience must include three of the following:

  • Review and analysis of complex underground mine seal designs
  • Provide engineering consultative services to mine investigations and inspections.
  • Participate in mine emergency procedures and operations.
  • Draft, finalize, and present detailed technical reports and presentations.
  • Design, maintain, and operate technical mine equipment such as communication systems and tracking systems and mine emergency operation computer systems.

OR

Possess a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree that provided the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of this position; OR, Possess three (3) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree with course work directly related to the position being filled that provided the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of this position;

OR

Possess a combination of Specialized Experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in or related to the work of this position and graduate level education an appropriate combination of specialized experience and graduate level education (beyond what is required for a master's degree, i.e., more than 36 semester hours leading to a Ph.D.) with course work directly related to the position being filled that provided the specific knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position.

GS-12:
Must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, experience and skills to successfully perform the duties of the position.
Specialized experience must include four of the following:

  • Review and analysis of complex underground mine seal designs
  • Provide engineering consultative services to mine investigations and inspections.
  • Participate in mine emergency procedures and operations.
  • Draft, finalize, and present detailed technical reports and presentations.
  • Design, maintain, and operate technical mine equipment such as communication systems and tracking systems and mine emergency operation computer systems.

Education

 

You must meet the Basic Requirements to qualify for General Engineer, as described below. Transcripts must be submitted to verify education requirements.

Basic Requirement:

A. 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
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. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)