Fire Protection Engineer
Compensation
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Job Description
Summary
You will serve as the Fire Protection Engineer / Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) and will be responsible for the prevention, identification, mitigation, and investigation of fire hazards on people, structures, and commodities in order to ensure continuity of operations at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC).
Who Can Apply
Current NASA federal employees serving on a career, career-conditional, VRA (GS-13 Only), Schedule A for individuals with disabilities, or NASA term appointment that provides eligibility to convert to a permanent appointment.
Duties
- Duties described below are at the highest grade advertised. Duties assigned at lower grade levels will be of more limited scope, performed with less independence and limited complexity; duties will be commensurate with the grade of selected employee.
- Serves as the Fire Protection Engineer/Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) reporting to the Chief of Protective Services.
- Documents and implements a Center Fire Protection and Life Safety Program designed to protect human life and property from the risk of fire-related hazards.
- Interprets, adapts, and applies numerous codes, regulations, guidelines, precedents and engineering principles and practices to determine most feasible design or possible alternative solutions.
- Approves the work of civil servants, contractors and commercial partner engineers, fire department and other specialists in the planning, directing, and coordinating activities for the Fire Protection Program.
- Examines the nature and characteristics of fire phenomena and how fires originate, spread, and are detected, controlled, and extinguished. Conducts investigations into post-fire incidents and predicting fire behavior to protect life and property.
- Reviews and approves building construction and fire protection features and ensures they are in place to minimize danger to life from the effects of fire.
- Provides and maintains fire protection and life safety systems and procedures in accordance with National Fire Protection Associate requirements, the International Building Code, and the Agency Standard for Fire Protection and Life Safety.
- Serves as Contracting Officer Representative (COR)/technical representative for assigned contracts.
Requirements
- Current Federal employees must meet qualifications, time in grade, and 90 days after competitive appointment requirements by the closing date of the announcement.
- Position subject to pre-employment background security investigation.
- If selected, you will be required to complete a financial disclosure statement.
Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular ability, skill, and knowledge to successfully perform the duties of this position and is typically in or related to this line of work.
To qualify for GS-13, you must have one year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level:
- Monitoring fire safety, building safety, and life safety systems, ensuring compliance with federal/state building and fire codes;
- Working with building code inspectors to help ensure mandated fire protection principles are applied throughout the Center for fire control and suppression systems;
- Utilizing risk management principles to identify and help mitigate hazards related to fire response, such as facility loss prevention control practices, ignition source controls, inspection, testing, and maintenance of protective systems, fire investigation procedures, and related fire prevention best practices.
To qualify for GS-14, you must have one year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level:
- Overseeing fire safety, building safety, and life safety, ensuring compliance with federal/state building and fire codes;
- Working with building code enforcement to ensure mandated fire protection principles are applied throughout the Center for fire control and suppression systems;
- Utilizing risk management principles to identify and mitigate hazards and make recommendations related to fire response, such as facility loss prevention control practices, ignition source controls, inspection, testing, and maintenance of protective systems, fire investigation procedures, and related fire prevention best practices.
Your resume must include a clear and detailed narrative description, in your own words, of how you meet the required specialized experience. Experience statements copied from a position description, vacancy announcement or other reference material constitutes plagiarism and may result in disqualification and losing consideration for the job.
NASA prohibits the use of artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted tool in drafting application and assessment responses. Please visit https://www.nasa.gov/careers/how-to-apply/#Artificial-Intelligence to review NASA's guidance on the use of AI tools during the application process.
Basic Requirement:
You must have successfully completed a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major 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
Have a 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), 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 individuals 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 individual 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) examination or any other written test required for professional.
- 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.
- 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 you have 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. (The above examples of related curricula are not all inclusive.)
If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs. These education credentials must be deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.
All degrees must have been received in the year of, or any year subsequent to the original date of accreditation.
Evaluation
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
You will be evaluated for this position based on how well you meet the qualifications and eligibility requirements outlined in this vacancy announcement. Your resume and supporting documentation will be reviewed in conjunction with your responses to the assessment questionnaire. As part of the assessment, your responses to the Written Interview prompts will be scored and used to place you into one of three quality groups. These scores, along with your qualifications and supporting materials, will determine your referral status. Please ensure your application materials and responses accurately reflect your experience and competencies, as misrepresentation may result in removal from consideration.
Assessment preview link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12861335
These competencies will be assessed using technical assessments. They may also be evaluated during a structured interview:
- Fire Protection Engineering
- Workplace Safety
- Fire Management
- Technical Competence
- Compliance
- Attention to Detail
NASA considers 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.
Under NASA's quality grouping process, applicants will be assessed on the position competencies and placed in one of three groups identified and defined below:
- Best Qualified Group - Applicants who demonstrate a superior level of all evaluation criteria.
- Highly Qualified Group - Applicants who demonstrate a satisfactory level of the evaluation criteria.
- Qualified Group - Applicants who demonstrate the basic qualifications, with general knowledge, skills, and abilities.
- Best Qualified merit promotion candidates. Highly Qualified merit promotion candidates may also be referred, if additional candidates are needed.
- Qualified candidates eligible for consideration under Schedule A or VRA in accordance with veterans' preference rules, as applicable.
- Qualified candidates that are eligible for special hiring authorities or non-competitive hiring authorities.
Required Documents
All submitted resumes must not exceed two (2) pages in length. Resumes longer than two pages will be rejected by USAJOBS. Applicants are strongly encouraged to prioritize including experience and relevant qualifications that directly align with the position advertised. All work experience and accomplishments must be associated with dates (month/year) to allow for accurate qualification assessment.
A complete application package includes a resume, required documents and completion of the vacancy announcement questionnaire. Please see this guidance: . Your resume should describe your specialized experience and support your answers to the vacancy announcement questionnaire. If you are using a Curriculum Vitae (CV) as a resume, it must meet all requirements listed above for a complete resume package.
Please note: if any of the following types of information are included on your resume, your application package will be disqualified:
- Classified or government sensitive information.
- Social Security Number (SSN)
- Photos of yourself
- Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.
- Encrypted and digitally signed documents.
The following documents are required:
- Resume
- SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
- Transcript
As listed above in the Education section above, this position has a basic education requirement.
To be found qualified, you must provide a copy of your college transcript that fully demonstrates you meet the requirements listed in the Education section. You may provide either an unofficial transcript or a copy of an official transcript. Failure to provide a complete copy of your college transcript that shows you have completed a required degree program or coursework may result in you being found not qualified.
You may need to submit other supporting documents (Notification of Personnel Action SF-50, licenses, certification, veterans preference, etc.), depending on your answers to the questionnaire and job announcement description, that you may have to submit, please verify your application. Do not submit an OF-306 with your application.
If you are a surplus or displaced employee (CTAP and ICTAP), submit proof that you meet the requirements for CTAP/ICTAP. This includes copies of your agency notice, most recent Performance Rating and most recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) noting current position, grade level, and duty location.
If you are a veteran and you are claiming veterans' preference, you must submit a DD214, Certificate of Release from Active Duty, which shows dates of service and discharge under honorable conditions. For more information on veterans' preference and possible other supporting documents that you may have to submit, please visit FedshireVets.
Official documents are required at the time of appointment for verification of eligibility and qualifications.
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
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Job Details
- Department
- Mechanical
- Category
- Aerospace Engineering
- Employment Type
- Internship
- Location
- Hampton, VA 23666, US
- Posted
- Jan 9, 2026, 03:00 AM
- Listed
- Jan 13, 2026, 08:19 AM
- Compensation
- $108,019 - $165,945 per year
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