General Engineer

Full Job Description

GPO employees possess a diverse array of talent in many administrative fields and trades.

We provide other agencies with innovative services for the printing, publishing, storage, and distribution of digital content.

If you are an energetic, inventive individual looking for a challenging, yet rewarding career opportunity, GPO may be the place for you.

This position is located in Government Secure and Intelligent Documents, Government Publishing Office in Washington, District of Columbia. Basic Requirements: 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: 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.) Note: An applicant who meets the basic requirements as specified in A or B above, except as noted under B.1., may qualify for positions in any branch of engineering unless selective factors indicate otherwise.

In addition to meeting the basic requirements, you must have at least one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the PG-13 grade level in the Federal Service.

Specialized experience for this position includes: Designing and modifying equipment used in manufacturing operations for the purpose of improving efficiency and/or production Managing manufacturing or printing plant methodologies that include tracking costs, milestones, schedules, and/or resource requirements Utilizing problem-solving techniques to solve real time equipment and factory problems Utilizing multiple means of communication to distribute process improvements and agency viewpoints Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/general-engineering-series-0801/ Experience refers to 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. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement 03/10/2026 to be considered.

Major Duties:

• Resolving equipment and/or manufacturing process issued and generate a corrective action plan.
• Serving as technical leader of a multi-disciplined, multi person project team to resolve production problems.
• Designing mechanical modifications to Bindery and Press equipment to improve production capacity and throughput, and to decrease waste utilizing best practice methodologies.
• Verifying if new product designs are producible, developing standard operating procedures for new equipment for the various processes in manufacturing and recommend effective changes.
• Creating, designing, building, and installing systems to track and report factory metrics such as throughput, line balancing, equipment utilization and downtime, and product spoilage.