Entry Level R&D Mechanical Engineer Jobs in Yakima, WA

You will serve as a Civil Engineer with Bureau of Reclamation, specializing in portfolio risk management and risk-informed decision making for high-hazard dams. You support dam safety policy, guidance development, mentoring, workload planning, new technologies, and modernization. You also represent Reclamation and Department Dam Safety Programs across government, industry, academia, and NSF research centers. Qualifications:All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 08/13/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience.
Selective Placement Factors: This position requires a special qualification that has been determined to be essential to perform the duties and will be used as a screen out element. If you do not provide evidence that you possess the following selective factor(s), you will be rated not qualified.
To qualify for this position, you possess a current 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).
Note: You must include a copy of current certification of professional engineering registration showing the expiration date.

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Basic Educational Requirements: In addition to the selective placement factor for this position, you must meet at least one of the following:
A. Successfully completed a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree with at least one program being accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). Your professional engineering curriculum must 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. . You must submit transcripts.
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B. Possess 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. A 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 will be considered as an acceptable display of both education and experience.
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Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position at the GS-14 grade level, you must meet the following specialized experience:
EXPERIEINCE: You must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies to perform successfully the duties of the position. Qualifying specialized experience includes: 1) Experience in independently applying one or more of the follow disciplines of civil engineers: structural, hydrologic, hydraulic, geotechnical, engineering geology to the investigation, design, construction, operation and maintenance of dams, and 2) Experience performing dam safety risk management activities and dam safety risk reduction actions, and 3) Experience managing dam safety risk management program objectives across a portfolio of dams.

Volunteer Experience: 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.Education:This position has a mandatory education requirement.
You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.
Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualificationsEmployment Type: OTHER