Supervisory Mechanical Engineer
What you'd do
Reclamation is seeking a career professional looking for an opportunity to capitalize on their expertise as a Supervisory Mechanical Engineer for the Mechanical Structures Group at the Technical Service Center. You can make a difference in the West by assisting in meeting increasing water demands while protecting the environment. Duty Location: Lakewood, Colorado We expect to fill 1 vacancy at this time.
Major duties
This position is located within the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, 08 - 08, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Division, Mechanical Structures Group, Lakewood, Colorado. At the full performance level (GS-14) the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following: Mechanical Engineering: Knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, and methods related to planning, designing, developing, testing, or evaluating thermodynamic, mechanical, electro-mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic, or structural equipment, systems, models, tools, or specialized mechanical devices. Coach, mentor, develop, and evaluate staff to build capability and ensure high performance. Includes establishing expectations; conducting performance management; providing feedback; supporting skill development; and recognizing and rewarding achievements. Foster a productive, respectful, and comprehensive team environment and resolve conflicts constructively. Includes facilitating collaboration, motivating teams, promoting open communication, addressing team conflicts, and creating a positive environment that supports retention. Lead decision-making, change management, and stakeholder communication to ensure mission success. Includes identifying and addressing emerging issues; adjusting scope, resources, or schedules; communicating progress to leadership; and modeling integrity, honesty, and adaptability. Plan, organize, and allocate resources to execute projects and group workload effectively. Covers developing schedules, assigning work, coordinating staffing, and ensuring sufficient technical expertise across multiple concurrent projects. Monitor, evaluate, and oversee project execution to ensure technical quality, cost control, schedule adherence, and compliance with standards. Includes reviewing operations, tracking progress, integrating project activities, inspecting costs and performance, and ensuring deliverables meet organizational expectations. Lead project decision-making, issue resolution, and continuous improvement to support mission success. Covers identifying alternatives, resolving problems, leading change management, recommending process improvements, and providing guidance to project managers and cross-disciplinary teams.
What you need to qualify
You must currently hold a Professional Engineering registration or license and submit a copy to provide proof. Failure to provide proof of such registration or license will cause you to be rated ineligible for this position. In order to be rated as qualified for this position, the HR Office must be able to determine that you meet the education and specialized experience requirements - please be sure to include this information in your 2-page resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience. In addition to meeting the education requirement below, you must possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and complexity to at least or equivalent to the GS-13 level in the Federal Government. Specialized Experience includes planning, organizing, and managing engineering projects or programs, including scheduling, coordinating resources, and ensuring timely, high quality deliverables. Reviewing or overseeing technical products (such as designs, analyses, reports, or studies) to ensure accuracy, adequacy, and compliance with standards. Applying professional engineering/science knowledge relevant to mechanical engineering in support of water, power, hydropower, pumping plant, or related technical systems. 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. Time-In-Grade: Current career or career-conditional employees of the Federal government, or former career or career-conditional employees, who have a break in service of less than one year, are required to meet the time-in-grade restriction of one year of Federal experience at the next lower-grade, with few exceptions outlined in 5 CFR 300.603(b). You must meet all Eligibility and Qualification requirements, including time-in-grade restrictions and any selective placement factors if applicable, by 07/16/2026.
Before you apply
Federal applications are different: your resume should be 3–5 pages and mirror the language of this announcement. Read our federal resume guide first — it's the #1 reason qualified people get screened out.
Don't miss the next one.
Get an email the moment a similar federal job opens — postings can close in as little as 5 days.