Interdisciplinary General Engineer/Physical Scientist (Power Up Program Internship)

Summary

Are you ready to help shape America's energy future? The Department of Energy (DOE) is looking for motivated, forward-thinking individuals to join our Power Up Program. This internship gives you hands-on work experience, direct mentorship, and professional networking opportunities within the federal government.

Duties

Join DOE's Power Up program and kickstart your federal career! This program is designed to offer exciting early-career opportunities for upcoming professionals ready to make an impact in the Federal government. As a participant, you will be paired with an on-the-job mentor whose guidance is tailored specifically to your career path-whether you are entering a technical specialty or an administrative/professional role. In this program, mentoring goes far beyond basic job training. Your mentor will serve as a trusted guide, helping you build confidence, develop professional skills, and learn how to navigate and thrive within a structured, mission-driven environment. As a Power Up Intern in the Office of Science, you will support our daily mission goals. Your responsibilities may include: Plan work procedures and select standard practices and data to be applied to engineering or scientific assignment and identified problems. Assist in coordinating and carrying out limited, well-defined engineering and/or scientific projects. Research and evaluate basic engineering and/or scientific designs, specifications and related documentation to perform and interpret calculations and computations and determines if factual information is relevant, accurate and useful. Prepare routine, recurring engineering and/or scientific reports for use by higher graded engineers or to convey factual engineering and/or scientific data and information. There are various offices that will be hiring from this vacancy announcement and they include: Oak Ridge National Laboratory Site Office - The primary mission is to deliver scientific discoveries and technical breakthroughs needed to realize solutions in energy and national security and provide economic benefit to the nation. Thomas Jefferson Site Office - The primary mission centers on advancing breakthrough research in nuclear physics while executing a strategic transition from a single-purpose laboratory into a cutting-edge, multi-purpose national research institution.

Qualifications and evaluation

We will evaluate your application using the Unrated Method. This means there is no numerical test or score. We will review your resume and transcripts to see if you meet the minimum qualifications for this grade and series. If you qualify for Veterans' Preference, you will be placed at the top of the referral list in your preference category (such as 10-point or 5-point preference) ahead of non-veterans. OPM Merit Hiring Plan Essay Questions (Optional to Complete): To support fair and open merit hiring, you will have the opportunity to answer four short essay questions during the application process. These questions cover: Constitution Efficiency Executive Orders Work Ethic If you choose to answer them, your responses must be written entirely in your own words. Using artificial intelligence (AI) writing tools or external consultants is strictly prohibited. Your responses cannot exceed 200 words per question. These essays will not be scored, will not affect your qualifications, and will not disqualify you if you choose to skip them (you can select "decline to respond" in the system). Resume review: HR Specialists will review your resume to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the specialized experience. Resumes submitted for Federal positions may not exceed two pages. Be sure you address the specialized experience within the two-page resume limit. HR will not review additional information beyond your resume (e.g., cover letter, links embedded in your resume). Applicants passing the resume review will move on to the next phase of the assessment process. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses you provided in your online questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation before the vacancy closes, you may be rated 'ineligible' or 'not qualified'. Please note that the Department of Energy may share lists of applicants among its internal Departmental Elements and organizations. You may be referred for consideration to other DOE Hiring Managers throughout the Department for more than one position based on this application. By applying to this announcement, you understand your application materials may be shared with multiple Hiring Mangers throughout DOE. If additional positions are filled from this announcement conditions of employment may differ. You will be notified if you are referred for additional positions. Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics): Attention to Detail Decision Making Oral Communication Problem Solving Technical Competence Written Communication To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, clickhttps://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13034111

Education

You must meet the following Basic Education Requirement listed below in order to qualify for the 0801 series: 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 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.) You must meet the following Basic Education Requirement listed below in order to qualify for the 1301 series: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a Bachelor's degree or higher in physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics.; OR Combination of education and experience -- education equivalent to one of the majors shown above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Benefits

Your benefits depend on how long your internship is scheduled to last: Internships lasting 12 months or more: You are eligible for full federal benefits, including health insurance (FEHB), life insurance, retirement, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAFEDS), and long-term care insurance (FLTCIP). Internships lasting 90 days to 12 months: You are eligible to earn paid annual (vacation) leave and sick leave. You are not eligible for retirement or life insurance. Internships lasting less than 90 days: You do not earn paid leave or receive federal retirement benefits.

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section. A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the announcement closing date to receive consideration. The application process is as follows: Read all instructions before you begin. Click "Apply Online." Complete the application and attach all required documents. Submit by 11:59 PM ET on the 08/28/2026. Managing Your Application: Update: Edit your application in USAJOBS before the closing date. Status: Log into USAJOBS to view your application status. Learn more here: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. Support: USAJOBS Help: Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/ for login.gov or USAJOBS assistance. Application Issues: If you have difficulty applying online, contact the Agency Contact listed in this announcement during business hours. Take screenshots of any system errors. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To verify the status of your application, during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account; applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each application status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. Shared Certificates: The Department of Energy shares lists of applicants among its internal Departmental Elements and organizations. You may be referred for consideration to other DOE Hiring Managers throughout the Department for more than one position based on this application. By applying to this announcement, you understand your application materials may be shared with multiple Hiring Mangers throughout DOE. If additional positions are filled from this announcement conditions of employment may differ. You will be notified if you are referred for additional positions.

Required documents

To apply for this position, you MUST provide a complete application package which includes: A resume of no more than two pages which includes a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, with dates specified in month and year, and indicates hours worked per week. If military or a civilian Federal employee, you must include your rank and/or grade. Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications, and other position requirements listed in the job announcement. Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font style such as Lato, Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, or Open San Source Sans Pro. The USAJOBS resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started. Education Documentation (if using education to qualify OR if there is an education requirement): Transcripts are required at the time of application submission for Internship positions. Unofficial transcripts or a report listing institution, course title, credits earned (semester or quarter hour), final grade, and overall GPA is acceptable. A degree audit is unacceptable, and Word format will not be accepted. Official transcripts WILL BE required if you are selected. Official transcripts will need to be emailed to Human Resources directly from the Registrar's office. If you upload an Official Transcript with your original application package, please note another one will need to be requested and sent directly from the registrar's office prior to your onboarding. Are you claiming veterans' preference? If you are a disabled veteran, Purple Heart recipient, or parent or spouse of a disabled or deceased veteran, you must submit all additional proof required by the SF-15, and if applicable, a completed SF-15. You may request a copy of your Department of Veterans Affairs letter from www.ebenefits.va.gov or call 1-800-827-1000 to establish proof of disability. If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge (from when you apply to this announcement), you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement date from active duty, 2) your discharge will be under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, and 6) your separation date from active duty service. If you are a discharged, non-disabled veteran, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 showing character of service (Member 4 copy), or other documentation of service and separation under honorable conditions, as listed on the SF-15. If you don't have your DD-214, you may request it after discharge from the National Archives. For more information visit the USAJOBS Help Center & OPM CHCO website for VOW information. Are you a current or former political Schedule A, Schedule C, non-career SES, or Presidential appointee employee? Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment: Position title; Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, non-career SES, or Presidential appointee); Agency; and Beginning and end dates of appointment. Failure to submit any of the required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted. Do not submit photographs with your application package. Documents with photographs may not be seen by hiring officials. You must remove your image from any badges, licenses, etc. or you may be removed from consideration.

Additional information

We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies across DOE. We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies. For general information on government-wide Telework polices visit: www.opm.gov/telework/ EEO Policy: www.energy.gov/justice/eeo-complaint-process Reasonable Accommodation Policy: www.energy.gov/hc/department-energy-reasonable-accommodation-program Veterans Information: https://help.usajobs.gov/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/veterans Selective Service Registration: http://www.sss.gov/ Relocation expenses/incentives will NOT be paid. Recruitment incentives will NOT be paid. Advance in Hire (Superior Qualifications) may be offered. Creditable Service may be offered. Student Loan Repayment will NOT be offered. This position is Exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This appointment may be extended depending on the organization's needs and funding. Salary will be determined based on the duty location after selection. Telework availability will be based upon the mission requirements and supervisory determination. Management has the prerogative to select at any grade level. The Fair Chance Act prohibits specific inquiries concerning an applicant's criminal or credit background unless the hiring agency has made a conditional offer of employment to the applicant. An applicant may submit a complaint to the agency within 30 calendar days of the date of alleged noncompliance by completing the Fair Chance Act Intake Form and submitting it to the Administrative Investigations Program at AdministrativeInvestigations@hq.doe.gov. Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, non-career SES, or Presidential appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. This position is designed for temporary development. It does not lead to a permanent job, and it does not grant you competitive civil service status. When your appointment ends, your employment with the agency ends.