Engineering

Overview

Engineering careers in the federal government offer the chance to solve complex problems that protect the public, strengthen national infrastructure and advance scientific and technological missions. Engineers implement transportation and energy systems, research new technologies, build and evaluate infrastructure and ensure security of critical systems to support agency operations and to protect the public.

These roles help to protect communities that depend on strong infrastructure, modern public facilities and systems designed to function long-term. Engineering work is great for those who want to combine technical skills with design and the management of large-scale systems. 

What You Might Work On

In the federal government, professionals in this field often:

• Develop technical solutions that help agencies modernize aging infrastructure, adopt new technologies or meet evolving needs 
• Ensure compliance with federal standards, environmental requirements and engineering-related regulations that protect people, property and natural resources 
• Support research, testing and innovation efforts that advance scientific understanding or strengthen national capabilities 
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams to plan, design and deliver projects that enhance federal operations and public goods

Is This a Good Fit?

While roles and responsibilities vary, you might enjoy this field if you:

• Have strong quantitative reasoning skills 
• Enjoy solving practical problems with efficient and durable solutions 
• Are motivated by improving safety and sustainability 
• Collaborate well with teams and external partners

Job Series Codes

What are job series codes?

In the federal government, most jobs are grouped into “job series” based on the type of work. Each series has a four-digit code (for example, aerospace engineering, 0861). 

How to use them: 
You can use job series codes to narrow your search on USAJOBS. Start with a keyword (like “program analyst”) and then add a series code for more targeted results. Here are a few examples to get you started — there are hundreds of job series codes across the federal government!

Code	Series / category name	Common keywords	What you’ll do
0801	General Engineering	General engineer, Quality assurance, Facilities engineer	Solve technical challenges that span multiple engineering specialties
0810	Civil Engineering	Civil engineer, Geotechnical, Structural, Highway construction	Manage projects involving construction, infrastructure and environmental site evaluation
0830	Mechanical Engineering	Mechanical engineer, Production engineer, Project manager	Develop and manage safe, efficient mechanical systems
0840	Nuclear Engineering	Nuclear engineer, Reactor engineer, Criticality safety engineer	Manage and evaluate nuclear energy systems, ensuring safe and effective operation
0850	Electrical Engineering	Electrical engineer, Interdisciplinary	Manage systems that generate and transmit electrical energy
0854	Computer Engineering	Computer engineer, Systems analyst, Software developer	Design and implement computer hardware and software
0855	Electronics Engineering	Electronics engineer, security engineering, Electronic instrumentation, Interdisciplinary	Manage electronic systems for communication, computation, navigation and more
0858	Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering	Biomedical engineering, Clinical engineer	Develop and enhance technologies that support medical and biological system and device advancement
0861	Aerospace Engineering	Aerospace engineer, space transportation, Interdisciplinary	Design and manage technologies for aviation and space exploration

Where You Could Work

The federal government is big — so where do you start?

One approach is to focus on a type of role. Another is to focus on a mission area, or the kind of impact you want to have (i.e., in public health, education, transportation or elsewhere).

Keep in mind: mission areas often span multiple agencies, so you may find relevant roles in places you wouldn’t expect! 

Professionals in this field work across many federal agencies depending on mission area, including:

• Infrastructure: Department of Energy, Grid Deployment Office 
• Facilities: General Services Administration, Public Buildings Service 
• Water & Power: Bureau of Reclamation 
• Military & Civil works: Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Sample Positions

Aerospace Engineer [0861]

Employer / agency	National Aeronautics and Space Administration, John C. Stennis Space Center
Location(s)	Stennis Space Center, Mississippi
Mission context	Aerospace engineers at the Stennis Space Center ensure the safety, reliability and readiness of critical propulsion testing and spaceflight activity systems and operations.

In this role you may:

• Perform safety and quality engineering functions for the operational activities of the Center to include test facility inspection, test project support and developing and reviewing documents to ensure applicable safety and quality requirements are incorporated 
• Perform qualitative and quantitative engineering analyses, evaluations of potential deficiencies and development of corrective action plans 
• Provide software assurance support for the establishment, coordination and execution of NASA and Center policies, procedures and requirements necessary to execute software assurance programs 

Environmental Engineer [0819]

Employer / agency	Department of Health and Human Services, Indian Health Service
Location(s)	Spokane, Washington
Mission context	This role provides engineering support to improve water, wastewater and sanitation infrastructure that protects the health of Tribal communities.

In this role you may:

• Evaluate existing sanitation facilities (water, sewer and solid waste), identifying deficiencies and preparing engineering studies and reports 
• Prepare project summaries, environmental reviews and feasibility studies 
• Collect information necessary to prepare construction drawings including topographic surveys, soils sampling and analysis and engineering calculations (hydraulic, structural, soil percolation and drain field design)