Duties

Joining Customs & Border Protection (CBP), Office of Acquisition, will allow you to utilize your expertise in engineering to advise the Director on a variety of engineering issues and serve as both a technical authority and expert advisor to the Office of Acquisition. This position starts at a salary of $148,484.00 (GS-15, Step 1) to $176,300.00 (GS-15, Step 10) with promotion potential to $176,300 (GS-15 Step 10). Apply for this exciting opportunity to strengthen the Department's ability to perform homeland security functions.

In this Supervisory General Engineer position you will become a key team member of Homeland Security professionals involved in managing and directing the accomplishment of all engineering and technical functions of subordinate supervisors, staff, Subject Matter Experts (SME) and CBP advisors. This position is responsible for developing, planning, directing, reviewing, coordinating, analyzing, managing, executing, and monitoring the work of subordinate staff of professional engineers, technical experts and support personnel, interpreting policy, procedure, or regulations, and directing and managing program activities. Typical Work assignments include:

• Overseeing various engineering projects, development of state of the art technologies, initiatives, and policies that support the entire Acquisition workforce;
• Leading and directing overall planning for engineering staff by analyzing mission assignments, establishing program objectives and developing current and long-range plans for accomplishment of assigned functions;
• Interpreting and directing the implementation of organizational policies concerning the development of systems and/or facilities having broad and far-reaching impact on agency mission and programs; which includes managing the coordination of systems engineering responsibilities in the development and acquisition of major systems;
• Overseeing the planning, direction and timely execution of work; which includes providing for program balance and establishing budget priorities, assuring program execution in accordance with direction from senior leadership, providing direction for production, sustainment, and fielding of systems, managing the development, assignment and higher level clearance of goals and objectives of subordinate organizational units, reviewing work plans developed by subordinate organizational units, representing the Office of Acquisition and CBP Component Acquisition Executive in inter/intra agency matters concerned with assigned systems, and participating in high level meetings and conferences to provide briefings and coordination to the user community, higher agency levels, and other participating government agencies; and
• Supervising and directing the engineering staff within the Office of Acquisition; which includes ensuring the execution of administrative and personnel management and leadership responsibilities related to the accomplishment of the assigned mission, plans organizational structure and staffing needs, providing direction, advice, counsel and instructions to employees on both work and administrative matters, recommending and/or approving awards for subordinate personnel, and identifying developmental and training needs of employees.
  

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this position
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered with Selective Service
• Primary U.S. residency for at least three of the last five years (additional details below)
• You may be required to pass a background investigation
• CBP follows the DHS Drug-Free Workplace Plan for drug testing procedures
• As an employee of CBP, you will be joining a workforce that is dedicated to accomplishing our mission while maintaining the trust of our Nation by strictly adhering to all government ethics standards. Your conduct will be subject to the ethics rules applicable to all Executive Branch employees, and to CBP employees specifically, as well as the criminal conflict of interest statutes. Once you enter on duty, these rules include obtaining approval for outside employment or business activity, to ensure such employment or business activity is not prohibited and does not interfere or conflict with performance of your official duties. Please review further details via the following link.

Qualifications

Basic Requirement: You must provide supporting documentation in your application to show you meet the basic requirement below.

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:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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 qualify for this position if you meet the basic requirement, as describe above and possess one year of specialized experience, as listed below.

Specialized Experience: You qualify for the GS-15 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as:

• Leading, guiding, and directing staff in engineering and technical functions, establishment of goals, objectives, work planning and organizational work assignments, and personnel management responsibilities;
• Serving as a technical authority and expert advisor;
• Overseeing a variety of engineering projects and implementing project management practices and procedures;
• Overseeing all system-level development efforts to include formulation, resource allocation, execution and defense of assigned systems and developing state of the art technologies, initiatives, policies, and strategic plans; and
• Interpreting and directing the implementation of organizational policies concerning the development of systems and/or facilities that have broad and far reaching impact on agency mission and programs.

NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional resume requirements.

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.

You must meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process by 12/02/2022.

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.

Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For additional information, review the following links: Background investigation and the e-QIP process .

Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions:

• Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military
• A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government
• Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university
• Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government

Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete a probationary period.

Education

Please see the Qualifications and Required Documents sections for more information if education is applicable to this position.

Additional information

Bargaining Unit: This position is not covered under the bargaining unit.

Telework: Telework may be available on a regular recurring or situational basis.

Financial Disclosure: Financial Disclosure is required.

Supervisory Probationary Period: You may be required to serve an 18 month probationary period upon appointment.

Leadership Training: All newly appointed GS-15s are required to complete mandatory training. The training will be scheduled by the Office of Training and Development within the first 90 days of appointment. The duration of the training will include CBP LI five (5) weeks of in residence training in Harpers Ferry, WV. Note: This training may be waived if previously completed.

DHS Certification: This is a DHS acquisition certification-covered position. DHS Level III certification in Systems Engineering required within 18 months of placement. A secondary certification in Program Management or Test and Evaluation is highly desired.

DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify , including your rights and responsibilities.

The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707. Veterans , Peace Corps / VISTA volunteers , and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.