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General Engineer, ZP-0801-3/4 (Direct Hire)

Employer
USAJobs
Location
Silver Spring, Maryland
Closing date
Jul 23, 2019
Duties

Summary

This is a Direct Hire Public Notice. Please read this Public Notice in its entirety prior to submitting your application for consideration.

Category Rating, Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to this Public Notice.

This position is located in the National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service Office (NESDIS), Office of System Architecture and Advanced Planning (OSAAP) with two vacancies located in Silver Spring, MD.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

As a General Engineer, you will perform the following duties:
  • Collaborate with research centers and other agencies to develop, execute, and document innovative and cost-effective space system and ground segment projects.
  • Develop transition plans to incorporate interagency, international, and commercial technological capabilities into National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) operations.
  • Act as a technical contract monitor/COR to identify and assess technical risk of major systems acquisition programs.
  • Prepare strategic planning documentation and provide reports, briefings, and recommendations to advise management on project progress and issues.

These duties are described at the full performance level of the ZP-4; the ZP-3 is developmental leading to such performance.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Up to 10% domestic travel may be required.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
4 - If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you may be non-competitively promoted if you perform successfully and if recommended by management.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National to apply.
  • Required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.
  • Must be suitable for Federal employment.
  • Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov).
  • Time-in-grade/band must be met by closing date of announcement.


* Category Rating, Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to this Public Notice.

This position will be filled under the DOC Alternative Personnel System (CAPS). This system replaced the Federal GS pay plan and structure. Under CAPS, positions are classified by career, pay plan, and pay band.

This position requires a Low Risk Security Clearance.

The ZP-3 is equivalent to the GS-11/12.

The ZP-4 is equivalent to the GS-13/14.

* A one year probationary period may be required.

* Payment of relocation expenses is not authorized.

* This position is not in the bargaining unit

College Transcript: If you are qualifying based on education, submit a copy of your college transcript that lists college courses detailing each course by the number and department (i.e., bio 101, math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours and grade earned. You must submit evidence that any education completed in a foreign institution is equivalent to U.S. education standards with your resume. You may submit an unofficial copy of the transcript at the initial phase of the application process. If course content cannot be easily identified from the title of the course as listed on your transcript, you must submit an official course description from the college/university that reflects the content at the time the course was taken.

Note: Your college transcript is used to verify successful completion of degree, or college course work. An official college transcript will be required before you can report to duty.

Applicants must meet ALL application requirements, to include a complete online resume, by 11:59 p.m. EASTERN TIME (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifications

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight .

BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This position requires applicants to meet a Basic Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of specialized experience in order to be found minimally qualified. You MUST meet one of the following basic education requirements:

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:
  • Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT), 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) 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.)

  • Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government.

    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.

    To qualify at the ZP-3 or GS-11 level:

    SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicants must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-2 or GS-09 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following:
    • Providing engineering, hardware and software architecture expertise in the development of systems acquisition projects;
    • Performing risk identification and mitigation activities for satellite, instruments, and ground segment programs; and
    • Drafting technical reports, briefings, and recommendations to management.

    OR

    EDUCATION: 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

    OR

    COMBINATION: A combination of education and experience as described above.

    To qualify at the ZP-4 or GS-13 level:

    SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicants must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-3 or GS-11 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following:
    • Providing project management, engineering, information technology, and hardware and software architecture expertise to develop and document systems acquisition projects;
    • Performing risk identification and mitigation activities to assess technical risk on satellite, instruments, and ground segment programs;
    • Preparing strategic planning documents, technical reports, briefings, and recommendations to management; and
    • Developing and providing guidance on policies, plans and procedures for the management, acquisition and use of information technology resources.


    Education

    Additional information

    CTAP and ICTAP candidates will be eligible if it is determined that they have met the minimum qualifications for the position. Information about CTAP and ICTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management's Career Transition Resources website at: Employee Career Transition Guide .

    CTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents:
  • A copy of your specific RIF notice; notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate; a Certificate of Expected Separation (CES); or certification that you are in a surplus organization or occupation (this could be a position abolishment letter, a notice eligibility for discontinued service retirement, or similar notice).
  • A copy of your SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action", noting current position, grade level, and duty location;
  • A copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and
  • Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.

  • ICTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents:
  • A copy of your RIF separation notice; notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate; notice of disability annuity termination; certification from your former agency that it cannot place you after your recovery from a compensable injury; or certification from the National Guard Bureau or Military Department that you are eligible for disability retirement;
  • A copy of your SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action" documenting your RIF separation, noting your positions, grade level, and duty location, and/or Agency certification of inability to place you through RPL, etc;
  • A copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and
  • Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.

  • NOAA participates in e-Verify. E-Verify is an Internet based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that enables participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees.

    How You Will Be Evaluated

    You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

    We will review your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for the position.

    Veteran's Preference does not apply to direct hire recruitment procedures.

    Any selections made under this notice will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. Current Federal employees would, therefore, be given new appointments to the civil service.

    To preview questions please click here .

    Background checks and security clearance

    Security clearance
    Other

    Drug test required
    No

    Required Documents

    • Resume showing relevant experience; cover letter optional. Your resume must indicate your citizenship and if you are registered for Selective Service if you are a male born after 12/31/59. Your resume must include information about your paid and nonpaid work experience related to this position including: job title, duration of employment (mm/dd/yy - mm/dd/yy), hours per week, duties and accomplishments, salary, and your education. For work in the Federal service, please include the grade level for the position/s.
    • Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) and Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) documentation if applicable (see additional information).
    • Education. If this position requires proof of higher education, you must submit an unofficial transcript or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website. You MUST provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation by the closing date of the announcement will result in lost consideration.

    *Although Veteran's Preference does not apply to Direct Hire Authority, upon selection Veteran's documentation may be required.

    If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

    Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education .

    Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

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