Duties

Summary

About the Position:
This position is located at Aberdeen Proving Ground in the Harford County, Maryland. Serves as a senior test director and facility director in the Lethal Mechanisms Branch at the Army Research Laboratory, Weapons and Materials Research Directorate. Work involves experimental investigations on terminal ballistic experiments involving kinetic energy projectiles and chemical energy warheads.
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Responsibilities

• Serves as a senior test director and facility director responsible for the leadership of a team of highly-skilled government and contractor technicians engaged in terminal ballistic experiments.
• Coordinates and directs experimental programs and assigns roles and duties of facility personnel based on priorities established by the responsible project engineer and branch chief.
• Expert in small and large caliber ammunition and weapon systems; ballistic testing development and execution; operation of large materials handling equipment (forklifts, cranes, etc) and wood/metal machinery (saws, lathes, torches, etc.)
• Responsible for interfacing with internal (branch) and external customers including scientists and engineers to coordinate experimental requirements and needs at the facility.
• Coordinates with APG tenant activities such as Aberdeen Test Center as well as ARL Ammunition and Explosives Safety Office to ensure coordinated and safe operation of the facility.
• Applies knowledge and experience in formulation, review and execution of Standard Operating Procedures and Composite Research Management process in an ammunition and explosives operating environment.
• Responsible for coordinating maintenance and infrastructure improvements at the facility.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
None

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
• Secret Clearance is required.
• Must possess and maintain a valid state driver's license.
• Must demonstrate through prior experience that you have the skills and abilities to meet certification criteria for an indoor/outdoor small - caliber test director OR an outdoor large-caliber test director. One is required but both are preferred.
• Is subject to frequent unscheduled overtime on short notice (i.e., less than 15 minutes notice).
• Pre-employment Physical: Is required to lift objects up to 45-50 pounds. There is potential exposure to lasers, microwaves, and/or ionizing radiation requiring pre-placement, periodic, and termination physicals as a condition of employment.
• Must follow all safety regulations and use proper protective gear or equipment.
• Works involves prolonged periods of walking, standing, bending, or stooping. Work is often performed outdoors exposing incumbent to all types of weather conditions.
• Occasional travel may be required.
• This position is subject to a pre-employment drug screening, and random testing thereafter, to include testing based on reasonable suspicion and testing due to direct involvement with an on-duty accident.
• Selectee must meet the requirements of AMCR 350-4, Training and Certification Program for Personnel Working in Ammunition Operations.
• Selectee must be cleared in with accordance requirements of Physical Security of Arms Ammunition and Explosives (AAE).
• This position is subject to the Lautenberg Amendment/Domestic Violence Misdemeanor Amendment to the Gun Control Act of 1968.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens

In order to qualify, you must meet the experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document .

Specialized experience is experience that you possess that has prepared you to successfully perform the work of this position. This experience is performed at the next lower grade level of DE-02 (GS-11 grade level or equivalency to the Federal service) for consideration at the DE-03 or equivalent pay band in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is defined as: (1) Experience conducting research to support the design, development, assessment and transition of ballistics technologies in support of Army requirements; and (2) Experience managing and directing operation of experimental facility and Overseeing on site contractors.

Additional qualifications: Knowledge and proficiency in the following areas must be demonstrated through previous experience:
- Use and handling of small arms and small- to large-caliber weapons.
- Loading of small arms and small- to large-caliber ammunition.
- Use and handling of energetic and explosive materials and devices.
- Configuring, maintaining and operating analog and digital x-ray systems, delay generators, and triggering circuits to achieve stated results define in experimental test plans.
- Data reduction of analog and digital x-ray images and reporting of results as required by experimental test plans.
- Configuring, maintaining and operating high-speed digital photography systems to achieve stated results define in experimental test plans.
- Data reduction of high-speed digital photography (to include Digital Image Correlation) images and reporting of results as required by experimental test plans.
- Use of oscilloscopes to record data from sources like pressure gages, trigging mechanisms, Photon Doppler Velocimetry (PDV) and piezo-electric pins.
- Use of lasers for facility and experiment setup and for data collection methods like PDV.
- Use of Microsoft Office products like Word and Excel to record, analyze, and archive data and experimental records as required by experimental test plans and facility IOPs.
- You will identify and resolve complex problems that may cross functional/technical boundaries and promulgate solutions.

You will be evaluated on the basis of your level of competency in the following areas:

• Reasoning
• Teamwork
• Technology Application
• Test and Evaluation

Education

Additional information

• Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
• You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
• Two year trial/probationary period may be required.
• Direct Deposit of Pay is required.
• Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.
• If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet.
• This is a Career Program (CP) - 16 position.
• You may claim military spouse preference.
• Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
• Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
• Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). If you are a Federal employee in the competitive service and your agency has notified you in writing that you are a displaced employee eligible for ICTAP consideration, you may receive selection priority for this position. To receive selection priority, you must: (1) meet ICTAP eligibility criteria (2) be rated well-qualified for the position and; (3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. To be considered well-qualified and receive selection priority applicants must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a score of 90 or above. Additional information about the program is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website.
• When you perform a Civilian Permanent Change of Station (PCS) with the government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers the majority of your entitlements to be taxable. Visit https://www.gsa.gov/cdnstatic/FTR%20Bulletin%2018_05%20Relocation%20Allowances_0.pdf for more information.
• If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application .
• Permanent Change of Station (PCS) allowances may be authorized, subject to the provisions of the Joint Travel Regulations and an agency determination that a PCS move is in the Government Interest.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. If you are minimally qualified, your résumé and supporting documentation will be compared against your responses to the assessment questionnaire to determine your level of experience. If, after reviewing your résumé and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.

Basis for Rating: Qualified candidates will be assigned to one of three quality categories: Best Qualified, Highly Qualified and Qualified. Veteran preference eligibles are listed ahead of non-preference eligibles within each quality category.

• Best Qualified. Candidates in this category possess exceptional skills and experience to exceed well above the minimum requirements for the announced position.
• Highly Qualified. Candidates in this category possess good skills and experience above the minimum requirements for the announced position.
• Qualified. Candidates in this category meet the minimum experience requirements for the announced position.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Secret

Drug test required
Yes

Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

The documents you are required to submit vary based on whether or not you are eligible for preference in federal employment. A complete description of preference categories and the associated required documents is in the Applicant Checklist (External) .

As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.

1. Your resume:

• Your resume may be submitted in any format and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement.
• If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
• For qualifications determinations your resume must contain hours worked per week and the dates of employment (i.e., HRS per week and month/year to month/year or month/year to present). If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete and you may not receive consideration for this position.
• For additional information see: What to include in your resume .

2. Other supporting documents:

• Cover Letter, optional
• Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable
• This position requires a job-related license or certification. Please submit a copy of your license or certification with your application package. See: Transcripts and Licenses

NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.

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.