Duties

Summary

Securing Travel, Protecting People - At the Transportation Security Administration, you will serve in a high-stakes environment to safeguard the American way of life. In cities across the country, you would secure airports, seaports, railroads, highways, and/or public transit systems, thus protecting America's transportation infrastructure and ensuring freedom of movement for people and commerce. For additional information about our agency please: Click Here

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

This General Engineer position is located in the of Requirements and Capabilities Analysis (RCA) which is responsible for strengthening and managing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Transportation Security Administration's (TSA's) countermeasures and operational capabilities, to enhance security and optimize mission performance through analysis and innovation.

• Leading studies and analyses to determine the feasibility of various engineering approaches for future aviation security systems programs or to resolve challenging technical problems in current programs.
  
• Facilitating and managing requirements documentation, including coordination with internal and external stakeholders, for requirements development and product acquisition; communicating complex engineering and technical concepts clearly and ensures effective collaborations across technical and program teams.
  
• Leading and executing highly technical engineering programs and projects effectively, maintaining program plans, and effectively managing cost, schedule and deliverables according to approved program plans.
  
• Addressing complex and difficult engineering problems through the application of advanced systems engineering concepts, principles, methods, and techniques; seeking innovative solutions, identifying advanced capability opportunities, and advises senior management on courses of action.
  
• Enabling and leading emerging security concepts that exploit the capabilities of an integrated system; conceptualizing and managing the implementation of technical and policy initiatives to transition transportation security equipment to a fully integrated environment.
  

This vacancy will be filled through DHS/TSA's Direct-Hire Authority. Under the Direct-Hire Authority, category grouping and Veterans' Preference does not apply.

Travel Required

25% or less - Position requires frequent travel (25% of time).

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
J

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Selective Service registration is required.
• You must possess U.S. Citizenship or be a U.S. National.
• You must complete a favorable Background Investigation (BI).
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a secret security clearance.
• See additional "Conditions of Employment" and "Other Information" section.

Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.

Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, and Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.

Qualifications

In addition to the educational and basic requirements, to qualify for the SV-J Pay Band (equivalent to GS-14), you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the SV-I Pay Band or GS-13 in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of this position.

Such experience includes:

Applying advanced engineering principles, concepts, standards and methods to conduct studies and analyses and resolve issues related to aviation security screening systems.

Identifying, recommending, and implementing strategies to assess system effectiveness and suitability and provide innovative recommendations.

Applying analytical and evaluative methods to conduct assessments, identify and report findings that require new or revised policy guidelines and address security applications.

Note: Credit for experience is given based on a 40-hour workweek. Part-time experience is credited on a part-time ratio, i.e., working 20 hours per week for two months equals one month of experience. No additional credit is given for overtime. 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.

In addition to the educational and basic requirements, to qualify for the SV-I Pay Band (equivalent to GS-13), you must have one year of specialized experience at the SV-H Pay Band or GS-12 in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the expert knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of the position.

Such experience includes:

Applying engineering principles, concepts, standards and methods to conduct studies and analyses and resolve issues related to aviation security screening systems.

Identifying, recommending, and implementing strategies to assess system effectiveness and suitability and provide innovative recommendations.

Basic Requirements for all Engineer Positions (must meet A or B):

A. Bachelor's or higher degree in professional engineering. To be acceptable, the curriculum must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; 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 professional 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.

Specified academic courses-Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and in engineering that included the courses specified in the basic requirements. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of a professional engineering curriculum as described in paragraph A.

Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education, beyond the second year, and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for this position, and may be computed by first determining your total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the band level; then determining your education as a percentage of the education required for the band level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: Education at the graduate level in an accredited college or university in the amounts indicated above meets the requirements for this position. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent one year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the one year of full-time study requirement.

Note: For positions requiring positive education requirements, or if you are using education to meet all or part of the qualification requirements, you MUST submit a copy of your transcripts or an itemized list of college courses from an accredited college or university, which includes equivalent information from the transcript (course title, semester/quarter hours, and grade/degree earned) in your resume. The information must be provided with the application by the closing date of the announcement. If selected, the applicant must supply a transcript or certification of degree.

NOTE: Credit for experience is given based on a 40-hour workweek. Part-time experience is credited on a part-time ratio, i.e., working 20 hours per week for two months equals one month of experience. No additional credit is given for overtime.

National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): 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.

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.

You must meet the qualification requirements for this position no later than the closing date of the vacancy announcement.

Education

Professional and Scientific Positions:

Bachelor's or higher degree in professional engineering or a combination of specialized experience.

Additional information

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT :

• Must be able to obtain and maintain a secret clearance.
• Position requires frequent travel (25% of time).

This vacancy will be filled through DHS/TSA's Direct-Hire Authority. Under the Direct-Hire Authority, category grouping and Veterans' Preference does not apply.

Eligibility to apply for other Federal positions: TSA is an Excepted Service agency exempt from most of Title 5 United States Code, including regulations which apply to displaced Federal employees (CTAP/ICTAP) of other agencies, and employment with TSA does not confer "Competitive Status" that generally results from selection and service in Competitive Service agencies. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has established an Interchange Agreement, which allows most permanent TSA employees to apply and be considered for vacancies in Competitive Service agencies. Information from OPM on this or other Interchange Agreements is available at: http://www.opm.gov .

To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully pass a background investigation as a condition of placement into this position.

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.

TSA employees who are absent for the purpose of performing military duty may apply for any vacancies announced in their absence.

It is the policy of the Government not to deny employment simply because an individual has been unemployed or has had financial difficulties that have arisen through no fault of the individual. Information about an individual's employment experience will be used only to determine the person's qualifications and to assess his or her relative level of knowledge, skills, and abilities. Although an individual's personal conduct may be relevant in any employment decision, including conduct during periods of unemployment or evidence of dishonesty in handling financial matters, financial difficulty that has arisen through no fault of the individual will generally not itself be the basis of an unfavorable suitability or fitness determination. For more information, click here .

Permanent Change of Station (PCS) expenses are not authorized.

Relocation expenses are not authorized.

More than one position may be filled from this announcement.

If you are entering TSA employment on an appointment without time limitations, you must serve a basic trial period unless you have already met the requirement.

TSA policy requires verification of Selective Service registration for male applicants born after 12/31/59. For more information click here .

View common definitions of terms found in this announcement.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

You will be evaluated based on a comparison of the position requirements against the quality and extent of the experience and/or related education as reflected in your resume, college transcripts and supporting documentation. You are encouraged to ensure work experiences clearly show possession of the competencies required for this position. We will compare your resume and supporting documentation to a qualification assessment. If, after reviewing your resume, college transcripts and any supporting documentation, a determination is made that your work experience history and educational achievements are not supported by your application materials, your final evaluation and eligibility to apply to this vacancy may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job.

This vacancy will be filled through DHS/TSA's Direct-Hire Authority. Under the Direct-Hire Authority, category grouping and Veterans' Preference does not apply.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Secret

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

In addition to a resume you must submit copies of any of the following documents if you are applying based on education or a combination of education and experience:

Transcripts - If you are qualifying based on education OR if there are mandatory education requirements listed under the Qualifications and Evaluations section, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcript(s) with your application. If selected, an official/sealed college transcript(s) will be required to verify education prior to employment.

If you do not submit required documentation described in this job opportunity announcement, your application will be deemed incomplete and you will be ineligible for further consideration for this vacancy.

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.