Duties

Summary

You will serve as a Microwave Instrument Engineer performing work with electronic instrumentation systems in the microwave through sub-millimeter wave used for detecting, recording, measuring physical conditions, phenomena, and environments for Earth and space science programs.

This vacancy is also being announced concurrently with announcement GS20C0033 under merit promotion procedures. Applicants must apply separately for each announcement.
Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

• At the full performance level:
• Designs and develops electronics from the microwave through sub-millimeter wave; designs or directs development of leading-edge technologies, components or instrument systems to meet specific mission requirements.
• Serves as a technical specialist in the field of high frequency electronics, executing complex designs on various advanced electronics projects.
• Participates in the specifications requirements, acceptance testing, and evaluation of new technology, equipment or systems.
• Provides technical guidance to contractor counterparts regarding new or complex aspects of assignments in developing new procedures, equipment, systems, or tools or in performing the work required by the contract.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Travel may be required for training or other work-related duties

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
13

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Position subject to pre-employment background investigation
• Applicants must possess at least a Master's Degree or equivalent.
• Must have received qualifying degree within 2 years of appointment date. Appointment date expected in January 2020.
• Degrees prior to December 2017 will not meet eligibility requirements.
• As identical vacancies are identified, additional selections may be made from this announcement.

Qualifications

All candidates for Distinguished Scholar appointments qualify on the basis of education. Candidates must meet the required grade level criteria and must have received the qualifying degree from an accredited university within two years of the date of appointment.

GS-9 - Achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale in graduate coursework in the field of study required for the position. (Master's degree is a minimum degree requirement)

GS-11 - Achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale in graduate coursework in
the field of study required for the position. (Ph.D. is a minimum degree requirement)

You are required to include the following information in your resume. Failure to include the following information will result in loss of consideration.
1. School/University Name
2. Academic Major/Program
3. Graduation Date (actual or anticipated)
4. Cumulative GPA (reflected on 4.0 scale)
5. Field of study GPA (reflected on 4.0 scale)
6. Relevant coursework and semester hours completed (actual or anticipated)

All information will be verified via official transcripts.

Education

In order to qualify for this position you must meet Basic Education Requirement
You must have successfully completed an undergraduate or graduate degree with a major in either a) engineering from a college or university that has ABET accredited engineering programs or b) Physical Science, Mathematics, Life Science, Computer Science, Other fields of science.

Degrees in engineering technology are not considered to be qualifying for this position.

The degree must have been received in the year of, or any year subsequent to the original date of accreditation. To find out if a school has an ABET accreditation, go to
ABET accredited schools

Required college majors for applicants qualifying on the basis of undergraduate or graduate education:
Aeronautical Engineering, Aeronautics, Aerospace Engineering, Astronautical Engineering, Astronautics, Astronomy, Astrophysics, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering (except power), Electronics Engineering, Applied Mechanics, Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Mechanics, Nuclear Engineering, Nuclear Engineering Physics, Oceanography, Optical Engineering. Other majors will qualify if the major includes or is supplemented as follows: Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Mathematics (Pure or Applied), Physics, Applied Physics, Engineering Physics (or other related field), if includes or is supplemented by two courses in solid state physics, materials, optics, statics and dynamics, electricity and electronics, electron optics, kinetic theory of gases, electromagnetic propagation or radiation, semiconductors, vibration, high vacuum theory, information theory or heat transfer.

ABET accreditation requirement applies to foreign education. Applicants who have completed part or all of their education outside the U.S. must have their foreign education evaluated by an accredited organization to ensure that the foreign education is comparable to the education received in accredited educational institutions in the U.S. If selected, a written evaluation of any foreign education must be provided to the Human Resources official making the offer. Please indicate in your resume that you have had your foreign education formally evaluated. Failure to provide this evaluation will result in your being found unqualified for the position.

Additional information

Any applicant tentatively selected for this position may be required to undergo a pre-employment background investigation. As a condition of employment, male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must certify that they have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. In order to receive preference in hiring, you must clearly identify your claim for veterans preference on your resume. NASA's Applicant Guide provides the information needed to assist you in determining whether or not you can claim 5 or 10 point veterans preference. You should not submit documents to prove your eligibility for veterans preference at this time. However, you must be prepared to submit proof of veterans preference (DD-214, and, if claiming 10-point preference, SF-15 plus proof required by that form) as requested by the Human Resources Office. Veterans preference will only be considered based on what is supported. For instance, if you claim 10-point preference, but are only able to document 5-point preference, you will be considered accordingly. If you fail to provide the required documents within the stated time period, we may withdraw a job offer and/or remove you from further consideration.

This position is announced under the NASA Distinguished Scholar (DS) Appointing Authority. All candidates, including veterans and CTAP/ICTAP eligibles, must meet the DS qualification requirements, including the requirement to have received the qualifying degree within two years of the date of appointment or conversion. Because the DS program includes specific grade point average (GPA) criteria, candidates must include GPA information in the Education section of the resume. Candidates who fail to do so will be found ineligible. Individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) will receive consideration for special priority selection. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must meet basic qualifications and eligibility requirements. Federal employees seeking CTAP/ICTAP consideration must indicate their eligibility when applying for a position. The USAJOBS resume asks you to identify your ICTAP eligibility; the NASA Supplemental Information asks you to identify your CTAP eligibility. If you are selected for the position, you must be prepared to submit proof that you meet the requirements for CTAP/ICTAP. This includes a copy of the agency notice, a copy of their most recent Performance Rating and a copy of their most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location.

Your USAJOBS account asks you to assign a name to each of your resumes. When you apply to a NASA position, we will show you the text of the resume you have submitted, but we do not maintain the name you have assigned to that resume.

Fair Employment Opportunities for Applicants
NASA Credit for National Service

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Resumes will be evaluated by an automated system (Resumix) that will identify candidates meeting basic qualifications. Candidates who are verified as meeting basic qualifications and eligibility criteria will be eligible to be referred to the selecting official for consideration.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

To receive consideration, you must submit a resume and answer NASA-specific questions. The NASA questions appear after you submit your resume and are transferred to the NASA web site. If you successfully apply, USAJOBS will show your application status as 'Received'. If your status is 'Application Status Not Available', you have not successfully applied. Do not rely on a USAJOBS email to confirm successful application. Only an email from NASA confirms a successful application.
NASA's application process has been specifically developed to ensure that we only ask you for the information we absolutely need to evaluate your qualifications and eligibility. In order to apply for this position, you only need to submit your resume and answer the screening questions and supplemental information. No additional documentation is accepted at the time of application. (For example you need not submit narrative 'KSA' statements; they are not required and will not be evaluated.) In this way we allow you to focus on preparing a resume that best describes your background and abilities. For assistance in preparing your resume, consult the Applicant Guide . Nothing further is required until requested by the Human Resources Office. At that point, we may ask you to submit documentation to support statements made in your resume. For example, we may ask you to provide academic transcripts or proof of Federal employment status. If you are claiming veterans' preference, we may ask you to submit proof of veterans preference (DD-214, and, if claiming 10-point preference, SF-15 plus proof required by that form). If you fail to provide the required documents within the stated time period, we may withdraw a job offer and/or remove you from further consideration.

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.