Duties

Summary

The Engineering and Technology Directorate (ETD), Electrical Engineering Division, Instrument Electronics Development Branch (Code 564) is seeking a highly skilled individual to design, develop, implement and test complex digital systems on Field Programmable Gate Array devices from prototype to
flight for projects ranging from research and development to major flight programs.
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Responsibilities

• As an Electronics Engineer, specializing in Electronic Instrumentation Systems, you will analyze, design, test, and conduct performance validation of electronic instrumentation systems.
• These systems are used for detecting, recording, measuring, or controlling physical conditions, phenomena, and environments encountered in aeronautical and aerospace research and development programs.
• Position will direct development and design activities, making recommendations and implementing actions involving highly complex technical problems, including those that apply to unusual integrated systems and/or hardware.
• Position will direct critical design projects. Plans and establishes an overall outline for design and development of proposed technology, equipment, or systems.
• Explore, recommend, and implement innovative architectures and techniques related to front-end detector interface electronics for spaceflight instrumentation.
• Serve as a Center expert for development of detector interfacing and signal processing electronics to be implemented on orbital and interplanetary scientific instruments.
• Identify and define potential technical problems, especially those affecting more than one subsystem.
• Organize, direct, and control Division activities in the area of advanced projects development, technology development, and technology transfer.

Travel Required

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

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
14

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Position subject to pre-employment background investigation.
• A one-year probationary period may be required.

Qualifications

Applicant must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS), which has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies needed to successfully perform the duties of the position described above.

To qualify for the GS-13 grade level, applicants must have one year specialized experience at the next lower grade level (GS-12) designing, implementing and testing digital signal processing algorithms, data conversion and readout, state machines, data interfaces and other complex digital logic designs using VHDL or Verilog hardware description languages on Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) for ground or flight applications.

To qualify for the GS-14 applicants must have one year specialized experience at the next lower grade level (GS-13) providing technical leadership in designing, implementing and testing digital signal processing algorithms, data conversion and readout, state machines, data interfaces and other complex digital logic designs using VHDL or Verilog hardware description languages on Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) for ground or flight applications. This includes negotiating FPGA requirements, architecting FPGA design, directing other FPGA designers, serving on review panels, chairing FPGA reviews, writing or maintaining governing documents and resolving complex FPGA design problems.

Your resume must include a clear and detailed narrative description, in your own words, of how you meet the required specialized experience. Experiences copied from a position description, vacancy announcement or other reference material constitutes plagiarism and may result in disqualification and losing consideration for the job.

Education

Basic Education Requirement: A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with major study in Aeronautical Engineering, Aeronautics, Aerospace Engineering, Architecture, Astronautical Engineering, Astronautics, Astronomy, Astrophysics, Biomedical Engineering, Ceramic Engineering, Ceramics, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science*, Life Science, Earth and Planetary Science, Electrical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Geology, Geophysics, Industrial Engineering, Materials Engineering, Materials Science, Mathematics (Pure or Applied), Applied Mechanics, Engineering Mechanics, Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, Metallurgy, Meteorology, Nuclear Engineering, Nuclear Engineering Physics, Oceanography, Optical Engineering, Physics, Applied Physics, Engineering Physics, Space Science, Structural Engineering, Welding Engineering or other appropriate physical science or engineering field. Degrees in engineering technology are not considered to be qualifying for this position.

*Note: Curriculum must include 30 semester hours of course work in a combination of mathematics, statistics and computer science that provided in-depth knowledge of the following:

(1) theoretical foundations and practical applications of computer science, including digital computer system architecture and system software organization, the representation and transformation of information structures and the theoretical models for such representations and transformations; and (2) essential mathematical and statistical techniques. Of the 30 semester hours, 15 must be in any combination of statistics and mathematics which includes differential and integral calculus

Engineering degrees must have been awarded from a college or university school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). To find out if a degree meets this requirement, go to http://www.abet.org.

A degree(s) must have been awarded from colleges or universities that are accredited by recognized accrediting organizations. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, go to http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/.

All degrees must have been received in the year of, or any year subsequent to the original date of accreditation.

Applicants must list their majors on their resume.

Applicants must complete the following fields in USAJOBS Resume Builder, Step 2. Education section in order for education qualifications to be considered for this position:

-College/University Name
-State/Territory/Province/Country
-City/Town
-Degree/Level Attained
-Completion date
-Major
-Minor
-GPA

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

Please indicate the name of your college, major, degree and completion date in the education section.

The accreditation, type of degree, and coursework taken will determine if the basic education requirements are met.

Foreign Education: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit:
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Additional information

Any applicant tentatively selected for this position may be required to undergo a pre-employment background investigation. Individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. See 'How You Will Be Evaluated' for definition of well qualified. 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.

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.

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. If you wish to keep track of that information, we recommend you make note of it at the time you apply.

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.

NASA uses an automated system (Resumix) that matches the competencies extracted from your resume to the competencies identified by the selecting official for the position. Based on the competencies you match, you are placed in one of three categories identified as 90, 80, or 70 pt. quality categories, which are defined as:

90 pt. Category - Tentatively meets (until subsequent confirmation upon referral) the basic qualification requirements identified in the vacancy announcement and has experience in the same or similar job that has demonstrated superior proficiency in the primary requirements of the position.

80 pt. Category - Tentatively meets (until subsequent confirmation upon referral) the basic qualification requirements identified in the vacancy announcement and demonstrates satisfactory proficiency in the primary requirements of the position.

70 pt. Category - Fails to meet criteria described in the 80 pt. category.

Additional application guidance is available in NASA's Applicant Guide .

Information for Veterans : The Category Rating Process protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligibles who meet qualification requirements and have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed at the top of the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher.

For the purpose of the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) and the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), candidates rated in the top quality category are considered well-qualified

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.

Pay may be set in accordance with the General Pay Provisions delineated in NPR 3530.1C.

As identical vacancies are identified, additional selections may be made.

You must meet qualifications requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Deliberate attempts to falsify your application information, such as copying portions of this job announcement into your resume, may result in you being removed from consideration for this position.

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.