Duties

Summary

The Engineering and Technology Directorate (ETD), Instrument Systems and Technology Division, Optics Branch (Code 551) is seeking a skilled individual to serve as an Optical Systems Designer. They will design, analyze and support the performance of flight scientific instruments and test equipment. They will support proposals and other work related to new business and serve as the technical monitor for contracts for flight hardware.
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Responsibilities

• As an Electronics Engineer, specializing in optical engineering, you will support space optical engineering projects and programs.
• You will develop a variety of imaging and non-imaging optical component and optical instrument system designs through the use of computer-aided software packages. This may include the design of stray light suppression hardware (baffles, etc.).
• You will analyze optical component, subsystem, and system level performance using computer-aided software packages. This includes the analysis of stray light suppression performance.
• You will support the development of optical test methods, techniques, and ground equipment for the construction, testing, and verification of space-flight optical instrumentation.
• You will create sensitivity studies to understand the manufacturability, alignment and stability needs of optical designs.
• You will support the development of error budgets consistent with optical fabrication, alignment and testing techniques of optical subsystems.
• You will support the development the opto-mechanical design and fabrication methods, techniques, and ground equipment for application to the fabrication and test of lens/mirror mounts, optical benches, etc.
• You will designs and analyze the performance of spectroscopic and hyper-spectral components and systems; cameras; and lidar systems. You will support the development of these systems, including alignment and testing.
• As needed, you will function as Task Monitor, Contracting Officer's Representative (COR), or Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) for contracts related to the task.
• You will prepare and deliver technical presentations at meetings and conferences.
• Duties described above are at the full-performance level. Duties assigned at a lower grade level will be of more limited scope, performed with less independence and limited complexity; duties will be commensurate with the grade of selected employee.

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
• A one-year probationary period may be required
• This position is open to U.S. citizens, nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet one of the following requirements in addition to the Basic Education Requirement:

For the GS-9:
a. One year of professional experience in an appropriate field at least equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to GS-7 in the Federal service within or closely related to the specialty for which application was made; Specialized experience is defined as performing optical design and/or analysis of optical systems or setups; or
b. Completion of all requirements for a master's or equivalent graduate degree in an appropriate field; or
c. Two full academic years of graduate education in an appropriate field; or
d. An equivalent combination of experience and graduate study.

For the GS-11:
a. One year of professional experience in an appropriate field at least equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to GS-9 level work in the Federal service within or closely related to the aerospace technology specialty for which application is made; Specialized experience is defined as performing optical design and/or analyses of more complex optical systems, including experience in optical processes such as wavefront sensing and alignment; or
b. Completion of all requirements for a doctoral degree (Ph.D. or equivalent) in an appropriate field; or
c. Completion of three full academic years of graduate education in an appropriate field; or
d. An equivalent combination of experience and graduate education.

For the GS-12:
Specialized experience is defined as performing optical design and/or analyses of complex optical systems, including experience in optical processes such as wavefront sensing, alignment, optical requirements development, and error budget development.

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

Please spell out all acronyms.

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

U.S. 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.

Foreign Engineering degrees must be recognized by a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA), often known as accords These are non-governmental agreements among organizations that accredit academic degree programs. MRAs recognize the substantial equivalence of mature accreditation systems and programs accredited by signatory organizations within their jurisdictions. For a listing of Signatories, please visit, https://www.abet.org/global-presence/mutual-recognition-agreements/is-your-program-recognized/.

Science and other related degrees 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/.

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. These education credentials must be 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.

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

Official transcripts will be required at the time of selection to verify that you meet the educational requirement or substitution.

Additional information

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

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

Position may be filled at either the GS-9, GS-11 or GS-12 level. The full performance level for this position is GS-13. If selected at the lower level, employee may be non-competitively promoted to the next grade when qualified and recommended by management.

Identification of promotion potential in this position does not constitute a commitment or an obligation on the part of management to promote the employee. Promotion will depend upon administrative approval and the continuing need for an actual assignment and performance of higher level duties.

If you have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), you must:

Indicate your 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.

Be well qualified for this position to receive consideration. See 'How You Will Be Evaluated' for NASA's definition of well qualified.

Be prepared to submit proof that you meet the requirements for CTAP/ICTAP if you are selected for the position. This includes copies of your agency notice, most recent Performance Rating and most recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) noting current position, grade level, and duty location.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

This position is announced under Direct Hire authority. A Human Resources Specialist will review your resume to determine if you meet the qualifications and eligibility requirements as listed in 'Requirements'.

CTAP and ICTAP candidates will be assessed using NASA STARS, an automated system 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 point 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.

For the purpose of the CTAP and ICTAP, candidates rated in the top quality (90 pt.) category are considered well-qualified.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

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 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.