Duties

Summary

The Mechanical Engineering Branch, Goddard Space Flight Center, is seeking a skilled individual to provide expertise in the use of Computer Aided Design software to design leading-edge aerospace spaceflight hardware and/or technology, mechanical ground support equipment, or other mechanical systems to meet specific mission requirements. You will serve as a creative conduit through which the Lead Mechanical Engineer can achieve space flight hardware and or support for that design.
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Responsibilities

• Evaluate design approaches with collaboration of supervisors, project engineers, or other professionals to optimize designs for mass, strength, stiffness, volume, field of view, ease of assembly/disassembly, testing, handling, and other constraints.
• Design and develop advanced mechanical and opto-mechanical systems for space flight applications that meet a complex array of technical requirements using traditional and advanced manufacturing techniques.
• Create mechanical design drawings for prototype hardware, mechanical ground support equipment, and tooling in consultation with scientists, researchers, engineers, machinists, and assembly technicians.
• Design experimental instruments, configurations, devices, or components in support of research and development projects with undefined or uncertain performance requirements.
• Provide proposal support for structural designs, mechanical system designs, including deployment systems, and other design concepts for newly proposed instruments and spacecraft.
• Maintain liaison with engineers and designers who are expert in related fields in order to keep abreast of the latest trends and innovations in design, manufacturing, assembly, handling, or testing techniques and procedures.
• Use advanced modeling design software such as Integrated Design Engineering Analysis Software, CREO or Solidworks. Produce fabrication and assembly drawings to ANSY Y-14 Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing standards.
• Provide mechanical component fabrication and production oversight, and assist in the fabrication, assembly and testing of the hardware as directed by the Lead Mechanical Engineer.
• Provide technical leadership in problem investigations, troubleshooting, and issue resolution activities involving flight hardware and associated ground support equipment and facilities.

Travel Required

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

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
12

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

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

Qualifications

You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-11), which has equipped you with the particular competencies needed to successfully perform the duties of the position described above.

Specialized experience includes performing duties such as design and development of advanced mechanical or opto-mechanical hardware, technology or systems for space flight applications; using advanced modeling design software such as Integrated Design Engineering Analysis Software, CREO or Solidworks; ensuring drawings/designs adhere to the latest ANSY Y-14 Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing standards.

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

There are no education requirements for this position.

Additional information

This position is announced under Direct Hire authority. Recruitment for this position will follow guidelines established by the Office of Personnel Management for use of Direct Hire authority.

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

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

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.