Duties

Summary

The Engineering & Technology Directorate, Instrument Systems & Technology Division is seeking highly skilled individuals to serve as technical engineering leaders collaborating with Principal Investigators in the Sciences & Exploration Directorate (SED) to develop and advance key technologies and provide technical leadership on mission concept formulation projects and instrument and technology development proposals.
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Responsibilities

• You will lead or support studies, concepts, designs, analyses, developments, testing, performance validation, and calibration of systems used for earth science, space science (astrophysics, heliophysics, and planetary), and exploration initiatives.
• You will conduct expert technical reviews and provide technical leadership for precedent-setting professional studies, research, development, and/or analysis for advancing the Technical Readiness Level (TRL) of key technologies.
• You will interpret and evaluate findings for use and applicability to programs, projects, and scientific investigations.
• You will conceive, plan, and conduct work in unexplored areas to devise new measurement techniques that enable or improve performance and reduce mass and cost for future science missions.
• You will document and report findings in the form of new technology reports, potential patents, journal publications, and conference presentations.
• You will also serve as lead investigator or co-lead investigator on mission formulation projects and instrument and technology development proposals, including IRADs and ROSES awards.
• You will lead a broad range of interdisciplinary development and design activities, making recommendations and implementing actions involving highly complex technical problems, including those that apply to unique state-of-the-art integrated systems.
• You will provide technical insight into the formulation of flight project concepts with respect to identifying engineering requirements, appropriate technologies, and associated risks.
• You will develop major portions of proposals in response to Announcements of Opportunity (AOs), Requests for Information (RFIs), or other solicitations.
• You will serve as an expert consultant on broad projects and programs with national impact.

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

Qualifications

In addition to the Basic Education Requirement, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade, which has equipped you with the particular competencies needed to successfully perform the duties of the position described above.

At the GS-14 level, you must have one year specialized experience at the next lower grade level (GS-13).
Specialized experience is defined as developing, testing, and/or calibrating systems for instruments, spacecraft subsystems, science data products or associated technologies in partnership with scientists or in support of projects used for earth and space science or exploration initiatives. This includes assessing scientific requirements, developing engineering requirements, conducting research and development, integrating and testing components or systems, or performing calibration activities to meet programmatic and cost constraints; and serving as a technical lead on a large project or technology development lead.

At the GS-13 level, you must have one year specialized experience at the next lower grade level (GS-12).
Specialized experience is defined as developing, testing, and/or calibrating systems for instruments, spacecraft subsystems, science data products or associated technologies in partnership with scientists or in support of projects used for earth and space science and exploration initiatives. This includes assessing scientific requirements, developing engineering requirements, conducting research and development, integrating and testing components or systems, or performing calibration activities to meet programmatic and cost constraints.

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*, 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. Of the 30 semester hours, 15 must be in any combination of statistics and mathematics which includes differential and integral calculus.

Additional information

This opportunity is for a detail or temporary promotion not to exceed one (1) year. This detail or temporary promotion may be extended or become permanent without further competition. Applicants selected at their current grade level will be considered for a detail opportunity.

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

You must meet time-in-grade requirements, three months after competitive appointment restrictions, and qualifications requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

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.

Qualified NASA term employees who have term conversion eligibility under the NASA Flexibility Act of 2004 will be referred and considered equally with other NASA permanent employees under internal competitive placement procedures.

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.

Resumes will be rated by an automated system (Resumix) that matches the competencies extracted from the candidate's resume to the competencies identified by the selecting official for the position. Candidates will be evaluated on the competencies they possess that are directly related to the duties of the job, as described in the announcement. Candidates should refer to NASA's Applicant Guide for assistance in developing a complete resume, as NASA will not accept separate KSA statements.

Qualified candidates will be assigned to one of three quality levels based on the degree to which their competencies meet the duties required. A human resources specialist will validate the qualifications of those candidates eligible to be referred to the selecting official. For the purpose of the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) and the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), candidates rated in the top quality level 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 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.