Duties

Summary

This position is located in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), United States Coast Guard (USCG), Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber and Intelligence Service Center (C5ISC), Engineering Services Division (ESD), Sensors & Electronics Branch (SEB), Safety and Navigation Section (NAV) in Portsmouth, VA.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

You will serve as a Computer Engineer (CYBER) and be responsible for designing, developing, testing, and evaluating cybersecurity related information systems throughout the systems development life cycle.

Being a CG civilian makes you a valuable member of the CG team. Typical work assignments include:

• Build, test, and modify product prototypes using working models or theoretical models
• Develop Disaster Recovery and Continuity of Operations plans for systems under development and ensure testing prior to systems entering a production environment
• Utilize models and simulations to analyze or predict system performance under different operating conditions
• Employ configuration management processes
• Conduct a market analysis to identify, assess, and recommend commercial, Government off- the-shelf, and open source products for use within a system and ensure recommended products are in compliance with organization's evaluation and validation requirements
• Design, implement, test, and evaluate secure interfaces between information systems, physical systems, and/or embedded technologies
• Implement designs for new or existing system(s)
• Provide input to implementation plans, standard operating procedures, maintenance documentation, and maintenance training materials

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Occasional travel is required.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
12 - Position may be filled at the GS-11 or GS-12 level. Promotion potential to the GS-12 level.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• U.S. Citizenship is required.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
• A one-year probationary period may be required.
• See Other Info section for mandatory training per grade level.

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.

OR

Combination of education and experience -- college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:

Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT), or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.

Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A.

Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor's degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)

AND

To qualify at the GS-11 grade level, applicants must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the federal sector. Specialized experience includes the following:

• Assisting with the coordination of system engineering and integration of electronics and IT systems within a project-lifecycle process.

• Provide technical insight into engineering design, configuration, testing, installation, and maintenance of custom and COTS software/firmware solutions.

• Researching and providing technical recommendations to support the acquisition process for IT and electronic systems.

• Assist senior level staff with representing engineering perspective by clearly articulating requirements and constraints, providing necessary updates for multiple stakeholders and working across departmental lines within integrated product teams.

• Align project work, products and services with government/industry standards and organizations in the marine electronics field (e.g. IMO, NMEA, ITU, IEC, MIL-STD, RTCM, etc).

• Researching and adapting computing solutions to perform in dynamic maritime conditions (corrosion, water intrusion, vibration).

• Work within an organization's enterprise information technology (IT) system, operating by standardized procedures and marshalling resources/services to meet project goals and objectives.

• Monitor schedule, cost, design, analysis, operational performance and/or internal security procedures of cybersecurity related systems.

OR Applicants may substitute successful completion of 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education or Ph.D. or equivalent graduate degree (such as an LL.M, if related).

OR A combination of appropriate specialized experience (as described above) and graduate education (as described above)

To qualify at the GS-12 grade level, applicants must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the federal sector. Specialized experience includes the following:

• Coordinate system engineering and integration of electronics and IT systems within a project-lifecycle process.

• Provide technical insight into engineering design, configuration, testing, installation, and maintenance of custom and COTS software/firmware solutions.

• Provide subject matter expertise and technical recommendations to support the acquisition process for IT and electronic systems.

• Represent engineering perspective by clearly articulating requirements and constraints, providing necessary updates for multiple stakeholders and working across departmental lines within integrated product teams.

• Align project work, products and services with government/industry standards and organizations in the marine electronics field (e.g. IMO, NMEA, ITU, IEC, MIL-STD, RTCM, etc).

• Adapt computing solutions to perform in dynamic maritime conditions (corrosion, water intrusion, vibration).

• Work within an organization's enterprise information technology (IT) system, operating by standardized procedures and marshalling resources/services to meet project goals and objectives.

• Monitor schedule, cost, design, analysis, operational performance and/or internal security procedures of cybersecurity related systems.

National Service Experience (i.e., volunteer experience): Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

The Office of Personnel management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule, C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

Education

This position does have a positive education requirement. If you are including education on your resume, report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. See Required Documents section for detail.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet Federal qualification requirements if you can show that your foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence with your application. See Recognition of Foreign Qualifications click here

Additional information

Applicants will be required to complete questions contained on the Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) at the time a tentative job offer is made. Certain responses on the form could pose a problem with suitability for employment determinations. If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete/make updates to the OF-306 and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, or imprisonment.

DHS uses e-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about e-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities at click here

Recruitment incentives may be authorized.

Mandatory training is required which must be successfully completed and other training may occur as necessary for success in the position.

For the GS-11 and GS-12 Grade Level: Candidate shall achieve Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers Level I (FAC P/PM-I) or management determined equivalent certification within two years of entry into the position.

The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707. Veterans , Peace Corps / VISTA volunteers , and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission. If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

More than one (1) selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade, and unit occur within 45 days from the date the certificate was issued.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for the application and hiring process, please contact 202-795-6272. Decisions on granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Visit Reasonable Accommodation

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

We will review your résumé and supporting documentation to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be referred for consideration. The following competencies or knowledge, skills, and abilities are needed to perform this job:

• Knowledge of cybersecurity and privacy principles and organizational requirements (relevant to confidentiality, integrity, availability, authentication, non-repudiation)
• Knowledge of local area and wide area networking principles and concepts including bandwidth management
• Knowledge of network systems management principles, models, methods (e.g., end-to-end systems performance monitoring), and tools
• Knowledge of systems testing and evaluation methods
• Ability to identify critical infrastructure systems with information communication technology that were designed without system security considerations
• Knowledge of configuration management, engineering baselines, requirements management (software & hardware)

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Secret

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk

Trust determination process
Credentialing , Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

1. Your resume

2. If you are claiming special priority selection rights under the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), submit a copy of your agency notice, most recent performance rating and most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, noting your current position, grade level and duty location. If you have never worked for the federal government, you are not ICTAP eligible. To be considered eligible, you must be placed in the well-qualified category for this position. Please see ICTAP eligibility.

3. OPM must authorize employment offers for former or current Political Appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C or Non-Career SES employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information. Submit proof of your former or current status, such as your SF-50. Please see here.

4. If qualifying based on education, submit a legible copy of your unofficial college transcript from an accredited college/university. The transcript copy must reflect the college/university name and/or logo. Applicants are highly encouraged to proactively order a copy of their official transcripts to be delivered to their home address so transcripts will be readily available if selected. If selected, you will be required to provide official transcripts prior to establishing your start date. Foreign education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet federal qualification requirements if you can show that your foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited institutions in the U.S. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence with your application. See Recognition of Foreign Qualifications click here.

All documentation as outlined above must be received by the closing date of the announcement. If you are unable to submit your documents electronically, you may fax or mail the documents. A fax cover sheet will be provided to you from the system, with fax number and instructions to transmit the requested documents. The required documents will also be accepted by mail and must be received by the closing date of the announcement. The mailing address is COMMANDANT (CG-123HQ), ATTN OFFICE OF CIVILIAN HUMAN RESOURCES (JOBS), US COAST GUARD, 2703 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR AVE SE STOP 7912, WASHINGTON, DC 20593-7912

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.