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General Engineer/Operations Research Analyst (Interdisciplinary)

Employer
USAJobs
Location
Arlington, Virginia
Closing date
Dec 3, 2020
Duties

Summary

Securing Travel, Protecting People - At the Transportation Security Administration, you will serve in a high-stakes environment to safeguard the American way of life. In cities across the country, you would secure airports, seaports, railroads, highways, and/or public transit systems, thus protecting America's transportation infrastructure and ensuring freedom of movement for people and commerce. For additional information about our agency please: Click Here

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

This General Engineer/Operation Research Analyst (Interdisciplinary) position is located in the Test and Evaluation Division, within the Office of Acquisition Program Management (APM), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Typical duties include but are not limited to:
  • Providing test subject matter expertise to a diverse customer base to derive Critical Operations Issue and associated criteria.
  • Reviewing, analyzing and assessing data obtained from various testing programs and other data sources to evaluate system Effectiveness and Suitability.
  • Preparing or contributes to the development of comprehensive technical or operational test plans, test reports, and other test related documentation and correspondence.
  • Serving as Test Lead overseeing a portfolio of test and evaluation projects including those supporting major security technology procurement activities.
  • Identifying and assesses relative risk of shortfalls between current test capabilities and future needs.

The major duties described above reflect the full performance level of this position. Typically, the lower pay band (Pay Band I) performs the same duties but will receive more guidance and projects or work assignments may be less complex.

This position is also being announced through Government-Wide procedures under Announcement #HQ-ES-APM-20-766983-G. Candidates who wish to be considered under both Public (US Citizens) and Government-Wide procedures must apply to both announcements.

Travel Required

50% or less - Position requires travel - 50% or less travel.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
J

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Selective Service registration is required.
  • You must possess U.S. Citizenship or be a U.S. National.
  • You must complete a favorable Background Investigation (BI).
  • See additional "Conditions of Employment" and "Other Information" section
  • You must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret Clearance.


Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.

Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, and Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

These requirements must be documented within the job description and the ability to obtain and maintain for continued employment in the position (appropriate security clearance, mission essential, medical, driver's licenses, drug testing...etc.)

Must have COTR certification with 18 months of appointment.

Position will require physical access to security technology in an airport industrial environment containing baggage handling conveyance system.

Must be able to climb ladders and wear personal protective equipment such as safety shoes and hard hat.

Must be able to stand for extended periods of time while observing screening activities. Must be able to lift 40 pounds' test articles.

Position may require stooping, kneeling, crawling to observe testing procedures.

This position requires the ability to obtain and maintain a Secret clearance.

Position requires travel - 50% or less travel.

Qualifications

To qualify for the SV-I Pay Band (equivalent to GS-13), an applicant must have one year of specialized experience at the SV-H or GS-12 in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience is defined as:
  • Deriving and planning evaluation criteria in developing overall test methodologies; and
  • Conducting studies to evaluate security technologies, processes, and policies; and
  • Reviewing, analyzing and assessing data obtained from various testing programs and other data sources to evaluate system effectiveness and suitability.

To qualify for the SV-J Pay Band (equivalent to GS-14), an applicant must have one year of specialized experience at the SV-I or GS-13 in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private sector. Specialized experience is defined as experience that has equipped you with the knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience is defined as:
  • Applying methods of scientific inquiry and analysis to solve technical problems related to operational test and evaluation and modeling and simulation; and
  • Negotiating sensitive issues with officials of diverse perspectives and with different, sometimes opposing views; and
  • Designing policies, regulations and standards to enable test and evaluation activities that are relevant, credible, and timely identified; and
  • Ensuring design principles are adapted to specific problems for which there are no clear precedents.

Note: Credit for experience is given based on a 40-hour workweek. Part-time experience is credited on a part-time ratio, i.e., working 20 hours per week for two months equals one month of experience. No additional credit is given for overtime. 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.

Note: For positions requiring positive education requirements, or if you are using education to meet all or part of the qualification requirements, you MUST submit a copy of your transcripts or an itemized list of college courses from an accredited college or university, which includes equivalent information from the transcript (course title, semester/quarter hours, and grade/degree earned) in your resume. The information must be provided with the application by the closing date of the announcement. If selected, the applicant must supply a transcript or certification of degree.

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.

Resumes must include the following:
  • Narrative description of duties with start and end dates (including the month and year) for work experience.
  • State the number of hours worked in a position (i.e. full-time or part-time). If part-time, state the total number of hours worked per week.
  • Performance level (i.e. band or grade)

You must meet the qualification requirements for this position no later than the closing date of the vacancy announcement.

Education

Operations Research Series, 1515

Individual Occupational Requirements

Basic Requirements:

Degree: in operations research; or at least 24 semester hours in a combination of operations research, mathematics, probability, statistics, mathematical logic, science, or subject-matter courses requiring substantial competence in college-level mathematics or statistics. At least 3 of the 24 semester hours must have been in calculus.

Evaluation of Education:

The primary requirement of operations research work is competence in the rigorous methods of scientific inquiry and analysis rather than in the subject matter of the problem. Therefore, applicants should have sufficient knowledge of applied mathematics to understand and use the fundamental concepts and techniques of operations research methods of analysis. In addition, some positions may require knowledge of a specific subject area.

Courses acceptable for qualifying for operations research positions may have been taken in departments other than Operations Research, e.g., Engineering (usually Industrial Engineering), Science, Economics, Mathematics, Statistics, or Management Science.

The following are illustrative of acceptable courses: optimization; mathematical modeling; queueing theory; engineering; physics (except descriptive or survey courses); econometrics; psychometrics; biometrics; experimental psychology; physical chemistry; industrial process analysis; managerial economics; computer science; measurement for management; mathematical models in social phenomena; and courses that involved application of operations research techniques and methodologies to problems of management, marketing, systems design, and other specialized fields; or other comparable quantitative analysis courses for which college-level mathematics or statistics is a prerequisite. Courses in theory of probability and statistics are highly desirable, but are not specified as minimum educational requirements because to do so would possibly exclude some applicants who would otherwise be well qualified.

All Professional Engineering Positions, 0800

Individual Occupational Requirements

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: 1. Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT)1, 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)2 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.)

  • Note: An applicant who meets the basic requirements as specified in A or B above, except as noted under B.1., may qualify for positions in any branch of engineering unless selective factors indicate otherwise.

    Additional information

    Eligibility to apply for other Federal positions: TSA is an Excepted Service agency exempt from most of Title 5 United States Code, including regulations which apply to displaced Federal employees (CTAP/ICTAP) of other agencies, and employment with TSA does not confer "Competitive Status" that generally results from selection and service in Competitive Service agencies. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has established an Interchange Agreement, which allows most permanent TSA employees to apply and be considered for vacancies in Competitive Service agencies. Information from OPM on this or other Interchange Agreements is available at: http://www.opm.gov .

    To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo and successfully pass a background investigation as a condition of placement into this position.

    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.

    TSA employees who are absent for the purpose of performing military duty may apply for any vacancies announced in their absence.

    It is the policy of the Government not to deny employment simply because an individual has been unemployed or has had financial difficulties that have arisen through no fault of the individual. Information about an individual's employment experience will be used only to determine the person's qualifications and to assess his or her relative level of knowledge, skills, and abilities. Although an individual's personal conduct may be relevant in any employment decision, including conduct during periods of unemployment or evidence of dishonesty in handling financial matters, financial difficulty that has arisen through no fault of the individual will generally not itself be the basis of an unfavorable suitability or fitness determination. For more information, click here .

    Permanent Change of Station (PCS) expenses are not authorized

    Relocation expenses are not authorized

    More than one position may be filled from this announcement.

    If you are entering TSA employment on an appointment without time limitations, you must serve a basic trial period unless you have already met the requirement.

    TSA policy requires verification of Selective Service registration for male applicants born after 12/31/59. For more information click here .

    View common definitions of terms found in this announcement.

    Veterans 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 documentation that is required, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement.

    How You Will Be Evaluated

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

    You will be evaluated based on a comparison of the position requirements against the quality and extent of the experience and/or related education as reflected in your resume and supporting documentation. You are encouraged to ensure work experiences clearly show possession of the competencies required for this position. We will compare your resume and supporting documentation to your responses on the assessment questionnaire. If, after reviewing your resume and any supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have rated yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your category placement may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job.

    Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Grouping procedures. Under Category Grouping, candidates will be rated and ranked into one of three categories:

    Best-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies as determined by the job analysis.

    Well-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrates acceptable proficiency in all of the critical competencies as determined by the job analysis.

    Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate basic proficiency in most of the critical competencies as determined by the job analysis.

    Veterans: Qualified veterans who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10% are listed in the best-qualified category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level, or higher. (This position is not considered scientific/professional.) Other 10-point preference eligibles and veterans with 5-point preference who meet the eligibility and qualification requirements are placed above non-preference eligibles within the category in which they qualify. View information on veterans' preference .

    To preview questions please click here .

    Background checks and security clearance

    Security clearance
    Secret

    Drug test required
    No

    Required Documents

    In addition to a resume and the assessment questions, you must submit copies of any of the following documents if you are applying based on Veterans' Preference or eligible Veterans' Service (a veteran who was honorably discharged from the armed forces after completing at least three (3) years of continuous active duty service), or education or a combination of education and experience:

    DD-214 - If you are claiming Veterans' Preference or eligible Veterans' Service, provide a copy of your DD-214 (Member Copy 4), Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or other appropriate documentation to prove your entitlement and to provide verification of an Honorable Discharge.

    SF-15 and VA Letter - If you are claiming Veterans' Preference based upon a Compensable Disability, Widow or Spouse Entitlement, or as a Purple Heart recipient, you must submit your DD-214 or other proof of entitlement; an SF-15, and the required proof of disability, i.e., Department of Veterans Affairs letter dated 1991 or later.
    Transcripts - If you are qualifying based on education OR if there are mandatory education requirements listed under the Qualifications and Evaluations section, you MUST submit a copy of your college transcript(s) with your application. If selected, an official/sealed college transcript(s) will be required to verify education prior to employment.

    If you do not submit required documentation described in this job opportunity announcement, your application will be deemed incomplete and you will be ineligible for further consideration for this vacancy.

    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.

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