Duties

Summary

We are seeking highly motivated professionals to join our team. If you want challenging work and a chance to make a big impact, come join us at the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Commerce! We improve the effectiveness of the Department's programs and operations. We also investigate waste, fraud, and abuse in the Department and those who do business with it.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

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As a General Engineer, Electronics Engineer, Aerospace Engineer, Physical Scientist or Meteorologist, you will:

- Serve as a project team member under the Director, Satellites and Weather Systems (SWS) Division with responsibility for applying knowledge in collaborating with other professional engineers, physical and computer scientists, information technology specialists and auditors engaged in addressing complex technical, management, contractual, and policy issues about how systems are planned, managed, designed, acquired, developed, deployed, operated, maintained, and disposed.

- Plan and conduct audits, evaluations, special projects and other work assignments in the areas of systems acquisitions, operations, maintenance, information resources management, as well as other programs involving technology acquisition or development.

- Develop Satellites and Weather Systems (SWS) division input to reviews of selected existing and proposed legislation and regulations related to Department programs and operations, for the purpose of providing the Director SWS; Assistant Inspector General for Audit and Evaluation (AIG); and the Principle AIG for Audit and Evaluation (PAIG) with appropriate recommendations as to the impact these activities have on economy and efficiency in the administration of programs and operations administered or financed by the Department relating to systems acquisitions, systems development, or systems operation.

- Coordinate and appraise remedial actions taken by Department officials to correct deficiencies and to fully implement audit and evaluation recommendations.

- Prepare technical articles and instructional materials on specialized approaches and techniques for the guidance of SWS team members and maintain personal contacts with members of professional societies to keep abreast of new developments, trends, and techniques relating to financial, compliance, management and program audits and evaluations.

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
14

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

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This opportunity is also open to Status eligibles under Announcement DOC-OIG-2021-0016. Please refer to that announcement for details on open period, eligibility, and how to apply.

The experience may have been gained in either the public, private sector or volunteer service . One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/day/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week on your resume.

Qualifications

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

Specialized experience: For the GS-14, you must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as:

Experience investigating, advising, and resolving unusual and controversial problems from either Engineering, Physical Science or Meteorology perspective.

Examples may include:

• Experience conducting analysis, review, and evaluating system acquisitions, documents or programs performance requirements and operations.

• Experience serving as a subject matter expert on acquisition processes, system performance and acquisition planning and strategy, technical specifications, sensor design, integration of sensors with spacecraft and launch vehicle, ground system development for spacecraft, program and contractor management, systems and software engineering methodologies and techniques, and operations.

Education

Individual Occupational Requirements for Professional Engineering Positions:

A. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.)

Individual Occupational Requirements for General Physical Science Positions:

Degree: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics.

OR

Combination of education and experience -- education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Individual Occupational Requirements for Meteorology Positions:

Degree: meteorology, atmospheric science, or other natural science major that included:

At least 24 semester (36 quarter) hours of credit in meteorology/atmospheric science including a minimum of:

• a. Six semester hours of atmospheric dynamics and thermodynamics;*
• b. Six semester hours of analysis and prediction of weather systems (synoptic/mesoscale);
• c. Three semester hours of physical meteorology; and
• d. Two semester hours of remote sensing of the atmosphere and/or instrumentation.

2. Six semester hours of physics, with at least one course that includes laboratory sessions.*

3. Three semester hours of ordinary differential equations.*

4. At least nine semester hours of course work appropriate for a physical science major in any combination of three or more of the following: physical hydrology, statistics, chemistry, physical oceanography, physical climatology, radiative transfer, aeronomy, advanced thermodynamics, advanced electricity and magnetism, light and optics, and computer science.

OR

Combination of education and experience -- course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Additional information

- We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies.
- This is a non-bargaining unit position.
- We offer opportunities for telework.
- We offer opportunities for flexible work schedules.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:
- A one year probationary period may be required.
- Must successfully complete a background investigation.
- Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency
- If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so.
- Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
- Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9 . Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S.
- Submit to a drug test prior to your appointment and random drug testing while you occupy the position.
- Secret - Background Investigation will be required.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

Your application includes your resume, responses to the online questions, and required supporting documents. Please be sure that your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a "not qualified" determination.

Rating: Your application will be evaluated in the following areas: Analytical, Communication, and Managerial. Category rating will be used to rank and select eligible candidates. If qualified, you will be assigned to one of three quality level categories, A, B, or C depending on your responses to the online questions, regarding your experience, education, and training related to this position. Your rating may be lowered if your responses to the online questions are not supported by the education and/or experience described in your application.

Veterans' preference is applied after applicants are assessed. Preference-eligibles will be listed at the top of their assigned category and considered before non-preference-eligibles in that category.

Referral: If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. You may be required to participate in a selection interview.

If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee (eligible for the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) ) you must be assigned the middle category or better to be rated as "well qualified" to receive special selection priority.

To preview questions please click here .

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Secret

Drug test required
Yes

Required Documents

A complete application includes 1. A resume, 2. Vacancy question responses, and 3. Submission of any required documents. Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may not be considered for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible).

It is anticipated that there will be significant interest in the announcement. As a result, the announcement will close at 11:59 p.m. ET on the date of receipt of the 200th application or at 11:59 p.m. ET on 1/21/2021; whichever occurs first. Any required documents should be submitted at the time that you apply as documents will not be accepted after the vacancy closes.

All applicants are required to submit a resume either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. (Cover letters are optional.) To receive full credit for relevant experience, please list the month/date/year and number of hours worked for experience listed on your resume. We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your resume to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Please view resume tips .

VETERANS' PREFERENCE DOCUMENTATION: If you are claiming veterans' preference, please see applicant guide for required documentation . In order to be considered for veterans preference, you must submit 021all required documentation as outlined in the applicant guide.

CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (CTAP) OR INTERAGENCY CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (ICTAP) DOCUMENTATION: If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee, click CTAP/ICTAP for eligibility and a detailed list of required documents.

EDUCATION DOCUMENTATION: For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, the applicant must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list of courses that includes the name of the accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and hours earned. The applicant's official transcript(s) must be received prior to extension of a final job offer.

A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation page .

If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency, if you are selected. Refer to the OPM instructions .

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.