Overview Accepting applications Open & closing dates Opening and closing dates09/07/2021 to 09/13/2021 Service Competitive Pay scale & grade GS 15 Salary $144,128 to $172,500 per year Appointment type Permanent Work schedule Full-time Duties SummaryThe Software Engineering Division is seeking an experience engineer to serve as the Head of the Flight Software Systems Branch. In this role, the candidate will provide technical, career, & administrative oversight of personnel as well as contribute to project & program planning and staffing. Assignments are inclusive of the specification through operations of data systems for the acquisition, production, and distribution of data products that support NASA's science and Exploration missions.ResponsibilitiesActively support/manage software process management initiatives.Develop communities of practice to support the growth of the Branch.Manage Branch customer/stakeholder interfaces.Perform independent technical assessment of Branch programs/projects.Provides technical support and staffing to support Programs, Projects and technology developments under the purview of the Branch technical discipline(s).The systematic integration of hardware and software components for prototyping through spaceflight.Travel RequiredOccasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position. Supervisory status Yes Promotion Potential 15 Requirements Conditions of EmploymentYou must meet qualifications requirements by the closing date of this announcementIf selected, you will be required to complete a financial disclosure statement Qualifications In addition to the basic education requirement (shown below), 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.GS-15: To qualify at the GS-15 level, you must have one year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 level; providing technical leadership in systems engineering, or project management in aerospace flight or ground systems, for instrument, spacecraft, payload, mission, control/operations center, and ground station satellite communication network development, across the requirements definition, development, implementation, integration and test, and evaluation of a system or software system. 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.Education You must have successfully completed a bachelor's or graduate degree with a major in either a) engineering from a college or university that has ABET accredited engineering programs or b) Physical Science, Mathematics, Life Science, Computer Science, or other field of physical science. Degrees in engineering technology are not considered to be qualifying for this position. To find out if a school has an ABET accreditation, go to Degrees must have been received in the year of, or any year subsequent to the original date of accreditation.Engineering degrees earned outside the United States: Engineering degrees earned outside the Unites States must be recognized by a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA), often known as accords. These are non-governmental agreements among organizations that accredit academic degree programs. MRAs recognize the substantial equivalence of mature accreditation systems and programs accredited by signatory organizations within their jurisdictions. For a listing of Signatories, please visit, and other related degreesearned within the United States: Science and other related degrees must have been awarded from colleges or universities that are accredited by recognized accrediting organizations. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, go to .Science and other related degrees earned outside the United States: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs. These education credentials must be deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited US education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a US accredited college or university. For further information, visit: . Additional informationAdditional selections may be made for similar positions across NASA within the local commuting area(s) of the location(s) identified in this announcement. By applying, you agree to have your application shared with interested selecting official(s) within NASA. CTAP/ICTAP will be cleared for any additional selection from this announcement. If you are applying for a GS-12 or higher level and are a current federal employee, you must meet applicable time-in-grade requirements to be considered eligible for this position. To be eligible, you must have completed a minimum of 52 weeks in a position no more than 1 grade lower than the advertised position. (Please submit your SF-50 that shows Time-in-Grade eligibility and reflects your title, series, and grade. If your eligibility for both merit promotion and/or time-in-grade cannot be determined, your application will be rated ineligible. Please see Required Documents for additional information).Note: Time-in-grade requirements also apply to applicants who have held a non-temporary, competitive service GS position in the past year. 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 questionnaire asks you to identify your ICTAP/CTAP eligibility. - Be well qualified for this position to receive consideration. Candidates rated in the 'Best Qualified' category are considered well-qualified. Please see 'How You Will Be Evaluated' for more information. - Submit proof that you meet the requirements for CTAP/ICTAP as indicated in 'Required Documents' For additional information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility, click here - https:// 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. How You Will Be EvaluatedYou will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above. You will be evaluated for this position based on how well you meet the qualifications and eligibility requirements listed in this vacancy announcement. To determine your qualifications and referral status, we may review your resume and supporting documentation and compare it against your responses to the vacancy questionnaire. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. You will be assessed on the following competencies: Flight and Ground Data SystemsOral Communication Planning and EvaluatingProgram/Project AnalysisSoftware EngineeringSystem Integration NASA considers paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (eg, Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (eg, 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. Under NASA's quality grouping process, applicants will be assessed on the position competencies and placed in one of three groups identified and defined below: Best Qualified Group - Applicants who demonstrate a superior level of all evaluation criteria.Highly Qualified Group - Applicants who demonstrate a satisfactory level of the evaluation criteria.Qualified Group - Applicants who demonstrate the basic qualifications, with general knowledge, skills, and abilities. Candidates eligible for ICTAP/CTAP, reemployment priority or priority consideration will be referred before other candidates, as necessary. If no such candidates apply or are eligible to be referred, the following candidates will be sent to the hiring official for employment consideration: Best Qualified merit promotion candidates. Highly Qualified merit promotion candidates may also be referred, if additional candidates are needed.Qualified candidates eligible for consideration under Schedule A or VRA in accordance with veterans' preference rules, as applicable.Qualified candidates that are eligible for special hiring authorities or non-competitive hiring authorities.Background checks and security clearanceSecurity clearance Not Required Drug test required No Position sensitivity and riskHigh Risk (HR)Trust determination processSuitability/FitnessThis job is open to Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL) Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee. Internal to an agency Current federal employees of this agency. Clarification from the agency Current Goddard Space Flight Center federal employee serving on a career, career-conditional, Schedule A for individuals with disabilities, or NASA term appointment that provides eligibility to convert to a permanent appointment or a current NASA emplo