Duties

Summary

The Engineering and Technology Directorate (ETD), Electrical Engineering Division, Flight Data Systems and Radiation Effects Branch (Code 561) is seeking an experienced candidate to serve as the Associate Branch Head and is responsible for supporting the Branch Head in planning, implementing, directing, and coordinating all Branch activities.

** This vacancy has been amended to extend the closing date from 10/12/2021 to 10/19/2021**

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

• Provide administrative and technical supervision necessary for accomplishing the work of the unit.
• Obtain resources and identify strategic objectives for the organization; support and implement process and Branch/Division infrastructure improvements to meet quality policy initiatives; define jobs, select employees, and assign work.
• Define technical work requirements and milestones; evaluate the organization and employee accomplishments by accepting or rejecting work products; and present and defend organization and employees work to senior management and other offices.
• Ensure that Branch-specific products are developed and maintained in accordance with NASA and Division electronics development and IT Security policies and provide technical leadership to meet the needs of Branch and Division customers.
• Oversee Branch products which include flight data systems, flight data system technologies, radiation effects, testing and environment analysis, and consulting and brokering on behalf of customers.
• As a technical expert, develop/direct the development of analysis and/or review standards for computer related fields on projects or systems with national impact. The systems functionality includes spacecraft and instrument flight data systems.
• Perform requirements analysis, and plan development and implementation to ensure that project scope and requirements are defined and documented, projects are formally approved, milestones and lower level reviews are accomplished.
• Further the goals of equal employment opportunity and diversity by taking positive steps to support the accomplishment of affirmative action objectives and by adhering to non-discriminatory employment practices in all areas under your supervision.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Supervisory status
Yes

Promotion Potential
14

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must meet qualifications requirements by the closing date of this announcement
• A one year supervisory probationary period may be required

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.

To qualify for GS-14, you must have one year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level providing technical leadership, overseeing the design and development of hardware for spacecraft avionics and instrument flight data systems; and knowledge of radiation effects and analysis.

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 http://www.abet.org .

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, https://www.abet.org/global-presence/mutual-recognition-agreements/is-your-program-recognized/ .

Science and other related degrees earned 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 http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/ .

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 U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html .

Additional information

PROMOTION TO THIS POSITION WILL BE TEMPORARY, NOT-TO-EXCEED SIX (6) MONTHS. This assignment may be terminated, extended or made permanent at any time without further competition. If the assignment is not made permanent, the individual selected may be returned to the same or similar position from which they were promoted/detailed/temporarily reassigned.

Additional 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 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:// www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/#ictap.

Qualified NASA term employees who have term conversion eligibility ( http://nasapeople.nasa.gov/hclwp/term-appointments.htm ) 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 Evaluated

You 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:
Analytical and Computational Structural Methods
Data Systems
Electrical Test Engineering
Flight and Ground Data Systems
Leadership
Leveraging Diversity
Planning and Evaluating
Space Environments Science and Engineering
Technical Management

NASA considers 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.

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 clearance

Security clearance
Not Required

Drug test required
No

Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)

Trust determination process
Suitability/Fitness

Required Documents

A complete application package includes a resume, required documents and completion of the vacancy announcement questionnaire. Please see this guidance: What to include in your resume . Your resume should describe your specialized experience and support your answers to the vacancy announcement questionnaire.

The following documents are required:

• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

While a transcript is the preferred proof of qualifying education, you may submit any of the following items:

• An unofficial transcript
• A copy of an official transcript
• A copy of a degree (i.e. a picture or scan)
• A list of completed/credited courses that includes, the title, course code, and number of semester, quarter or classroom hours for each course (i.e., BUAD- 101-Introduction to Business, 3 Semester hours)

You will lose consideration if you do not submit proof of your education. Documents must fully support the education requirements listed above. Incomplete documents or documents that do not show completion of required degree program or coursework may result in disqualification.

There may be other supporting documents (licenses, certification, veterans preference, etc.), depending on your answers to the questionnaire and job announcement description, that you may have to submit, please verify your application.

If you are a surplus or displaced employee (CTAP and ICTAP), submit proof that you meet the requirements for CTAP/ICTAP. This includes copies of your agency notice, most recent Performance Rating and most recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) noting current position, grade level, and duty location.

If you are a veteran and you are claiming veterans' preference, you must submit a DD214, Certificate of Release from Active Duty, which shows dates of service and discharge under honorable conditions. For more information on veterans' preference and possible other supporting documents that you may have to submit, please visit FedshireVets

Official documents are required at the time of appointment for verification of eligibility and qualifications.

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.