Duties

Summary

This position is located in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), United States Coast Guard (USCG), Deputy Commandant for Mission Support, Assistant Commandant for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber and Intelligence Service Center (C5ISC), Engineering Services Division (ESD), Architecture & Standards Branch (ASB), Spectrum Management (SM), Norfolk, VA.

Learn more about this agency

Responsibilities

You will serve as an Electrical Engineer (CYBER) and be responsible for Managing the USCG, Electromagnetic Interference (EMI), Radiation Hazard (RADHAZ) program. EMI/RADHAZ describes the hazards of electromagnetic radiation to fuels, electronic hardware, ordnance, and personnel. In the military these hazards are segregated as follows: 1) Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation to Personnel (HERP), 2) Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation to Ordnance (HERO), 3) Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation to Fuel (HERF). You will consult with contractors and customers to evaluate functional requirements and translate functional requirements into technical solutions.

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

• Consulting with Contractors to evaluate functional requirements.
• Overseeing and make recommendations regarding configuration management, and or risks associated with installation of new or modified systems to platforms.
• Working with senior level staff member to assist in the development and review of sensitive information including pre-decisional and/or embargoed Radio Dependent Systems, EMI/RADHAZ budget, workforce, and organizational changes pertaining to program system development and operations.
• Monitoring and auditing the schedule, cost, design, analysis, operational performance and/or internal security procedures of national security systems (NSS) and respective classified information, critical infrastructure, mission essential systems (MES), high value assets (HVA) or other USCG Communications systems.
• Preparing use cases to justify the need for specific Equipment Changes to eliminate or resolve EMI/RADHAZ issue with installation of new or experimental RF Systems.
• Managing the information technology (IT) in regards to EMI/RADHAZ planning process to ensure that developed solutions meet customer requirements.
• Exercising judgment and discretion when obtaining and leading confidential advance information of management's position with regard to USCG Systems under contract negotiations and investments; performing studies that may result in changes of system configuration, platform changes, or non-compliant systems in regard to EMI/RADHAZ restrictions prohibiting installations.
• Insuring all procedures of the current industrial specifications for RADHAZ are contained in ANSI/IEEE C95.1-1992 which was used as a reference to create the combined Navy regulation NAVSEA OP3565 / NAVAIR 16-1-529. Volume I contains HERP and HERF limits - its current version is REV 5. Volume II (REV 6) covers HERO.

Travel Required

Occasional travel - Occasional travel is required.

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
13 - This position may be filled at the GS-11. GS-12 or GS-13 grade level. Promotion potential up to the GS-13.

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 training requirements.

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

Qualifications

See Education Requirements for minimum education requirement. In addition to the education requirement, you must meet the basic qualifications.

To qualify at the GS-11 grade level, applicants must meet one of the following:

At least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the federal sector. Specialized experience may include the following:

• Providing technical support for long range RF communications systems to include encryption services.
• Experience with System Engineering Life Cycle (SELC).
• Establishing criteria; formulating projects; assessing program effectiveness; and/or investigating/analyzing a variety of unusual conditions, problems, or issues.
• Performing Engineering Change Proposal lead functions providing management support and technical expertise on long range RF communication systems to include: transmitters, receivers, amplifiers, antenna couplers, and antenna systems.
• Reviewing and evaluating effectiveness, technical adequacy, and suitability of engineering work and proposals of others developing system modifications to ensure there is no impact on performance, reliability, and maintainability.

OR

Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree that is directly related to the duties of this position.

OR

Combination of graduate level education and specialized experience that meets 100% of the qualification requirements for this position.

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 may include the following:

• Providing technical support/expertise for long range RF communications systems to include encryption services.
• Experience with System Engineering Life Cycle (SELC).
• Establishing criteria; formulating projects; assessing program effectiveness; and/or investigating/analyzing a variety of unusual conditions, problems, or issues.
• Serving as an internal consultant and advisor in own area of technical or programmatic expertise (e.g., satellite communications, policy development, capital planning)
• Reviewing and evaluating effectiveness, technical adequacy, and suitability of engineering work and proposals of others developing system modifications to ensure there is no impact on performance, reliability, and maintainability.
• Coordinating technical activities with external customers and support organizations representing the organization in reaching compromises and agreements with engineers and contractors.

To qualify at the GS-13 grade level, applicants must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level in the federal sector. Specialized experience may include the following:

• Providing technical support/expertise for long range RF communications systems to include encryption services
• Experience with System Engineering Life Cycle (SELC)
• Performing market research for procurement of RF communication systems, equipment and/or services
• Developing and overseeing the execution of project plans, schedules & technical installation/implementation plans to procure, configure, deploy and maintain RF communication systems
• Overseeing the planning, design and evaluation of projects to deploy RF communication systems to mobile units (ships, aircraft, and portable systems) nationwide or worldwide
• Establishing and maintaining capital planning budgets & accounts
• Proposing new policies and practices in order to resolve specific complex and/or intricate issues and problems or research trends and patterns in order develop new methods and criteria.
• Establishing criteria; formulating projects; assessing program effectiveness; and/or investigating/analyzing a variety of unusual conditions, problems, or issues
• Serving as an internal consultant and advisor in own area of technical or programmatic expertise (e.g., satellite communications, policy development, capital planning)
• Providing leadership in the planning, design and evaluation of projects to deploy communication systems to mobile units (ships, aircraft, and portable systems) nationwide or worldwide
• Reviewing and evaluating effectiveness, technical adequacy, and suitability of engineering work and proposals of others developing system modifications to ensure there is no impact on performance, reliability, and maintainability
• Utilizing knowledge in plan modifications to complex subsystems or major categories of equipment to include preparing cost estimates, procedures, criteria, and specifications for systems modification and for procurement and testing of new equipment and software
• Coordinating technical activities with external customers and support organizations representing the organization in reaching compromises and agreements with engineers and contractors
• Ensuring contractor performance meets contractual requirements; adheres to US Coast Guard policies and regulations; conforms to engineering and technical specifications; adjudicate deficiencies and discrepancies with installation documents; develop and maintain installation production schedules, review production and cost reports to ensure cost and schedule adherence; and work with installing activities to ensure on time delivery of ships' 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.

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

2. 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.)

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.

A. Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers Level I (FAC P/PM-I) or management determined equivalent 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 202-795-6305. 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, your experience, education and training will be rated using the on-line assessment to place you in one of three categories.

The necessary Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities to perform this job are:

• Knowledge of satellite-based communication systems.
• Knowledge of capabilities and requirements analysis.
• Skill in identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
• Skill in the execution of projects to deploy RF communication systems to mobile units (ships, aircraft, portable systems).
• Knowledge of information technology (IT) acquisition/procurement requirements.
• Knowledge of concepts, terminology, and operations of a wide range of communications media (computer and telephone networks, satellite, fiber, wireless).
• Skill in developing RF communications acquisition/procurement documents & artifacts.
• Knowledge of the acquisition/procurement life cycle process.
• Knowledge of resource management principles and techniques.
• Ability to evaluate/ensure the trustworthiness of the supplier and/or product.
• Ability to ensure security practices are followed throughout the acquisition process.
• Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing, in order to produce highly technical reports, position papers, and briefings; resolve conflicts based on mature judgment and experience; effectively negotiate complex issues; and maintain good working relationships.

If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be placed in one of the following categories:

1. Best-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all Selective Placement Factors (SPF) and appropriate Quality Ranking Factors (QRF) as determined by the job analysis.

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

3. Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate basic proficiency in most of the critical competencies, including all SPFs and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis.

If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration and may be called for an interview. Your resume and responses to the self-assessment questions are an integral part of the process for determining your qualifications for the position. Therefore, you must support your responses to the self-assessment questions by providing examples of past and present experience in your resume.

Veterans with 5-point preference who meet the eligibility and qualification requirements are placed above non-preference eligibles within the category in which they are 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. For information on veterans' preference, click here.

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. Your responses to the online questionnaire
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. If you are claiming veterans' preference, submit the following documents. Please see Feds Hire Vets for detail.
a. Veterans claiming 5 point veterans' preference must submit legible Member 4 Copy DD214(s) indicating Character of Service. 5-point preference will not be granted if appropriate documentation is not submitted with your application.
b. 30% Disabled Veterans must submit their Member Copy 4 DD-214(s), which includes Character of Service, and VA Disability Letter with percentage of disability OR documentation of disability determination from a branch of the Armed Forces which reflects a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more.
c. Other 10 point Preference Eligibles must submit applicable Member Copy 4 DD-214(s), which includes Character of Service, and provide documentation of your other 10 point preference. If claiming 10 point preference, you must provide required documentation described on the back of the SF-15 which proves that you are entitled to such preference. 10-point preference will not be granted if appropriate documentation is not submitted with your application.
d. If you are a current active duty military member who does not have a DD214 and is claiming preference under the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) Act, you must submit certification from the Armed Forces indicating that you will be discharged or released under honorable conditions from active duty within 120 days from the date on the certification. Certifications must be on letterhead from the appropriate military branch and include the following information: military dates of service and expected discharge or release date, character of service, military rank, type of discharge and date when terminal leave will begin. Certifications must be signed by, or by direction of military members' military personnel offices, unit commanders or higher headquarters.
6. 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.

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.