Duties

Summary

With the ever-accelerating technological advances and growing system complexity, NSA needs System Engineers to integrate systems and reduce the cost to operate and maintain systems. To meet these demands, the NSA hires and trains talented and highly motivated junior and senior systems engineers, electrical engineers, computer scientists, computer engineers, and other related professionals.

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Responsibilities

We need our System Engineers to provide program oversight and implement Systems Engineering best practices across the organization in the NSA enterprise. The need to maintain our core System Engineers group is vital to provide the technical capabilities necessary to successfully execute NSA's mission. The ever increasing complexity of supporting NSA's mission requires world class System Engineers to solve challenging systems engineering problems to enable NSA to successfully execute its mission.

Recent college graduates and junior System Engineers are hired into positions directly supporting a technical mission office or one of two Development Programs (The System Engineer Development Program (SEDP) or the Information Technology Development Program (ITDP)).

The SEDP prepares recent college graduates and junior level technical staff for a career in Systems Engineering at NSA. During the three-year program, participants will rotate assignments, attend training that covers the full breadth of systems engineering disciplines, and earn DoD DAWIA and other important credentials.

The ITDP is a three-year full-time development program designed to provide entry-level information technology specialists (that is, individuals with degrees in computer science, information systems, information technology, and related degrees and experience) the opportunity to learn the various facets of the NSA mission, including:

- Systems Engineering/Security Engineering
- Software Engineering
- SW Project Management
- System Architecture
- Database Design

As a System Engineer at the NSA responsibilities may include:

- requirements definition, requirements analysis and requirements management
- system architecture and design
- integration and testing
- configuration management
- risk management
- decision analysis
- security engineering
- provide system engineering expertise, guidance and support to the development and implementation of mission capabilities that align with mission driven priorities
- lead and implement system engineering effort, mentor junior personnel
- capture high-level concepts and translate into engineering documents and other artifacts
- act as advocates for and implement Systems Engineering and Enterprise Architecture best practices and principles
- craft high-level system design, specify system/component performance and interface requirements and develop installation, integration and acceptance test plans

Travel Required

Not required

Supervisory status
No

Promotion Potential
15

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

The ideal candidate has a desire for continual learning with excellent problem-solving, communication, and interpersonal skills who is:

- motivated
- innovative
- well-organized
- able to handle and prioritize multiple assignments
- able to communicate effectively both orally and written
- able to work effectively across several different functional areas in a collaborative environment

Knowledge, skills, and experience in one or more of the following is desired:

- Systems Engineering principles
- Systems architecture, framework, and standards
- System Engineering Certifications (DoD DAWIA Certification, INCOSE)
- Technology/System Readiness Assessment
- Modeling and Simulation
- Security Design Engineering
- Developmental Test & Evaluation

Qualifications

Salary Range: $73,076 - $91,057 (Entry/Developmental) - NSA Headquarters (Ft Meade, MD)/NSA Texas/NSA Colorado/NSA Georgia/NSA Hawaii
- With a professional Engineering degree, entry is with a Bachelor's degree and no experience.
- With a degree in either (1) Physics or Astronomy from an accredited college or university or (2) a relevant professional technical field (e.g. chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, geology), entry is with a Bachelor's degree plus 1 year of relevant experience.

Salary Range: $84,529 - $113,362 (Full Performance) - NSA Headquarters (Ft Meade, MD)
Salary Range: $84,529 - $112,583 (Full Performance) - NSA Texas/NSA Colorado/NSA Georgia/NSA Hawaii
- With a degree in professional Engineering, entry is with a Bachelor's degree plus 3 years of relevant experience, or a Master's degree plus 1 year of relevant experience, or a Doctoral degree and no experience.
- With a degree in either (1) Physics or Astronomy from an accredited college or university or (2) a relevant professional technical field (e.g. chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, geology), entry is with a Bachelor's degree plus 3 years of relevant experience, or a Master's or Doctoral degree plus 1 year of relevant experience.

Salary Range: $103,690 - $159,286 (Senior) - NSA Headquarters (Ft Meade, MD)
Salary Range: $94,760 - $142,549 (Senior) - NSA Texas
Salary Range: $101,028 - $155,196 (Senior) - NSA Colorado
Salary Range: $94,760 - $141,548 (Senior) - NSA Georgia
Salary Range: $95,012 - $145,955 (Senior) - NSA Hawaii
- Entry is with a Bachelor's degree plus 7 years of relevant experience, or a Master's degree plus 5 years of relevant experience, or a Doctoral degree plus 3 years of relevant experience.
- Degree must be in either (1) professional Engineering, (2) Physics or Astronomy from an accredited college or (3) a relevant professional technical field (e.g. chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, geology).

Salary Range: $144,128 - $172,500 (Expert) - NSA Headquarters (Ft Meade, MD)
Salary Range: $128,984 - $167,679 (Expert) - NSA Texas
Salary Range: $140,428 - $172,500 (Expert) - NSA Colorado
Salary Range: $128,078 - $166,502 (Expert) - NSA Georgia
Salary Range: $132,066 - $171,686 (Expert) - NSA Hawaii
- Entry is with a Bachelor's degree plus 10 years of relevant experience, or a Master's degree plus 8 years of relevant experience, or a Doctoral degree plus 6 years of relevant experience.
- Degree must be in either (1) professional Engineering, (2) Physics or Astronomy from an accredited college or (3) a relevant professional technical field (e.g. chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, geology).

Education

Additional information

For all of the above degrees, if program is not ABET EAC accredited, it must include specified coursework.*

*Specified coursework includes courses in differential and integral calculus and 5 of the following 18 areas: (a) statics or dynamics, (b) strength of materials/stress-strain relationships, (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics, (d) thermodynamics, (e) electromagnetic fields, (f) nature and properties of materials/relating particle and aggregate structure to properties, (g) solid state electronics, (h) microprocessor applications, (i), computer systems, (j) signal processing, (k) digital design, (l) systems and control theory, (m) circuits or generalized circuits, (n) communication systems, (o) power systems, (p) computer networks, (q) software development, (r) Any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, or soil mechanics.

Relevant experience must be in designing engineering systems over their lifecycle (e.g., concept, design, fabrication, test, installation, operation, maintenance, and disposal). Experience in optimization and modeling is preferred.

How You Will Be Evaluated

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

PLEASE NOTE: U.S. Citizenship is required for all applicants. Reasonable accommodations provided to applicants with disabilities during the application and hiring process where appropriate. NSA is an equal opportunity employer and abides by applicable employment laws and regulations. All applicants and employees are subject to random drug testing in accordance with Executive Order 12564. Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a security background investigation and polygraph.

This position is a Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System (DCIPS) position in the Excepted Service under 10 U.S.C. 1601. DoD Components with DCIPS positions apply Veterans' Preference to eligible candidates as defined by Section 2108 of Title 5 USC, in accordance with the procedures provided in DoD Instruction 1400.25, Volume 2005, DCIPS Employment and Placement. If you are a veteran claiming veterans' preference, as defined by Section 2108 of Title 5 U.S.C., you may be asked to submit documents verifying your eligibility.

Please note that you may be asked a series of questions depending on the position you apply for. Your responses will be used as part of the screening process of your application and will assist in determining your eligibility for the position. Be sure to elaborate on experiences in your resume. Failure to provide the required information or providing inaccurate information will result in your application not being considered for this position. Only those applicants who meet the qualifications for the position will be contacted to begin employment processing.

Background checks and security clearance

Security clearance
Top Secret

Drug test required
No

Required Documents

If you are a veteran claiming veterans' preference, as defined by Section 2108 of Title 5 U.S.C., you may be asked to submit documents verifying your eligibility.

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.