Job Summary

This position is part of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. The incumbent serves as a technical expert on instrumentation development, managing, coordinating, reviewing, and providing expert engineering advice to scientists relative to the CBRNE R&D testing and evaluation effort.

Job Description

This position has basic requirements established by the OPM Qualification Standards for the Electronics Engineering - 0855/ Mechanical Engineering - 0830/ General Engineering - 0801/ Computer Engineering - 0854/ Computer Science - 1550 series positions. From the descriptions below, select the letter that best describes how you meet the Individual Occupational Requirements for this series. A. For Engineering series 0855/0830/0801/0854- 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. B. For Engineering series 0855/0830/0801/0854 - 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)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. 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. 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.) C. For Computer Science series 1550 - Degree: computer science or bachelor's degree with 30 semester hours in a combination of mathematics, statistics, and computer science. At least 15 of the 30 semester hours must have included any combination of statistics and mathematics that included differential and integral calculus. All academic degrees and course work must be from accredited or pre-accredited institutions. (Must provide transcripts) You may qualify at the GS-11, if you fulfill the following qualifications: A. One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service, military or private sector. Specialized experience is defined as: Assisting with or supporting instrumentation and diagnostic projects Applying engineering principles to support the development of instrumentation plans for scientific or engineering tests Installing, calibrating, and operating electronic sensors and data acquisition systems in a laboratory or field test environment under supervision Assisting in the collection, recording, and quality check of test data B. For the GS-11 grade level: I have successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work of the position. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.) OR C. You have some specialized experience as described in A, but less than one year; and you have more than one year but less than two years of education as described in B. You have computed the percentage of the requirements that you meet, and the total is at least 100%. (To compute the percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond the first year by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.) You may qualify at the GS-12, if you fulfill the following qualifications: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service, military or private sector. Specialized experience is defined as: Developing and implementing instrumentation and data acquisition plans for scientific or weapons effects testing Overseeing the work of technicians or contractor teams in the installation and operation of various sensor systems (such as high-speed cameras, infrared systems, and/or data recorders) Providing technical input to project leadership on scheduling, budgeting, and system modifications for instrumentation efforts Performing and managing complex instrumentation and diagnostic projects You may qualify at the GS-13, if you fulfill the following qualifications: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service, military or private sector. Specialized experience is defined as: Leading or directing the full life cycle of complex instrumentation and diagnostic projects Serving as a technical authority to develop, design, and approve instrumentation and data acquisition plans for large-scale scientific or weapons effects testing Providing technical oversight and direction to contractor teams responsible for installing, operating, and maintaining advanced sensor systems (such as high-speed cameras, infrared systems, or multi-channel data recorders) Independently managing project schedules and budgets for instrumentation efforts and representing an organization's technical interests with external partners ALL EXPERIENCE MUST BE CLEARLY DEMONSTRATED IN YOUR RESUME 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.