The Flight Director role is critical to the continued success of NASA’s human spaceflight programs. The Flight Director’s responsibility for leading the flight operations team and making decisions can have ultimate consequences for human lives and multi-billion dollar commercial and international space assets. The Flight Director role requires excellence in leadership, extensive expertise in mission systems and the ability to manage risk in a high stress real-time environment. This role also requires the confidence to manage substantial risk through leadership of a multi-dimensional team in building a mission and resolving issues both pre-flight and real-time. The duties and responsibilities of a Flight Director are unique and are at the core of NASA’s ability to safely fly humans in space and achieve mission success.
To receive consideration, you must submit a resume and answer NASA-specific questions. The NASA questions appear after you submit your resume and are transferred to the NASA web site. If you successfully apply, USAJOBS will show your application status as 'Received'. If your status is 'Application Status Not Available', you have not successfully applied. Do not rely on a USAJOBS email to confirm successful application. Only an email from NASA confirms a successful application.
Summary
The Flight Director role is critical to the continued success of NASA’s human spaceflight programs. The Flight Director’s responsibility for leading the flight operations team and making decisions can have ultimate consequences for human lives and multi-billion dollar commercial and international space assets. The Flight Director role requires excellence in leadership, extensive expertise in mission systems and the ability to manage risk in a high stress real-time environment. This role also requires the confidence to manage substantial risk through leadership of a multi-dimensional team in building a mission and resolving issues both pre-flight and real-time. The duties and responsibilities of a Flight Director are unique and are at the core of NASA’s ability to safely fly humans in space and achieve mission success.
To receive consideration, you must submit a resume and answer NASA-specific questions. The NASA questions appear after you submit your resume and are transferred to the NASA web site. If you successfully apply, USAJOBS will show your application status as 'Received'. If your status is 'Application Status Not Available', you have not successfully applied. Do not rely on a USAJOBS email to confirm successful application. Only an email from NASA confirms a successful application.
The Flight Director role is critical to the continued success of NASA’s human spaceflight programs. The Flight Director’s responsibility for leading the flight operations team and making decisions can have ultimate consequences for human lives and multi-billion dollar commercial and international space assets. The Flight Director role requires excellence in leadership, extensive expertise in mission systems and the ability to manage risk in a high stress real-time environment. This role also requires the confidence to manage substantial risk through leadership of a multi-dimensional team in building a mission and resolving issues both pre-flight and real-time. The duties and responsibilities of a Flight Director are unique and are at the core of NASA’s ability to safely fly humans in space and achieve mission success.
Specifically:
Plan, direct, and control the activities of a multi-organizational, integrated team in the conduct of real-time mission operations. This environment is high stress, fast-paced, and requires the ability to withstand criticism and lead under pressure. The applicant must accept that the consequence of failure to lead or poor decision-making is degradation of a national asset or loss of human life. He/she must coordinate the requirements and contributions of the flight control team and flight crew to effectively perform this function.
Develop and evaluate mission objectives according to programmatic guidelines and constraints. Develop and execute flight plans according to programmatic mission requirements. Develop and enforce mission rules to ensure crew and vehicle safety and abide by programmatic mission and vehicle constraints.
Lead development of human spaceflight missions through coordination with programs, technical discipline experts, the Crew Office, operations and programmatic safety organizations, the JSC Engineering Directorate, International Partners, Payloads Operation organizations and additional mission-specific stakeholders.
Responsible for decision-making during spaceflight missions, managing crew, vehicle, launch and ground resources to ensure crew and vehicle safety. In contingency situations, determines and implements a course of action in the area of crew vehicle and ground systems and vehicle dynamics to resolve malfunctions and restore the mission to an operational state.
Manages risk inherent to human spaceflight missions. Leads teams across multiple organizations in near-real-time activities to address critical vehicle contingencies. Leads teams to creatively address on-board malfunctions and assesses risk associated with malfunction recovery options, selecting the solution most likely to protect the crew, vehicle and mission. Responsible for communication of a selected solution, associated risks and rationale for selection to the program customer.
Guides flight control team development of mission rules, operating procedures and checklists, used by flight teams to execute normal and contingency mission operations. Leads and directs flight control team review of mission operations methods and techniques for working around malfunctioning systems using spacecraft telemetry, command and voice communication subsystems.
Evaluates the technical proficiency of flight control team members to certify that they are able to execute their real-time assignments.
Upon completion of a mission, leads a flight control team analysis of the operation of spacecraft and ground systems, the performance of the team in management of those systems and the efficacy of procedures utilized by the flight controllers and the spacecraft crew. Steers corrective action processes to improve performance in subsequent operations.
As chair of a Flight Techniques or Joint Operations Panel, directs development and coordination of trajectory, attitude control and avionics systems management for all phases of flight. In long-range planning periods of mission development, drives integrated analysis of spacecraft and launch system performance and mission resource predictions to develop flight techniques and mission plans. In pre-mission planning, oversees development of procedures and activity timelines to accomplish mission objectives. In pre-mission preparation, plans and conducts training of the flight control team and crew. Prior to flight, certifies flight readiness by evaluating integrated ground and on-orbit team performance.
Evaluates development of program/project designs for flight systems, providing technical evaluation of operability and certification of adherence to programmatic requirements. Serves as flight operations leadership on various panels, conferences, working groups, and committees. Monitors the development of innovative concepts, processes, and techniques as well as program/project progress. Performs pre-mission planning for developing vehicle programs, including development of operations concepts, mission plans and flight readiness processes.
Position subject to pre-employment background investigation
Selectee must pass a Flight Controller physical examination
Selectee must be able to obtain and maintain a secret security clearance
U.S. citizenship is required.
Qualifications
Applicant must have one year of specialized experience at the next lower grade, which has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies needed to successfully perform the duties of the position described above.
To be successful in the Flight Director role and to be deemed highly qualified for this position your resume must clearly delineate how your experience addresses each of these criteria. If you do not address each criteria fully and demonstrate your competence in these areas, you may not receive full consideration for this position. Please remember that NASA limits resumes to the equivalent of approximately SIX typed pages, or approximately 32,000 characters including spaces.
Qualifying experience must include:
1. Technical Leadership with expert knowledge of spacecraft and launch vehicle design and operations (ISS/Visiting Vehicles, USCV/Commercial Vehicles and Orion/SLS), including aspects related to spacecraft hardware, software, flight control, flight design, orbital mechanics, and ground support systems (including command, telemetry, voice (network/TDRSS) and launch services).
2. Demonstrated leadership including comprehensive knowledge and experience required to accomplish the integration of ground, crew, and spacecraft capabilities necessary to manage and achieve programmatic objectives in the real time operational environment where consequences can include loss of crew/vehicle or the inability to fulfill critical agency goals. This also includes preflight design/planning, development of integrated procedures/rules, preflight training, and real time mission execution.
3. Leading people including experience with managerial practices and principals, and the ability to plan, organize, and technically lead a team in both preflight integration/planning and during real-time mission execution.
4. Building coalitions with experience in building professional relationships with other organizations at the Center, Agency, International, and with Commercial Crew/Cargo entities to achieve mission goals. This includes knowledge of responsibilities assigned within the Agency as they apply to operations concepts requiring numerous interfaces between NASA Centers; NASA Programs and Project Offices, payload and science representatives, International Space Agencies, and numerous other external organizations.
Your resume must include a clear and detailed narrative description, in your own words, of how you meet the required specialized experience. Experiences 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
Basic Education Requirement: A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with major study in engineering, physical science, mathematics, life sciences, computer science, or other field of science.
Degrees in engineering technology are not considered to be qualifying for this position.
You must indicate your major as well as your degree in order to receive full consideration for this position.
Education completed outside of the United States must be deemed equivalent to that gained in conventional, accredited U.S. education programs to be acceptable for Federal employment.
Most foreign education is not accredited by an accrediting body that is recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.
Additional information
Any applicant tentatively selected for this position may be required to undergo a pre-employment background investigation. Individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. See 'How You Will Be Evaluated' for definition of well qualified. Federal employees seeking CTAP/ICTAP consideration must indicate their eligibility when applying for a position. The USAJOBS resume asks you to identify your ICTAP eligibility; the NASA Supplemental Information asks you to identify your CTAP eligibility. If you are selected for the position, you must be prepared to submit proof that you meet the requirements for CTAP/ICTAP. This includes a copy of the agency notice, a copy of their most recent Performance Rating and a copy of their most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location.
As a condition of employment, male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must certify that they have registered with the Selective Service System, or are exempt from having to do so under the Selective Service Law. In order to receive preference in hiring, you must clearly identify your claim for veterans preference on your resume.
NASA's Applicant Guide provides the information needed to assist you in determining whether or not you can claim 5 or 10 point veterans preference. You should not submit documents to prove your eligibility for veterans preference at this time. However, you must be prepared to submit proof of veterans preference (DD-214, and, if claiming 10-point preference, SF-15 plus proof required by that form) as requested by the Human Resources Office. Veterans preference will only be considered based on what is supported For instance, if you claim 10-point preference, but are only able to document 5-point preference, you will be considered accordingly. If you fail to provide the required documents within the stated time period, we may withdraw a job offer and/or remove you from further consideration.
Your USAJOBS account asks you to assign a name to each of your resumes. When you apply to a NASA position, we will show you the text of the resume you have submitted, but we do not maintain the name you have assigned to that resume. If you wish to keep track of that information, we recommend you make note of it at the time you apply.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
NASA uses an automated system (Resumix) that matches the competencies extracted from your resume to the competencies identified by the selecting official for the position. Based on the competencies you match, you are placed in one of three categories identified as 90, 80, or 70 pt. quality categories, which are defined as:
90 pt. Category - Tentatively meets (until subsequent confirmation upon referral) the basic qualification requirements identified in the vacancy announcement and has experience in the same or similar job that has demonstrated superior proficiency in the primary requirements of the position.
80 pt. Category - Tentatively meets (until subsequent confirmation upon referral) the basic qualification requirements identified in the vacancy announcement and demonstrates satisfactory proficiency in the primary requirements of the position.
70 pt. Category - Fails to meet criteria described in the 80 pt. category.
Additional application guidance is available in NASA's Applicant Guide.
Information for Veterans: The Category Rating Process protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligibles who meet qualification requirements and have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed at the top of the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher.
For the purpose of the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) and the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), candidates rated in the top quality category are considered well-qualified
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
NASA's application process has been specifically developed to ensure that we only ask you for the information we absolutely need to evaluate your qualifications and eligibility. In order to apply for this position, you only need to submit your resume and answer the screening questions and supplemental information. No additional documentation is accepted at the time of application. (For example you need not submit narrative 'KSA' statements; they are not required and will not be evaluated.) In this way we allow you to focus on preparing a resume that best describes your background and abilities. For assistance in preparing your resume, consult the Applicant Guide. Nothing further is required until requested by the Human Resources Office. At that point, we may ask you to submit documentation to support statements made in your resume. For example, we may ask you to provide academic transcripts or proof of Federal employment status. If you are claiming veterans' preference, we may ask you to submit proof of veterans preference (DD-214, and, if claiming 10-point preference, SF-15 plus proof required by that form). If you fail to provide the required documents within the stated time period, we may withdraw a job offer and/or remove you from further consideration.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
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.
This vacancy is being filled through NASA STARS, an automated Staffing and Recruitment System. NASA partners with USAJOBS in providing a seamless application process. Before you begin the application process, please read the vacancy announcement carefully and have all required information available. You may begin the process of submitting your resume by clicking on the 'Apply Online' link. In order to be considered, you must submit a resume completed on the USAJOBS site. When completing your USAJOBS resume, please remember that NASA limits resumes to approximately 32,000 characters including spaces. NASA does not accept resumes uploaded to USAJOBS from a second source or documents attached through USAJOBS' document attachment feature. Once you submit your resume to NASA, you will be asked to complete a short series of additional questions. You must finish the entire process in order to have a complete application package and receive consideration. Your answers will not be saved unless you finish the entire application. You may edit a previously-submitted application, if the announcement is still open. If you are unable to apply electronically for this position, submit your resume and supplemental questions to: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 4200 Rideout Road Resume Operations Center/Mailstop: HS50 Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812.
DO NOT submit your resume directly to the Center advertising this vacancy. Mailed resumes must be received by the close of business on the closing date of the announcement. Hard copy resumes requirements are provided at: Hard Copy Resume Requirements. If you are a first time applicant, we recommend that you review NASA's Applicant Guide to ensure that you are providing a complete resume. Failure to submit the supplemental data and a resume that contains all of the required information may result in loss of consideration for positions in which you are interested. All applications must be received no later than midnight Eastern Time on the closing date of the announcement.
NASA's Resume Operations Center
4200 Rideout Road, Mailstop HS50
Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812
US
Next steps
Candidates for NASA positions are evaluated using our automated staffing and recruitment system, NASA STARS, which compares your skills and experience as described in your resume with the requirements of the position. If you are found to be a highly qualified candidate, you will be referred to the selecting official for further consideration. (In some cases, individuals with priority for special consideration must be considered and selected before other candidates.) Whether or not you are contacted for an interview depends upon the location of the position and the judgment of the selecting official. At NASA, we pride ourselves on efficient and timely recruitment actions, and you can normally expect to learn the outcome of the selection process in a fairly short period of time. In addition, to ensure that you can measure progress for yourself, NASA provides you with regularly updated information on the status of the vacancy announcement.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
NASA's application process has been specifically developed to ensure that we only ask you for the information we absolutely need to evaluate your qualifications and eligibility. In order to apply for this position, you only need to submit your resume and answer the screening questions and supplemental information. No additional documentation is accepted at the time of application. (For example you need not submit narrative 'KSA' statements; they are not required and will not be evaluated.) In this way we allow you to focus on preparing a resume that best describes your background and abilities. For assistance in preparing your resume, consult the Applicant Guide. Nothing further is required until requested by the Human Resources Office. At that point, we may ask you to submit documentation to support statements made in your resume. For example, we may ask you to provide academic transcripts or proof of Federal employment status. If you are claiming veterans' preference, we may ask you to submit proof of veterans preference (DD-214, and, if claiming 10-point preference, SF-15 plus proof required by that form). If you fail to provide the required documents within the stated time period, we may withdraw a job offer and/or remove you from further consideration.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
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.
This vacancy is being filled through NASA STARS, an automated Staffing and Recruitment System. NASA partners with USAJOBS in providing a seamless application process. Before you begin the application process, please read the vacancy announcement carefully and have all required information available. You may begin the process of submitting your resume by clicking on the 'Apply Online' link. In order to be considered, you must submit a resume completed on the USAJOBS site. When completing your USAJOBS resume, please remember that NASA limits resumes to approximately 32,000 characters including spaces. NASA does not accept resumes uploaded to USAJOBS from a second source or documents attached through USAJOBS' document attachment feature. Once you submit your resume to NASA, you will be asked to complete a short series of additional questions. You must finish the entire process in order to have a complete application package and receive consideration. Your answers will not be saved unless you finish the entire application. You may edit a previously-submitted application, if the announcement is still open. If you are unable to apply electronically for this position, submit your resume and supplemental questions to: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 4200 Rideout Road Resume Operations Center/Mailstop: HS50 Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812.
DO NOT submit your resume directly to the Center advertising this vacancy. Mailed resumes must be received by the close of business on the closing date of the announcement. Hard copy resumes requirements are provided at: Hard Copy Resume Requirements. If you are a first time applicant, we recommend that you review NASA's Applicant Guide to ensure that you are providing a complete resume. Failure to submit the supplemental data and a resume that contains all of the required information may result in loss of consideration for positions in which you are interested. All applications must be received no later than midnight Eastern Time on the closing date of the announcement.
NASA's Resume Operations Center
4200 Rideout Road, Mailstop HS50
Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812
US
Next steps
Candidates for NASA positions are evaluated using our automated staffing and recruitment system, NASA STARS, which compares your skills and experience as described in your resume with the requirements of the position. If you are found to be a highly qualified candidate, you will be referred to the selecting official for further consideration. (In some cases, individuals with priority for special consideration must be considered and selected before other candidates.) Whether or not you are contacted for an interview depends upon the location of the position and the judgment of the selecting official. At NASA, we pride ourselves on efficient and timely recruitment actions, and you can normally expect to learn the outcome of the selection process in a fairly short period of time. In addition, to ensure that you can measure progress for yourself, NASA provides you with regularly updated information on the status of the vacancy announcement.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
