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General Engineer, Electronics Engineer, Aerospace Engineer, Physical Scientist, Meteorologist

Department of Commerce
Office of the Inspector General
This job announcement has closed

Summary

We are seeking highly motivated professionals to join our team. If you want challenging work and a chance to make a big impact, come join us at the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Commerce! We improve the effectiveness of the Department's programs and operations. We also investigate waste, fraud, and abuse in the Department and those who do business with it.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
05/07/2020 to 06/12/2020
Salary
$121,316 to - $157,709 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Location
Washington, DC
3 vacancies
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Occasional travel may be required.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent - Full-time
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
14
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Secret
Drug test
Yes
Announcement number
DOC-OIG-2020-0049
Control number
567630300

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

All candidates who are: 1. Current or former federal employees qualifying as Status Candidates, Federal employees currently serving on a VRA, CTAP/ICTAP eligibles, eligible for special hiring authorities (e.g., the Schedule A appointment for persons with disabilities, or covered by an Interchange Agreement); OR 2. Individuals, no matter where you reside, who are VEOA eligibles; OR 3. Land Management employees eligible under Public Law 114-47.

Duties

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As a General Engineer, Electronics Engineer, Aerospace Engineer, Physical Scientist or Meteorologist, you will:

- Serve as a project team member under the Director, Satellites and Weather Systems (SWS) Division with responsibility for applying knowledge in collaborating with other professional engineers, physical and computer scientists, information technology specialists and auditors engaged in addressing complex technical, management, contractual, and policy issues about how systems are planned, managed, designed, acquired, developed, deployed, operated, maintained, and disposed.

- Plan and conduct audits, evaluations, special projects and other work assignments in the areas of systems acquisitions, operations, maintenance, information resources management, as well as other programs involving technology acquisition or development.

- Develop Satellites and Weather Systems (SWS) division input to reviews of selected existing and proposed legislation and regulations related to Department programs and operations, for the purpose of providing the Director SWS; Assistant Inspector General for Audit and Evaluation (AIG); and the Principle AIG for Audit and Evaluation (PAIG) with appropriate recommendations as to the impact these activities have on economy and efficiency in the administration of programs and operations administered or financed by the Department relating to systems acquisitions, systems development, or systems operation.

- Coordinate and appraise remedial actions taken by Department officials to correct deficiencies and to fully implement audit and evaluation recommendations.

- Prepare technical articles and instructional materials on specialized approaches and techniques for the guidance of SWS team members and maintain personal contacts with members of professional societies to keep abreast of new developments, trends, and techniques relating to financial, compliance, management and program audits and evaluations.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Click "Print Preview" to review the entire announcement before applying.
  • Please refer to "Conditions of Employment."
  • Must be U.S. Citizens or U.S. Nationals.

The experience may have been gained in either the public, private sector or volunteer service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. To ensure full credit for your work experience, please indicate dates of employment by month/day/year, and indicate number of hours worked per week on your resume.

Qualifications

You must meet the following requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement.

Specialized experience: For the GS-14, you must have one year of specialized experience at a level of difficulty and responsibility equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as:

Experience investigating, advising, and resolving unusual and controversial problems from either Engineering, Physical Science or Meteorology perspective.

Examples may include:

  • Experience conducting analysis, review, and evaluating system acquisitions, documents or programs performance requirements and operations.
  • Experience serving as a subject matter expert on acquisition processes, system performance and acquisition planning and strategy, technical specifications, sensor design, integration of sensors with spacecraft and launch vehicle, ground system development for spacecraft, program and contractor management, systems and software engineering methodologies and techniques, and operations.

Time-in-Grade:
In addition to the above requirements, you must meet the following time-in-grade requirement, if applicable:
For the GS-14, you must have been at the GS-13 level for 52 weeks.

Time After Competitive Appointment:
Candidates who are current Federal employees serving on a non-temporary competitive appointment must have served at least three months in that appointment.

Education

Individual Occupational Requirements for Professional Engineering Positions:

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

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:

A. 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.

B. 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.

C. 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.

D. 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.)

Individual Occupational Requirements for General Physical Science Positions:

Degree: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics.

OR

Combination of education and experience -- education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Individual Occupational Requirements for Meteorology Positions:

Degree: meteorology, atmospheric science, or other natural science major that included:

  1. At least 24 semester (36 quarter) hours of credit in meteorology/atmospheric science including a minimum of:
  • a. Six semester hours of atmospheric dynamics and thermodynamics;*
  • b. Six semester hours of analysis and prediction of weather systems (synoptic/mesoscale);
  • c. Three semester hours of physical meteorology; and
  • d. Two semester hours of remote sensing of the atmosphere and/or instrumentation.

     2.   Six semester hours of physics, with at least one course that includes laboratory sessions.*

     3.  Three semester hours of ordinary differential equations.*

     4.  At least nine semester hours of course work appropriate for a physical science major in any combination of three or more of the following: physical hydrology, statistics, chemistry, physical oceanography, physical climatology, radiative transfer, aeronomy, advanced thermodynamics, advanced electricity and magnetism, light and optics, and computer science.

OR

Combination of education and experience -- course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. 

Additional information

- We may select from this announcement or any other source to fill one or more vacancies. 
- This is a non-bargaining unit position.
- A recruitment incentive may be offered.
- Student loan repayment may be offered.
- We offer opportunities for telework.
- We offer opportunities for flexible work schedules.

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:
- A one year probationary period may be required.
- Must successfully complete a background investigation.
- Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency
- If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so.
- Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
- Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9.  Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S.
- Obtain and use a Government-issued charge card for business-related travel.

- Submit to a drug test prior to your appointment and random drug testing while you occupy the position.
- Secret – Background Investigation will be required.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your application includes your resume, responses to the online questions, and required supporting documents. Please be sure that your resume includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your resume may result in a “not qualified” determination.

Rating: Your application will be evaluated in the following areas: Analytical, Communication, and Managerial. Your application will be rated and ranked among others, based on your responses to the online questions, regarding your experience, education, training, performance appraisals and awards relevant to the duties of this position. Your rating may be lowered if your responses to the online questions are not supported by the education and/or experience described in your application

Referral: If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. You may be required to participate in a selection interview. 

We will not reimburse costs related to the interview such as travel to and from the interview site. 
If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee (eligible for the Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)) you must receive a score of 85 or better to be rated as “well qualified" to receive special selection priority.


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