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Interdisciplinary Computer Engineer/Computer Scientist (Flight Systems Manager)

Department of the Interior
Geological Survey
This job announcement has closed

Summary

What General Information Do I Need To Know About This Position?

Salary: $121,316 (Step 01) to $157,709 (Step 10); NOTE: First time hires to the Federal Government are typically hired at the Step 01.

This is an interdisciplinary position and is being advertised concurrently with the following announcements:

Open to current or former Federal employees: USGS-RES-21-10988039-ST-KFW

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
12/17/2020 to 01/07/2021
Salary
$121,316 to - $157,709 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Location
Greenbelt, MD
1 vacancy
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel up to 5 nights a month for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Relocation expenses authorized.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
14
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Top Secret
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
USGS-RES-21-10988038-DE-KFW
Control number
587398400

Duties

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As a FLIGHT SYSTEMS MANAGER within the EARTH RESOURCES OBSERVATION AND SCIENCE (EROS) CENTER, some of your specific duties will include:

- Coordinates flight operations across all Landsat missions. Supports ground operations and sustaining engineering teams.
- Manages day-to-day Landsat flight operations to include monitoring of satellite health and safety, operation of satellite bus systems and scientific instrument payloads, orbit maintenance, and telemetry trending and analysis.
- Leads satellite anomaly investigations and review boards
- Manages flight operations budgets, schedules, risks and reserves.
- Primary USGS external and internal contact for USGS flight operation.
- Serves as primary USGS interface for flight operations support agreements.
- Acts as Contracting Officer Representative (COR) for contracts or supporting flight operations teams, flight operations systems, mission operations centers and satellite systems.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

Key Requirements:

  1. Applicants must be U.S. Citizens.
  2. Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
  3. Selectee may be subject to serving a one-year probationary period.
  4. More requirements are listed under Qualifications and Other Information.
  5. Prior to appointment, the selectee will be required to take and pass, at Federal expense: a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use. From thereon, the incumbent may be subject to random drug testing
Are There Any Special Requirements For This Position?
  • This position is subject to random drug testing as a condition of employment. Applicants will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test is received.
  • Because this position requires travel for official business, the selectee will be required to apply for a charge card within 30 calendar days of appointment. Individuals who have delinquent account balances from a previous Government charge card will be required to satisfy their existing obligation before a new card can be issued.
  • A background investigation will be required for this position. Continued employment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.
  • Throughout the recruitment and hiring process we will be communicating with you via email; therefore, it is imperative that the email address you provide when applying for this vacancy remains active. Should your email address change, please notify the point of contact identified in the vacancy announcement as soon as possible so that we can update our system.

Qualifications

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT for GS-0854, Computer Engineer: Applicants must meet A or B below to satisfy the basic education requirement for Computer Engineer, all grade levels.

A. Completed the requirements for a bachelor`s or higher degree in 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. Possess a 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: (1) Professional registration or licensure; (2) Written Test; (3) 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; (4) Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field 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.

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT for GS-1550, Computer Scientist: Applicants must meet the following to satisfy the basic education requirement for Computer Scientist, all grade levels.

Bachelor's or higher degree in computer science OR a bachelor's or higher 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.

For GS-14:

In addition to the basic requirements described above, applicants must meet the following to qualify for the GS-14 level:

Possess one year of appropriate professional experience that is in or directly related to the duties of the position to be filled is qualifying if it is equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal service, and if it equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. Examples of such experience include engineering support of satellite systems or satellite ground systems; leading satellite flight operations or engineering; leading a team to solve complex problems critical to satellite operations such as on-orbit spacecraft anomalies and their resolution; applying project management and systems engineering principals to complete complex activities, and serving as technical liaison with management officials and representatives of other organizations.

You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements for the position by the closing date of the announcement.

Education

  • 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.
  • Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the above requirements. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.usgs.gov/about/organization/science-support/human-capital/how-foreign-education-evaluated-federal-jobs .

Additional information

Other Information:

  • Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.
  • Under Executive Order 11935, only United States citizens and nationals (residents of American Samoa and Swains Island) may compete for civil service jobs. Agencies are permitted to hire non-citizens only in very limited circumstances where there are no qualified citizens available for the position.
  • USGS employees are subject to Title 43, USC Section 31(a) and may not: (a) have any personal, private, direct or indirect interest in lands or mineral wealth of lands under survey; (b) have any substantial personal, private, direct or indirect interests in any private mining or mineral enterprise doing business with the United States; or (c) execute surveys or examinations for private parties or corporations.
  • The application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a). The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361.
  • DOI uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify.
  • THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.
Agency Benefits:

How you will be evaluated

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

--Vacancy Related Questions: As part of the online application process, you will need to respond to a series of questions designed to assess your possession of the following knowledge skills, abilities and/or competencies: Scientific Knowledge, Leadership/Supervision, Teamwork, Plan/Organize Work, Program/Project Management, Interpersonal Communication, and Procurement.

--Basis of Rating: Category rating will be used in the ranking and selection process for this position. The quality categories are Best Qualified and Qualified. You will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education, and training relevant to the duties of the position. If you are eligible, your on-line responses to the application questions will determine your placement in the appropriate quality category described above. Your responses must be substantiated by your resume. If you do not respond to the application questions you may be rated ineligible. Veterans' preference rules for category rating will be applied.

--NOTE: If it is determined that you have rated yourself higher than is supported in your description of experience and/or education as described in your resume/application, or that your resume or application is incomplete, you may be rated ineligible, not qualified, or your score may be lowered.

To preview the announcement questionnaire, click here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/10988038

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