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COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Department of Defense
Defense Threat Reduction Agency
Research and Development Directorate (RD)
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is part of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Defense Threat Reduction Agency. The incumbent will be responsible for planning and initiating complex projects to develop tailored wargaming/exercise/training software tools and enable their integration into existing/future conventional wargame/training/analytic models and simulations.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
02/09/2022 to 03/02/2022
Salary
$106,823 to - $164,102 per year

GS-13 $106,823 - $138,868/GS-14 $126,233 - $164,102

Pay scale & grade
GS 13 - 14
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Fort Belvoir, VA
1 vacancy
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
14
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Sensitive Compartmented Information
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Special-Sensitive (SS)/High Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
DTRA-22-11385306-DH
Control number
636178300

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

All U.S. Citizens

Duties

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This position is being filled under DoD Modified Direct Hire Authority, Section 1109; PL, 116-92, dated 12/20/2019 .

As a COMPUTER SCIENTIST at the GS-1550-13/14 some of your typical work assignments may include:

  • Plans and initiates complex projects to develop tailored wargaming/exercise/training software tools and enable their integration into existing/future conventional wargame/training/analytic models and simulations. These tools support CCDRs, Services, Joint Staff, Office of the Secretary of Defense, and other Department of Defense (DoD) components to visualize nuclear weapon effects and their mission impacts in order to operate effectively in a conventional-nuclear integrated environment.
  • Manages and provides technical direction of complex DTRA contracts with multiple tasks and multiple performers in cooperation with other DoD organizations, other agencies and international partners.
  • Provides technical advice in support of decisions leading to the initiation and execution of projects that either enhance current capabilities or close identified gaps.
  • Represents DTRA in meetings of DoD, national, and international technical modeling and simulation experts and the military wargame/exercise/training communities for the purpose of identifying and evaluating potential technological approaches, identifying requirements, and, operating nuclear wargaming tools in order to gain insights into potential tool enhancements.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen
  • Occasional Travel: Travel: Up to 25% of the time.
  • Work Schedule: Full-time
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service
  • Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation
  • May be required to successfully complete a probationary period
  • Overtime: The employee has considerable management responsibilities and occasional sort lead-time requirements that can require overtime.
  • Tour of Duty: Flexible
  • Recruitment Incentives: Authorized
  • Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): Exempt
  • Financial Disclosure: Not Required
  • Telework Eligibility: This position is telework eligible
  • COVID19: Please see, additional information.
  • Must be able to obtain and maintain a TOP SECRET clearance with and access to Special Compartmented Information.
  • Subject to pre-employment drug testing and periodic random drug testing thereafter.
  • This is an Acquisition Workforce position in the Engineering and Technical Management functional area. The incumbent will be required to become certified in the Practitioner tier within 5 years.
  • The incumbent is required to acquire a minimum of 40 continuous learning points (CLPs) every fiscal year as a goal and 80 CLPs being mandatory within 2 years.

Qualifications

You may qualify at the GS 14 , if you fulfill the following qualifications:

A. One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service as listed below:

  • Expert knowledge and extensive experience integrating / developing a common framework for sharing information and/or data across multiple models and simulations.
  • Expert knowledge and extensive experience across a diverse set of languages (i.e. C, C++, Java, JavaScript, R Python).
  • Writing code on a daily basis will not be required.
  • Working knowledge and extensive experience working with and within web-services, web-applications, cloud-computing architectures, APIs, databases and/or containerization.
  • Working knowledge of project/program management to include performance, cost and schedule, and of the DoD acquisition process.
You may qualify at the GS 13 , if you fulfill the following qualifications:

B. One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service as listed below:
  • Working knowledge and general experience integrating / developing a common framework for sharing information and/or data across multiple models and simulations.
  • General knowledge and experience across a diverse set of languages (i.e. C, C++, Java, JavaScript, R, Python). Writing code on a daily basis will not be required.
  • Basic knowledge and experience working with and within web-services, web-applications, cloud-computing architectures, APIs, databases and/or containerization.
  • Basic knowledge of project/program management to include performance, cost and schedule, and of the DoD acquisition process.
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.

In addition to meeting qualifications, your application package must reflect the applicable experience to meet the Individual Occupational Requirements for the 1550, series as listed below:

Bachelor's degree in 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. Top of Form
Applicants should have sufficient knowledge to understand the fundamental concepts and techniques of computer science. Courses designed to provide an introduction to computer science techniques and methodologies, to problems of system design, and to other specialized fields are acceptable. Courses or experience in teaching elementary, business, or shop mathematics are not acceptable.

Series Definition: This series includes professional positions which primarily involve the application of, or research into, computer science methods and techniques to store, manipulate, transform or present information by means of computer systems. The primary requirements of the work are (a) professional competence in applying the theoretical foundations of computer science, including computer system architecture and system software organization, the representation and transformation of information structures, and the theoretical models for such representations and transformations; (b) specialized knowledge of the design characteristics, limitations, and potential applications of systems having the ability to transform information, and of broad areas of applications of computing which have common structures, processes, and techniques; and (c) knowledge of relevant mathematical and statistical sciences.

Education

Substitution of education may not be used in lieu of specialized experience for this grade level.

You MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims.

All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours that your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: Foreign Education

Additional information

COVID19 - To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Therefore, to the extent a Federal job announcement includes the requirement that applicants must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 pursuant to Executive Order 14043, that requirement does not currently apply. Federal agencies may request information regarding the vaccination status of selected applicants for the purposes of implementing other workplace safety protocols, such as protocols related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.

Due to COVID-19, the agency is currently in an expanded telework posture. If selected, you may be expected to temporarily or intermittently telework.

Other Notes:

ACQUISITION POSITION: This is an Acquisition Workforce position in the Engineering & Technical Management functional area. The incumbent will be required to become certified in the Practitioner tier within 5 years. The incumbent is required to acquire a minimum of 40 continuous learning points (CLPs) every fiscal year as a goal and 80 CLPs being mandatory within 2 years.

RE-EMPLOYED ANNUITANT: This position DOES NOT meet criteria for re-employed annuitant. The DoD criteria for hiring Re-employed Annuitants can be found at: https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/140025/1400.25-V300.pdf

All applicants must meet qualifications and eligibility criteria by the closing date of the announcement.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Programs: This program applies to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated well-qualified for the position; Well qualified is defined as possessing the type and quality of experience that exceeds the positions minimum qualifications. and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your ICTAP eligibility. For more information:
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/

Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see Who Needs to Register | Selective Service System : Selective Service System (sss.gov))

How you will be evaluated

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

We will review your resume and supporting documents, to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. We will evaluate each applicant who meets the basic qualifications on the information provided and evaluate your relevant work experiences as it relates to fundamental competencies, identified below, required for this position.

Competencies:

Traditional rating and ranking of applications does not apply to this vacancy. Your application (resume and supporting documentation) will be evaluated to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications required as listed on the announcement under qualification requirements.

Veterans Preference: If you are entitled to veterans preference, you should indicate the type of veterans' preference you are claiming on your resume. Your veterans' preference entitlement will be verified by the employing agency.

For information on entitlement see http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx

Military Spouse Preference: If you are entitled to military spouse preference, in order to receive this preference you must choose the spousal eligibility in your application package referencing MSP Military Spouse Preference. Your preference entitlement will be verified by the employing agency. If you are claiming military spouse preference and qualified for the position, your name will be placed below preference eligible veteran candidates and above non-preference candidates on a list sent to the hiring manager for employment consideration. To claim Military Spouse Preference (MSP) please complete the Military Spouse PPP Self-Certification Checklist, save the document and attach it to your application package.

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