Skip to main content
U.S. flag

Aerospace Engineer, AST, Aerospace Flight Systems (Direct Hire)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
George C. Marshall Space Flight Center
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The Engineering Directorate at Marshall Space Flight Center is seeking candidates to serve as Aerospace Engineers, to support critical NASA missions across the directorate; duties includes working with space and flight systems, spacecraft vehicles and subsystems, payloads, design and operational requirements definition, hardware and/or software development, testing, verification, safety, integration, certification, and operations.

Overview

Help
Hiring complete
Open date: 07/15/2022
Closed date: 07/19/2022
Location
Many vacancies in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$82,266 - $127,170 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12 - 13
Promotion potential
13
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Term - Not to exceed 2 years with the option to extend to a maximum of 6 years
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Announcement number
MSFC-22-DE-11557189-LC
Control number
664069200

Videos

Duties

Help
  • Duties described below are at the full-performance level. Duties assigned at a lower grade level will be of more limited scope, performed with less independence and limited complexity; duties will be commensurate with the grade of selected employee.
  • Analyzes and evaluates aerospace vehicles and structures operating within, above and beyond the earth's atmosphere including production, fabrication, operation, certification and maintenance of aerospace vehicles or integrally associated equipment.
  • Analyzes, tests, evaluates, validates, and certifies flight hardware and system capabilities based on design and operational and safety requirements.
  • Designs hardware and/or software development, testing, verification, safety, integration, certification, and operations.
  • Assesses system performance and vehicle integration needs to meet technical and safety objectives; supports risk assessments; verifies mitigation implementation through inspection, test, and/or analysis; develops recommendations to resolve issues.
  • Applies critical inquiry, problem solving, and scientific methodology to complete assessments, make recommendations, or resolve issues.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • This position is open to U.S. citizens, nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S
  • Position subject to pre-employment background investigation
  • You must meet qualifications requirements by the closing date of this announcement
  • This position may require a one year trial period
  • Please see the "Additional Information" section for important information about COVID-19 vaccination requirements for federal employees

Qualifications

In addition to the Basic Education Requirement (in the Education section below), to qualify for this position you must meet the requirements below and have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade, which has equipped you with the particular competencies needed to successfully perform the duties of the position described above.


To qualify for GS-12, you must have one year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the federal sector:

  • Supporting in the development of various space systems and/or subsystems, components or evaluation and perform troubleshooting of these systems and parts as they affect the overall systems; or
  • Supporting in the development of flight hardware or payloads, or process verifications applied to aerospace vehicles or systems used in atmospheric and space environments; or
  • Supporting in the process of creating design models and prototypes based on research plans and schematics; or
  • Assisting with the analysis of the safety and design capabilities of aerospace vehicles or systems.

To qualify for GS-13, you must have one year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the federal sector:
  • Participating in the development of various space systems and/or subsystems, components or evaluation and perform troubleshooting of these systems and parts as they affect the overall systems; and
  • Participating in the development of flight hardware or payloads, or process verifications applied to aerospace vehicles or systems used in atmospheric and space environments; or
  • Participating in the process of creating design models and prototypes based on research plans and schematics; or
  • Performing the analysis of the safety and design capabilities of aerospace vehicles or systems.

Your resume must include a clear and detailed narrative description, in your own words, of how you meet the required specialized experience. Experience statements 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: You must have successfully completed a bachelor's degree with a major in one of the following:
a) Engineering from a college or university that has ABET accredited engineering programs
b) Physical Science, Mathematics, Life Science or other field of Science
c) Computer Science that included 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours of course work in any combination of mathematics, statistics and computer science with at least half of those hours in mathematics and statistics courses that included differential and integral calculus.

If you did not complete a qualifying bachelor's degree, you may be eligible if you have obtained a graduate degree in an AST qualifying field, as listed above.

Degrees in engineering technology are not considered qualifying for this position.

Engineering degrees earned within the United States: Engineering degrees earned within the United States must be from a college or university that has at least one ABET accredited engineering program. To find out if a school has at least one ABET accredited program, please visit http://www.abet.org.

Engineering degrees earned outside the United States: Engineering degrees earned outside the United States must be recognized by a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA), often known as accords. These are non-governmental agreements among organizations that accredit academic degree programs. MRAs recognize the substantial equivalence of mature accreditation systems and programs accredited by signatory organizations within their jurisdictions. For a listing of Signatories, please visit, https://www.abet.org/global-presence/mutual-recognition-agreements/is-your-program-recognized/.

Science and other related degrees earned within the United States: Science and other related degrees must have been awarded from colleges or universities that are accredited by recognized accrediting organizations. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, go to http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/.

Science and other related degrees earned outside the United States: 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. These education credentials must be 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: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

All degrees must have been received in the year of, or any year subsequent to the original date of accreditation.

Additional information

If you are selected, NASA may request information regarding your vaccination status for the purposes of implementing workplace safety protocols, such as masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.

Additional selections may be made for similar positions across NASA within the local commuting area(s) of the location(s) identified in this announcement. By applying, you agree to have your application shared with interested selecting official(s) within NASA. CTAP/ICTAP will be cleared for any additional selection from this announcement.

This appointment may be extended beyond the initial appointment date, for a period not to exceed a total of six years.

Current Federal civilian employees may apply for this position. If selected, a break in service of at least 4 calendar days may be required prior to appointment to this position.

If you have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), you must:

- Indicate your eligibility when applying for a position. The questionnaire asks you to identify your ICTAP/CTAP eligibility.
- Meet the minimum qualifications requirements for the position
- Submit proof that you meet the requirements for CTAP/ICTAP as indicated in 'Required Documents'

For additional information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility, click here - https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/#ictap.

How you will be evaluated

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

Direct Hire Authority: These positions will be filled through the Office of Personnel Management's Direct Hire Authority. Category rating and veterans' preference will not be considered in evaluating applicants. For more information on Direct Hire Authority, please see: OPM Direct Hire Fact Sheet.

Veterans: Under the provisions of Direct Hire Authority, veterans' preference does not apply. However, applicants who are eligible for veterans' preference are encouraged to include that information in their application and submit supporting documentation (i.e. DD-214, or other substantiating documents). For more information on please see: Veterans' Preference information on the FedsHireVets website.

You will be evaluated for this position based on how well you meet the qualifications and eligibility requirements listed in this vacancy announcement. To determine your qualifications and referral status, we may review your resume and supporting documentation and compare it against your responses to the vacancy questionnaire. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration.

You will be assessed on the following competencies:

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Problem Solving
  • Technical Competence

NASA considers 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.

George C. Marshall Space Flight Center

Explore the Extraordinary
Calling all the innovators, pioneers, visionaries, and adventurers! We are a diverse group of professionals united by a common purpose: to discover and expand knowledge for the benefit of humanity. We're building on our rich legacy by embarking on new and exciting missions, both on Earth and beyond and we're looking for fresh ideas to help us get there. Do you have a passion for exploration? Do you want your work to leave an enduring impact? Join us in a career that can take you farther than you can imagine. At NASA, our work is more than just a profession-it's a lifelong pursuit, a passion, and a chance to change the world. NASA is more than astronauts. We are scientists, engineers, IT specialists, human resources specialists, accountants, writers, technicians and many other kinds of people working together to break barriers to achieve the seemingly impossible.

Explore the extraordinary, every day; explore a career at NASA!

Agency contact information

NASA Shared Services Contact Center
Phone
1-877-677-2123
Fax
1-866-779-6772
Email
nssc-contactcenter@mail.nasa.gov
Address
Marshall Space Flight Center
Marshall Space Flight Ctr
Huntsville, AL 35811
US

Visit our careers page

Learn more about what it's like to work at George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, what the agency does, and about the types of careers this agency offers.

https://www.nasa.gov/careers

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.