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Aerospace Engineer, AST - Safety and Mission Assurance (Direct Hire)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Goddard Space Flight Center
This job announcement has closed

Summary

You will serve as an Associate Range Safety Officer with the Wallops Flight Facility Safety and Mission Assurance Division in the Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open date: 12/16/2022
Closed date: 12/30/2022
Location
2 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
$79,363 - $144,976 per year

The salary shown reflects the 2022 rates of pay for GS employees

Pay scale & grade
GS 12 - 14
Promotion potential
14
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
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Drug test
Yes
Security clearance
Secret
Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Announcement number
GSFC-23-DE-11766650-RW
Control number
695090000

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Duties

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  • 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.
  • Serve as Associate Range Safety Officer for launch flight operations; review conditions subject to safety plan limits; exercise hold authority on operations when necessary. Serve as overall decision authority for Safety launch/landing.
  • Support launch flight operations for sounding rockets, high altitude scientific balloons, guided target vehicles, expendable launch vehicles, and unmanned aerial systems. Support pre-mission planning activities and oversee onsite safety.
  • Conduct critical reviews of range operational documentation (e.g., Operations Directive, launch range countdown, and safety operations plans); provide assessments to supervisor and program/project managers.
  • Review hazard reports/safety data packages; ensure compliance with operational safety requirements. Review/concur on analyses, evaluations, and failure modes and affect analyses focused on operational execution in Ground and Flight Safety Plans.
  • Monitor/interpret flight safety displays; detect errant vehicle flight; serve as decision authority involving flight termination for operations, as assigned.
  • Participate in range instrumentation meetings with contractor organizations; provide insight on proposed, upgraded, repaired, and/or replaced systems criticality. Coordinate with Lead Range Safety Officer to ensure consistent feedback.
  • Participate in range safety systems reviews; ensure compliance with safety design requirements; review test procedures for new/modified systems to ensure adequate number and testing types are performed to meet operational safety requirements.
  • Assist the Lead Range Safety Officer to develop, review, and present training program plans, simulations, table top scenarios, and written and/or oral performance evaluations.

Requirements

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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 security investigation
  • You must meet qualifications requirements by the closing date of this announcement
  • If selected, you will be required to complete a financial disclosure statement

Qualifications

In addition to the Basic Education Requirement (in the Education section below), to qualify for this position you must meet the requirements below. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular ability, skill, and knowledge to successfully perform the duties of this position and is typically in or related to this line of work.

NASA utilizes OPM-approved qualification and rating requirements specific for Aerospace Technology (AST) positions which recognizes NASA's unique aerospace work. The specific qualifications and minimum education requirements are further described below and within the education section of the job announcement.

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:

  • Assisting in the implementation of flight or ground operational requirements
  • Working as a team member during real-time operations
  • Assisting in the review/evaluation of flight vehicle systems and compliance with operational safety requirements
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:
  • Providing real-time assistance with critical decisions during launch or flight operations and participating in the implementation of operational requirements
  • Working as a team member during real-time launch or flight operations
  • Conducting review/evaluation of flight vehicle systems and compliance with operational safety requirements
To qualify for GS-14, you must have one year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level in the federal sector:
  • Making real-time critical decisions during launch or flight operations and exercising decision authority for suborbital and orbital flight operations, overseeing implementation of operational requirements
  • Leading diverse teams during launch or flight operations
  • Serving as a primary reviewer/evaluator of aerospace flight vehicle systems and compliance with operational safety requirements
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

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.

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.

This is a bargaining unit position. If additional selections are made, those positions may or may not be in a bargaining unit. To learn more about bargaining units at NASA please click here NASA Unions (Bargaining Units) | NASA.

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 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:

  • Decision Making
  • Flight Systems
  • Leadership
  • Technical Competence
  • Safety Engineering and Assurance

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.

Goddard Space Flight Center

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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
Goddard Space Flight Center
8800 Greenbelt Rd
Greenbelt, MD 20771
US

Visit our careers page

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

https://www.nasa.gov/careers

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