Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from all U.S. Citizens.

The Attorney Advisor will be responsible for providing legal advice principally to one of the above CHIPS R&D programs on all aspects of that program, including, for example, interpreting the CHIPS Act of 2021, the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, and other relevant statutes and authorities; drafting CHIPS R&D program operating procedures and advising on their implementation; assisting in the preparation of CHIPS R&D program materials developed for external, legislative, and governmental affairs purposes; and helping draft and negotiate agreements funded by each of those programs, including grants, cooperative agreements, or other transaction agreements.

Attorney Advisors are core members of the team providing legal advice to CHIPS R&D programs on authority, policies, procedures, and materials.

The Attorney Advisors will be responsible for:

• Advising and drafting CHIPS R&D program operating procedures and advising on their implementation;
• Advising the CHIPS R&D program on intellectual property law and technology transfer law (including but not limited to programs under the Bayh-Dole and Stevenson-Wydler Acts); and drafting and negotiating relevant agreement types, including cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs) and other transaction authority (OTA) agreements;
• Providing research and analysis on legal questions affecting key matters of policy or procedure, including in the areas of administrative law, constitutional law, legislation, regulation, and statutory interpretation;
• Assisting in the development and review of letters, presentations, and other materials developed for external, legislative, and governmental affairs purposes; and
• Helping ensure CHIPS R&D program compliance with government accountability obligations.

This Job Opportunity Announcement may be used to fill other Attorney-Advisor (Public Notice Flyer) GS-0905-15 positions within the Office of the Secretary in the same geographical location with the same qualifications and specialized experience.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
• You must successfully be able to obtain and maintain a SECRET security clearance and pass a background investigation. This may include a credit check, a review of financial issues, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use of possession of drugs.
• You must complete a 2-year trial period.
• Selective Service: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/)
• If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application.
• All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
• Drug Test Required: YES
• License required: Yes. J.D. degree and active member of the bar (any U.S. jurisdiction). BAR Certificate
• Pre-employment physical required: NO
• Bargaining Unit Position: NO
• Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE form 450): YES
• Permanent Change of Duty Station (PCS) Expense: WILL NOT be paid

Qualifications

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/

Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government.

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.

The Attorney Advisor is a full-time (GS-14 or GS-15) position. The full performance level for this position is GS-15. The position will report to the Chief Counsel for NIST. The positions are located at the NIST Gaithersburg, Maryland campus. The duties of these positions are suitable for some telework with supervisor approval.

Basic qualifications for all grade levels:

• Must be a graduate with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree or equivalent from an accredited law school; and
• You must have Active bar membership in one of the 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, or the Virgin Islands.
• At 5 years of experience practicing law and/or clerking, or
• At least 5 years of significant experience in a litigation, transactional, counseling, and/or regulatory practice that involved the development of strong research and writing skills, and exposure to exercising strategic judgment.

OCC/NIST desires a mix of government, firm, and in-house experience among its Attorney-Advisors.

The ideal candidate would have:

• Private sector (e.g., firm, in-house) intellectual property experience;
• Other Transaction Authority experience;
• Sophisticated commercial contract experience;
• Export control, national security, research security experience; or
• Semiconductor industry expertise.

Specialized Experience Requirements: To be qualified for this position, the applicant's résumé must reflect experience in a managerial capacity. Typically, experience of this nature is gained at the GS-15 grade level in the Federal service, or its equivalent with state or local government, the private sector, or nongovernmental organizations. As such, your resume must demonstrate that you have the knowledge:

GS-15 - You must have a professional law degree (LL.B. or J.D.), plus five (5) years of professional legal experience, at least one of which must be specialized experience at a level of difficulty comparable to the GS-14 level in the Federal service:

How you will be evaluated

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

Applicants will be rated based on their education, experience, demonstrated legal research and writing abilities, and performance during the interview process.

Basis for evaluation: If eligible and meeting basic qualifications, your application package will be evaluated in conjunction with your resume and supporting documents for the required knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to successfully perform the duties of this position:

• Assume multiple roles and tasks to meet changing office needs with an ability to foresee, troubleshoot, escalate and effectively resolve conflicting issues and challenges;
• Analyze, research, and present on legal questions in the areas of administrative law, constitutional law, legislation, litigation, regulation, and/or statutory interpretation, including the ability to research and analyze legal issues where no clearly applicable precedents are available or it is arguable which precedents apply;
• Assess risk in a practical and responsible manner and make well-reasoned decisions as well as to think creatively;
• Build and maintain effective working relations with clients and colleagues and to work effectively in teams;
• Maintain professional integrity and use sound judgment in handling confidential information;
• Exhibit excellent communication skills and the capacity to present both written and oral ideas clearly, concisely, and persuasively;
• Carry out assignments independently with minimal supervision; and
• Apply superior legal research and writing skills.

Please be advised that Department of Commerce Attorney positions are in the Excepted Service. As such, these positions are not covered by the usual civil service hiring procedures. You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications stated herein. We will perform an initial review of applications to determine basic eligibility. There are no numerical rating systems through which to apply veterans preference; however, the Office of the General Counsel favorably considers veterans preference eligibility in hiring. Applicants eligible for veterans' preference are encouraged to include that information in their cover letter or resume. If selected, additional information may be required.