Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

Chief Research Officer

Department of Energy
Department of Energy - Agency Wide
National Energy Technology Laboratory
This job announcement has closed

Summary

The Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management - National Energy Technology Laboratory is looking for a dynamic, innovative, seasoned executive to lead scientific and technical planning efforts including the NETL strategic plan, the NETL Laboratory Plan, and other strategy documents. The incumbent works with leadership in NETL's Research and Innovation Center to identify future S&T competencies and capabilities required to ensure mission-readiness.

Overview

Help
Job canceled
Open & closing dates
01/20/2025 to 01/22/2025
Salary
$197,542 to - $225,700 per year
Pay scale & grade
ES 00
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Albany, OR
Pittsburgh, PA
Morgantown, WV
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Senior Executive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Q Access Authorization
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
High Risk (HR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
25-FE-ES-00512-1267125-SES
Control number
828821500

Duties

Help

The Chief Research Officer (CRO) provides strategic leadership for NETL's Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program, and the CRO office is responsible for LDRD program implementation. The incumbent also manages NETL's strategic partnership efforts to accelerate progress towards S&T goals, including development of strategic and engagement plans for partnerships with industry, universities, other national labs, and global, federal, state, and local partners. As part of the university strategy, the CRO works with the NETL career management organization on strategy and goals for student interns, post-graduate, and post-doctoral staff. The CRO is responsible for implementing a robust Research Integrity Program at NETL and for strategic decisions regarding Research Security. Finally, the CRO serves as NETL's representative to the National Laboratory Chief Research Officer organization and works to integrate NETL and its capabilities into the overall DOE national laboratory system.

As the Chief Research Officer you will:

  • Direct organizational activities and frame strategic plans based on broad organizational assessments and evaluations of long-term organizational objectives.
  • Oversee and direct the internal organization, staffing, policies, and personnel authorities required to carry out the responsibilities of
    the organization, including the recruitment of senior managers and technical experts necessary to ensure the success of the programs.
  • Provide direction and counsel to effect proper balancing between basic and applied research and development and between contractor and in-house activities that enables an effective R&D portfolio, while also meeting the strategic objectives of the Laboratory.
  • Manage the development and implementation of strategic partnership efforts to accelerate progress towards S&T goals, including development of integrated strategic and engagement plans for partnerships with industry, universities, other national laboratories, and global, federal, state, and local partners.
  • Support the NETL Director in budgetary planning activities and keeps program scope consistent with available funds and capabilities.
  • Review resource utilization in relation to requirements, identifies and eliminates marginal activities, evaluates adequacy of lab operations, facilitates contractual efforts to effectively supplement/support in-house efforts, and redirects programs as required by technical advancements and changes in DOE goals and priorities.
  • Lead a diverse organization of multi-disciplined scientists and engineers and associated administrative personnel.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

PRE-HIRING REQUIREMENTS: This is a permanent position in the SES. Unless you are already a member of the SES with career status or are a graduate of an Office of Personnel Management (OPM) certified SES Candidate Development Program, your executive qualifications must be approved by OPM before you can be hired. If you are selected, you will be required to prepare your executive core qualification (ECQ) narrative for OPM submission.
CITIZENSHIP: You must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: You must pass a background investigation.
PUBLIC FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORT (OGE 278): If you are selected for this position, you will be required to file this report prior to entry on duty in accordance with the Ethics of Government Act of 1978.
SECURITY CLEARANCE: You must be able to obtain and maintain a DOE Q-level security clearance
DRUG TESTING: As a condition of appointment to this position, if you are selected, you will be required to pass a drug test. If you fail to take the test or fail the test, you will no longer be considered for the job.
PROBATIONARY PERIOD: You must complete a one-year SES probationary period.
SELECTIVE SERVICE: If you are a male born after December 31,1959, you must be registered with the Selective Service registration. To learn more about this law, visit the Selective Service web page, Who Must Register.
MOBILITY: A mobility agreement may be required based on mission needs.
E-VERIFY: New employees will be required to pass the employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify.

Qualifications

Your resume must describe your executive core qualifications (ECQs) and experience, technical qualifications and give a synopsis of your accomplishments.Do not include a separate ECQ narrative. Additionally, Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs) listed later in this section below must be addressed in a separate document.

EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS: The five ECQs described below were designed to assess executive-level experiences and potential not technical expertise. They measure whether you have the broad executive skills needed to succeed in a variety of SES positions.

1: Leading Change: Ability to bring about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals and establish an organizational vision and to implement it in a continuously changing environment.
2: Leading People: Ability to lead people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals and provide an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts.
3: Results Driven: Ability to meet organizational goals and customer expectations and make decisions that produce high-quality results by applying technical knowledge, analyzing problems, and calculating risks.
4: Business Acumen: Ability to manage human, financial, and information resources strategically.
5: Building Coalitions: Ability to build coalitions internally and with other Federal agencies, State and local governments, nonprofit and private sector organizations, foreign governments, or international organizations to achieve common goals.

MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS (MTQs): As part of your application package, aseparate document must be uploaded addressing each MTQ listed below. No more than one page per MTQ is allowed; additional information will not be considered. MTQs must provide specific examples that address relevant experience and accomplishments. Your leadership and management skills must be addressed in the MTQs listed below.

Failure to submit a document addressing each MTQ will result in your application to be deemed incomplete and not be considered.


MTQ 1: Demonstrated executive experience providing strategic leadership, direction, and oversight to a complex, large-scale organization to include framing strategic plans; evaluating long-term objectives; establishing internal controls standard for effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity; creating organizational policies; and assessing organizational performance.

MTQ 2: Demonstrated executive experience in developing and leading innovative approaches that result in increased capabilities and impact, including development of a healthy research culture, for a large research and development organization.

MTQ 3: Demonstrated executive experience with and broad knowledge of research and development leadership and management, including development and management of effective R&D portfolios, research integrity, research security, research partnerships and other R&D enterprise elements, particularly related to the Department of Energy missions.

Education

Basic Education Requirement for the 0801 Series:

Degree: 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.

OR

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:

Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT)1, or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.

Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)2 examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

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 section above. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described above.

Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, 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. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all inclusive.)

Basic Education Requirement for the 1301 Series

Degree: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics.

OR

Combination of education and experience -- education equivalent to one of the majors shown in above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

You must provide a copy of your unofficial transcript(s). Be sure to include those transcripts directly applicable for meeting the education requirements. Failure to provide proof of education will result in non-consideration for this position. Official transcripts will be required prior to entrance-on-duty for individuals selected.Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see Department of Education.

Additional information

The U.S. Department of Energy fosters a diverse and inclusive workplace and is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Telework: Your position may be eligible for workplace flexibilities which may include remote work or telework options, and/or flexible work scheduling. These flexibilities may be requested in accordance with the DOE Workplace Flexibilities policy.

OF-306: You may be required to complete an OF-306, "Declaration for Federal Employment" form used to (a) determine your suitability for Federal Employment and/or (b) in conducting an investigation to determine your suitability or ability to hold a security clearance.

Applications contain information subject to the Privacy Act (PL 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.

The Fair Chance Act prohibits specific inquiries concerning an applicant's criminal or credit background unless the hiring agency has made a conditional offer of employment to the applicant. An applicant may submit a complaint to the agency within 30 calendar days of the date of alleged non-compliance by completing the Fair Chance Act Intake Form and submitting it to the Administrative Investigations Program at AdministrativeInvestigations@hq.doe.gov.

The selecting official may need to consult Departmental ethics counsel to determine whether any of your former or current employers, affiliations, or financial holdings conflict with your ability to perform the duties of this position. If necessary, ethics counsel will work with you and the hiring office regarding potential mitigation strategies, if available.

Hiring incentives may be authorized in accordance with agency policy and if funding is available.

This is a non-bargaining unit position.

How you will be evaluated

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

Veteran's Preference does not apply to the Senior Executive service (SES).

You will be evaluated on the quality and extent of your total accomplishments, experience, and education (if applicable). Your application will be rated and ranked by an Executive Resources Board (ERB) Panel, comprised of at least three SES members, using only the information submitted within the application package. If your application does not demonstrate sufficient possession of the ECQs and MTQs, you will be determined ineligible for further consideration. In order to be eligible, you must demonstrate that you have depth and breadth of experience to successfully perform the duties of the job.

As part of the Resume Based recruitment method, the ERB Panel conducts a structured interview for all applicants who are determined to be in the top category from the ERB Rating Panel. Based on the Panel's evaluation, applicants who are determined Best Qualified will be referred to the selecting official for further consideration and possible second interview. Persons tentatively selected for appointment to SES positions must prepare their ECQ package for OPM's Quality Review Board (QRB) certification. The QRB review and certification is the last critical step in the SES selection process, and all SES candidates must have their executive qualifications certified by a QRB before being appointed as career members of the SES.

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.