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Interdisciplinary (General Engineer/Operations Research Analyst)

Department of Defense
Missile Defense Agency
DIRECTOR FOR TEST (DT)
This job announcement has closed

Summary


The position(s) covered by this vacancy announcement is in the Department of Defense (DoD) Acquisition Workforce Personnel Demonstration Project (AcqDemo). For more information please see: AcqDemo

This position is part of the Missile Defense Agency, Missile Defense Agency. The incumbent will be responsible for providing input to acquisition decisions based on assessment of the adequacy of test and evaluation programs and assessment of the results of tests and evaluation.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
10/09/2025 to 10/21/2025
Salary
$129,690 to - $195,200 per year
Pay scale & grade
NH 4
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Redstone Arsenal, AL
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—This position may be eligible for part time, substantial or ad-hoc telework at the discretion of management.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Secret
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
MDA-26-12811738-DH
Control number
847834300

Duties

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This is a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) solicitation utilizing the DHA for Acq Demo Business and Technical Management to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service.


As a Interdisciplinary (General Engineer/Operations Research Analyst) at the NH-0801/1515-4 some of your typical work assignments may include:

  • Serves as a senior Ground Test baseline test engineer in support of a comprehensive Missile Defense System (MDS) test program to characterize missile defense capabilities and support fielding of an integrated and effective capability to the Warfighter.
  • Lead the detailed scenario design development for all ground test events in support of data collection opportunities necessary for requirements verification and performance assessment.
  • Provide technical and managerial support in modernizing Missile Defense Agency (MDA) software tools using the latest innovative technologies in industry including implementation of Artificial Intelligence.
  • Lead Agile software development (delivering of software in small, functional increments) in planning forums and collaborate with internal MDA stakeholders and customers to define current and future Director for Test software projects.
  • Lead Scenario Design software modernization efforts and ensure agency needs are defined, efficient workflows created and realistic delivery schedules developed.
  • Support Test Management System (TMS) Ground Test product owner to ensure Ground Test requirements are incorporated into the software.
  • Manage and prioritize software infrastructure procurements that align with Director, Ground Test budget priorities.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen
  • Occasional Travel
  • 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: Occasionally
  • Tour of Duty: Flexible
  • Recruitment Incentives: Certain incentives (such as Recruitment, Relocation or Student Loan Repayment) may be authorized to eligible selectees based on agency policy and availability
  • Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): Exempt
  • Financial Disclosure: Required
  • Telework Eligibility: his position may be eligible for part time, substantial or ad-hoc telework at the discretion of management
  • Incumbent required to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance
  • Pre-employment urinalysis testing and random testing required
  • This is an acquisition position coded Practitioner in Test and Evaluation. Incumbent must obtain mandatory Back to Basics (BtB) certification within 60 months of entry into position
  • Incumbent must acquire 80 Continuous Learning Points every 24 months

Qualifications

You may qualify at the NH-04, if you fulfill the following qualifications:

A. One year of specialized experience equivalent to the NH-03/GS-13 grade level in the Federal service in at least 2 of the specialized experiences as listed below:

  • Assisting organization in management of missile defense engineering test programs of complex weapon systems.
  • Consulting on missile defense weapon systems testing, subĀ­ systems, and components.
  • Advising on the integration of missile defense weapon systems.
  • Reviewing test concepts, policies, and standards of missile defense system ground tests.
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 as listed below:

Individual Occupational Requirements for the 0801 series:


A. 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

B. 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:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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 under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A.

4. 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.)

NOTE: Applicants claiming eligibility under the related curriculum paragraph (4) must provide ONE of the two following documents: (a) Letter signed by the professional engineer who supervised the applicant's training plan. The letter must include the starting date and completion date of applicant's training plan and the courses, experience, and/or education completed during the training agreement; OR (b) Letter signed by a professional engineer who supervised the applicant's professional engineering work experience. The letter must include the name of the Company/Agency, dates of employment, and a description of the professional engineering duties.

For the 1515 series:

Degree: in operations research; or at least 24 semester hours in a combination of operations research, mathematics, probability, statistics, mathematical logic, science, or subject-matter courses requiring substantial competence in college-level mathematics or statistics. At least 3 of the 24 semester hours must have been in calculus.

Evaluation of Education: The primary requirement of operations research work is competence in the rigorous methods of scientific inquiry and analysis rather than in the subject matter of the problem. Therefore, applicants should have sufficient knowledge of applied mathematics to understand and use the fundamental concepts and techniques of operations research methods of analysis. In addition, some positions may require knowledge of a specific subject area.

Courses acceptable for qualifying for operations research positions may have been taken in departments other than Operations Research, e.g., Engineering (usually Industrial Engineering), Science, Economics, Mathematics, Statistics, or Management Science.

The following are illustrative of acceptable courses: optimization; mathematical modeling; queuing theory; engineering; physics (except descriptive or survey courses); econometrics; psychometrics; biometrics; experimental psychology; physical chemistry; industrial process analysis; managerial economics; computer science; measurement for management; mathematical models in social phenomena; and courses that involved application of operations research techniques and methodologies to problems of management, marketing, systems design, and other specialized fields; or other comparable quantitative analysis courses for which college-level mathematics or statistics is a prerequisite. Courses in theory of probability and statistics are highly desirable, but are not specified as minimum educational requirements because to do so would possibly exclude some applicants who would otherwise be well qualified.

Education

NOTE: Failure to provide transcripts will result in you being rated ineligible for this position.

All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement. Substitution of education may not be used in lieu of specialized experience for this grade level.


ARE YOU USING YOUR EDUCATION TO QUALIFY?ARE YOU USING YOUR EDUCATION TO QUALIFY? You MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) unofficial transcripts are acceptable at time of application, or (2) If you are serviced by the office filling this position and your transcripts are on file in your official personnel folder, you are not required to submit. However, it is your responsibility to ensure transcripts are on file. 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: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Additional information


Other Notes:

ACQUISITION POSITION: This position requires Acquisition Workforce Level Practitioner Certification prior to hiring is not essential but must be accomplished within 24 months after entry into this position.


  • DAWIA (Back to Basics) Certification: NON-CAP: Position requires DoD Acquisition Test & Evaluation certification within required timeframes. Selectee must also achieve 80 hours of Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) every 2-years.
  • Click here for more details and Resources.
ACQUISITION POSITION: This position requires a Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) Test & Evaluation, Practitioner level. Certification prior to hiring is not essential but must be accomplished within 60 months after entry into this position.

For information regarding the DAWIA Back to Basics please visit: Home (dau.edu) or Back to Basics - Helpful Resources (dau.edu)


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.


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))

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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.

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

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