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General Engineer

Department of Defense
Missile Defense Agency
Directorate for Engineering
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 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

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
10/23/2025 to 11/03/2025
Salary
$142,488 to - $195,200 per year

Position (includes 33.94% locality), unless statutory/regulatory rates prevail

Pay scale & grade
NH 4
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Dahlgren, VA
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
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Top Secret
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Special-Sensitive (SS)/High Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
MDA-26-12818539-DH
Control number
848659800

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

All U.S. Citizens

Duties

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As a General Engineer at the NH-0801-4 some of your typical work assignments may include:

  • Engage in concept planning; design and development; integration, testing and verification at the Missile Defense System (MDS) system, element or component level.
  • Advise on technical, acquisition and operational issues related to technical performance requirements, systems engineering, financial management, and performance trades among program elements.
  • Support engineering studies to support the development and testing of systems or components.
  • Work in engineering specialty areas which include but are not limited to systems architecture, systems engineering, modeling & simulation, radars, command and control, missiles, targets, kill vehicles, space vehicles, directed energy, discrimination, or hyper sonics.
  • Identify and resolve highly complex problems crossing organizational boundaries and promulgate solutions.
  • In cooperation with coworkers, identify needs of internal and external customers and address their concerns.
  • Develop and present technical briefings and reports to Flag Officers/Senior Executives.

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: Flex
  • Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
  • Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): Exempt
  • Financial Disclosure: Required
  • Telework Eligibility: This position is situational telework eligible
  • Certain incentives (such as Recruitment, Relocation or Student Loan Repayment) may be authorized to eligible selectees based on agency policy and availability.
  • This position may be eligible for part-time or situational telework at the discretion of management.
  • Must obtain/maintain Special Sensitive/ Top Secret security (SCI) clearance.
  • This is an acquisition position coded Practitioner in Engineering and Technical Management. Must obtain mandatory Back-to-Basics (BtB) certification within 60 months of entry into position.
  • Must acquire 80 Continuous Learning Points every 24 months.
  • This is a drug testing designated position.
  • This is a Critical Acquisition Position. Incumbent will be required to sign a written tenure agreement to remain, for a minimum of three years, in the Federal Service in the Critical Acquisition Position.

Qualifications

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

One year of specialized experience equivalent to the NH-03/GS-13 grade level in the Federal service as listed below.
Applicants are required to meet 3 of 4 statements in order to be qualified:

  • Experience applying Department of Defense/Service acquisition policies on complex defense systems.
  • Experience in the field of systems engineering in one or more of the following key specialty areas: systems architecture, systems engineering, modeling & simulation, radars, command & control, missiles, targets, kill vehicles, space vehicles, directed energy, discrimination, or hypersonics.
  • Experience leading technical workforce in developing system, sub-system and lower level functional and performance requirements and interfaces.
  • Experience with Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) systems, including planning, execution, and analysis of test events, contributing to enhanced capabilities for intercepting and neutralizing ballistic missile threats.
In addition to meeting qualifications, your application package must reflect the applicable experience to meet the Individual Occupational Requirements for the 0801, series as listed below:

This position has a Basic Requirement for the 0801 series: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf

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), 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.


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

Education

Substitution of education may not be used in lieu of specialized experience for this grade level.

All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement.


Additional information

Other Notes:

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


  • DAWIA (Back to Basics) Certification: CAP: Position requires DoD Acquisition Engineering and Technical Management, Practitioner 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.
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

Appointment of Military Spouses (5 CFR 315.612) (NonComp Mil Sp): To receive this preference, you must choose to apply using the " Appointment of Military Spouses (5 CFR 315.612) (NonComp Mil Sp)" eligibility. If you are claiming Military Spouse eligibility and are determined to be Well Qualified (score of 85 or above) for the position, you will be referred to the hiring manager. Information and required documentation for claiming Military Spouse eligibility may be found at the General Applicant Information and Definitions link below.

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