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

ENGINEER/SCIENTIST Unmanned Surface Vessel Lead Mission Autonomy Software Developer

Department of the Navy
Naval Sea Systems Command

Summary

This is a public notice flyer to notify interested applicants of anticipated vacancies. Applications will not be accepted through this flyer. Interested applicants must follow the directions in the "How to Apply" section of this flyer to be considered. There may or may not be actual vacancies filled from this flyer. Notice of Result letters will not be sent to applicants who respond to this flyer.

Overview

Help
Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
12/18/2025 to 03/23/2026
Salary
$101,401 to - $156,755 per year
Pay scale & grade
ND 4
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Dahlgren, VA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—This position is eligible for ad-hoc/situational 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
4
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Secret
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
DE-12855075-26-JRT
Control number
852781900

This job is open to

Help

Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens.

Duties

Help
  • You will gain an understanding of the sponsor's environment and aid in meeting milestone goals during development in support of their mission.
  • You will understand and translate real-world needs into technical specifications, providing the sponsor the ability to deliver focused engineering solutions that deliver deployable technologies.
  • You will communicate across the team and with the team lead to support software and interface development.
  • You will design software architecture, enforce coding standards, and solve complex technical issues.
  • You will mentor developers, delegate tasks, and foster collaboration.
  • You will collaborate with other competencies, such as QA, DevOps, Systems Engineering, and UX/UI, to ensure seamless integration of software components.
  • You will identify and implement improvements to the development process for efficiency and quality.
  • You will contribute to the full software development life cycle, from requirements analysis to design, implementation, testing, and deployment.
  • You will write clean, efficient, and maintainable code while adhering to coding standards and best practices.
  • You will develop high-quality, maintainable, and efficient code while adhering to coding standards and best practices.
  • You will contribute to the development of software architecture, ensuring scalability, modularity, and extensibility.
  • You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate Al/ML components into software applications and systems.
  • You will conduct thorough performance analysis and implement optimizations to meet specified performance goals and support certification and fielding of Al/ML Testing tools.
  • You will collaborate with data scientists, software engineers, and product managers to understand project requirements and deliver high-quality solutions.
  • You will document code, algorithms, and processes to facilitate knowledge sharing and maintain comprehensive project documentation.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • Must be a US Citizen.
  • Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
  • Must participate in the direct deposit pay program.
  • New employees to the Department of the Navy will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov
  • Within the Department of Defense (DoD), the appointment of retired military members within 180 days immediately following retirement date to a civilian position is subject to the provisions of 5 United States Code 3326.
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
  • You will be required to obtain and maintain an interim and/or final security clearance prior to entrance on duty. Failure to obtain and maintain the required level of clearance may result in the withdrawal of a job offer or removal.
  • This is a Cyberspace Workforce position for the 1550 series, work role code Software Developer, proficiency level Intermediate, the incumbent is required to obtain and maintain qualifications in DoDM 8140.03 CW Qualification and DON policies.
  • This position is covered under the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA). Certification in the Acquisition Functional Area and category assigned to the position is required within established category timeframes.
  • This position may require travel from normal duty station to CONUS and OCONUS and may include remote or isolated sites. You must be able to travel on military and commercial aircraft for extended periods of time.

Qualifications

Your resume must also demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the next lower pay band, ND-03 (GS 09/11 equivalency), in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following: As a computer scientist with experience in software development and software architectures.

Examples of qualifying experience may include:

  • Significant experience as a Software Developer (5-8 + years).
  • Experience with networking concepts and transport layers: TCP/UDP, DDS, Protobufs.
  • Expertise in Python and Java with a familiarity with C++, bash, and Kotlin.
  • Strong understanding with pub/sub message architectures.
  • Experience with building modular interfaces, software containerization, and microservices.
  • Strong understanding of data structures, algorithms, and design patterns.
  • Proven ability to design scalable, maintainable, and secure software architectures.
  • Proficiency with DevOps principles and practices and CI/CD tools.
  • Familiarity with Windows and Linux operating systems.

Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website:

General Engineering Series, 0801
Computer Science Series, 1550

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (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.

Additional information

This position is covered by the Department of Defense Priority Placement Program.

Several vacancies may be filled.

A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if the selectee fails to meet the pre-employment requirements, including failure to report to any of the scheduled appointments.

Federal annuitant information: The selection of an annuitant is subject to the Department of Defense and Department of the Navy policy on the employment of annuitants. Policy information may be found at: http://www.secnav.navy.mil/donhr/Documents/CivilianJobs/FedCivAnnuitants.pdf.

Veteran's preference does not apply when selecting individuals under this specific hiring authority. However, if you claim veteran's preference, you will be required to submit supporting documentation with your application as described in the Required Documents section below.

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.

In order to qualify for this position, your resume must provide sufficient experience and/or education, knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are being considered. Resumes are restricted to no more than 2 pages. Illegible/unreadable resumes will not be considered. Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities as they relate to this position. Therefore, we encourage you to be clear and specific when describing your experience.

As vacancies occur, the Human Resources Office will review your resume to ensure you meet the hiring eligibility and qualification requirements listed in this flyer. You will be rated based on the information provided in your resume, along with your supporting documentation.

If selected, you may be required to provide additional supporting documentation.

If after reviewing your resume and supporting documentation, a determination is made that you inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may be found ineligible/not qualified.

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

All qualification requirements must be met before being considered for any vacancies.

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.