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PROGRAM MANAGER

Department of the Navy
Naval Sea Systems Command
Naval Surface Warfare Indian Head

Summary

You will serve as a PROGRAM MANAGER in the Corporate Operations Department (10) of NAVSURFWARCEN IH DIV located in Indian Head, MD or Picatinny, NJ.

This position is part of the Warfare Centers Personnel Demonstration Project. The ND-05 pay band encompasses positions equivalent to GS-14 and GS-15.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
12/18/2025 to 12/31/2025
Salary
$142,488 to - $195,200 per year

ND-05 Indian Head, MD: $142,488 - $195,200; ND-05 Picatinny, NJ: $146,754 - $195,200

Pay scale & grade
ND 5
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Indian Head, MD
Picatinny Arsenal, NJ
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
Yes—Relocation incentives as described in 5 USC 5753 may be authorized in accordance with applicable regulations. PCS is not authorized.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
5
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Sensitive Compartmented Information
Drug test
Yes
Financial disclosure
Yes - You will be required to complete ethics orientation within three months of appointment and submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, OGE-450, within 30 days of appointment.
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
ST-12854864-26-LJD
Control number
852808900

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Duties

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  • You will serve as Program Manager for Naval Energetic Systems and Technologies (NEST) Other Transaction Agreement (OTA); to oversee and manage technologists and ensure they meet National Defense needs.
  • You will manage collaboration of Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head Division (NSWC IHD) technical departments with internal and external customers to sustain the NEST OTA Program.
  • You will manage the Command's Strategic Plan with a focus on increasing the number of Energetic Prototypes available systems or transitioned Department of War (DoW) fielded systems.
  • You will plan, evaluate, direct, and execute projects across the program area(s), formulate policy, advise, develop concepts and strategies to achieve and maintain cost, schedule, and performance criteria.
  • You will obtain resources for future needs; solve controversial issues; and manage relationships between Government agencies, Consortium Management Firm (CMF) and Consortium Members.
  • You will facilitate negotiation of agreement/prototyping project terms and identify Prototype Project funding opportunities.

Requirements

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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.
  • Successful completion of a pre-employment drug test (including marijuana) is required. A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if you fail to report to the drug test appointment or fail the test. You will be subject to random testing.
  • 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.
  • MSP/PPP applicants must currently hold the required security clearance.

Qualifications

In addition to basic education requirements, your resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the next lower band, ND-04 (GS-12/13 equivalent grade level) or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following: as a professional engineer or scientist, providing programmatic or technical leadership to plan and execute projects involving development, transition, or integration of energetic system prototypes for science and technology programs.

Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website:
Professional Engineering Series, 0801, IOR: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=List-by-Occupational-Series AND https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf

General Physical Science Series, 1301 IOR: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1300/general-physical-science-series-1301/

The Secretary of Defense has ordered a department-wide hiring freeze subject to certain limited exceptions. This position is subject to the DoD hiring freeze. Offers of employment related to this vacancy announcement will not be executed until the position has an approved exemption.

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.

Education

Applicants must meet the following basic education requirements of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualifications Standards Manual:

FOR 0801:Successful completion of a professional engineering degree. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree (or higher) in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (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. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position.

OR

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 more information about EI and EIT registration requirements, please visit the National Society of Professional Engineers website at: http://www.nspe.org

OR

Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) 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 The FE examination is not administered by the U. S. Office of Personnel Management. For more information, please visit: http://www.nspe.org/Licensure/HowtoGetLicensed/index.html.

OR

Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and in engineering that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A (above). The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A (above)

OR

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 one 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.

FOR 1301:

A. Successful completion of a bachelor's degree or higher in 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

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

Additional information

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

Additional vacancies may be filled by this announcement.

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.

During the application process you will have the ability to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions in the local commuting area. Depending on the hiring organization and the position being filled, job requirements (e.g., security clearance, travel, drug testing, financial disclosure filing, bargaining unit status, etc.) may vary. Other hiring managers filling similar positions may offer relocation expense reimbursement and/or may offer recruitment incentives for new employees, depending on funding availability and in accordance with policy. If you opt-in and are referred on a certificate, your resume will be available to other hiring managers for 180-days from the date the job announcement closes. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

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

PPP applicants will be placed at the FPL, if determined Well Qualified (WQ). To receive priority consideration, the FPL must be the same grade level or equivalent of the retained grade or the grade held immediately prior to separation.

ICTAP Applicants: To be considered well-qualified and exercise selection priority as an ICTAP candidate, displaced Federal employees must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a rating in the highly qualified category (score 85) or higher. ICTAP candidates must provide copies of all of the following documentation at the time of application: 1) agency notice; 2) most recent performance appraisal; and 3) most recent SF-50 or notification of personnel action that includes position, grade level, and duty location. Applicants who do not provide this documentation will not receive consideration as an ICTAP candidate. For more information about ICTAP eligibility please review the following link: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/federal-employees/career-transition/

Military Spouse Preference applicants will be placed at the highest grade for which they have applied and are determined Best Qualified (BQ). A BQ military spouse possesses knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies comparable to others who meet the competitive referral criteria for the specific position.

Certain incentives (such as Recruitment, Relocation or Student Loan Repayment) may be authorized to eligible selectees.

A relocation incentive is generally a single payment intended to offset some of the relocation costs experienced by the selectee. A relocation incentive may be authorized.

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.

When the application process is complete, we will review your resume to ensure you meet the hiring eligibility and qualification requirements listed in this announcement. You will be rated based on the information provided in your resume and application package, along with your supporting documentation to determine your ability to demonstrate the following competencies:



INFLUENCING/NEGOTIATING
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
ORAL COMMUNICATION
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
STRATEGIC THINKING

This recruitment will utilize the following technical assessment tools: Structured Resume Review and Structured Interview.

You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.

If after reviewing your resume and supporting documentation, a determination is made that you inflated your qualifications and/or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities or you may be found ineligible/not qualified.

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

All eligibility, qualifications, and requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

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