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DISTINGUISHED ENGINEER/SCIENTIST CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

Department of the Navy
Naval Sea Systems Command

Summary

You will serve as Distinguished Engineer/Scientist Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and the principal technical advisor to the Division's Commanding Officer and Technical Director of NAVSURFWARFCTR PANAMA CITY DIVISION.

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

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
01/30/2026 to 02/13/2026
Salary
$170,138 to - $209,600 per year
Pay scale & grade
ND 6
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Panama City Naval Surface Warfare Center, FL
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—This position is eligible for ad-hoc/situational telework at the discretion of management.
Travel Required
25% or less - 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
None
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Sensitive Compartmented Information
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Critical-Sensitive (CS)/High Risk
Trust determination process
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-12872998-26-MCJ
Control number
855829600

Duties

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  • You will provide strategic direction for naval warfare areas, particularly littoral operations, by leveraging industry associations, professional societies, and Fleet/SYSCOM Communities of Practice.
  • You will regularly brief Flag and Senior Executive leadership within the DoD, Navy, and Marine Corps, using white papers and presentations to advocate for technical concepts and proposals aligned with the Warfare Center's mission.
  • You will provide direction and oversight of technical work, actively participate in concept development, experimentation, demonstrations, and rigorous technical reviews and assessments related to littoral warfare.
  • You will integrate research concepts to address complex technical gaps; analyze and assess promising technologies for viability and maturity to meet future Navy requirements.
  • You will conduct laboratory and at-sea experimentation to quantify technology readiness and payoff; and providing subject matter expert technical assessments.
  • You will serve in the Nation's premier organization for the Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT and E) and in-service support of systems critical to operations in coastal (littoral) regions.

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 War (DoW), 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 complete ethics orientation within three months of appointment and submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, OGE-450, within 30 days of appointment.
  • You will be required to obtain and maintain an interim and/or final Top Secret-SCI 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, work role code 661 , proficiency level intermediate the incumbent is required to obtain and maintain qualifications in DoDM 8140.03 Cyber Workforce Qualification and Department of Navy 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 is a designated Critical Acquisition Position (CAP). You must sign a three-year tenure agreement prior to assuming the position unless a tenure waiver is approved.
  • 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.
  • Supervisors in the executive branch have a heightened personal responsibility for advancing government ethics. You will be required to review the 14 General Principles of Ethical Conduct at 5 CFR 2635.101.

Qualifications

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. Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion, or national origin.

To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, your resume must show that you possess the Technical Qualifications (TQ) related to this position - NOT TO EXCEED 2 PAGES. Resumes over the 2-page limit will be disqualified. Your resume should include examples of experience, education, and accomplishments applicable to the qualification(s). If your resume does not reflect demonstrated evidence of these qualifications, you may not receive consideration for the position.

TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS (TQs): Your resume should demonstrate accomplishments that would satisfy the technical qualifications:

TQ#1. Deep Expertise in Naval Weapons and Combat Systems: The candidate must possess a thorough understanding of the research, development, and underlying scientific and engineering principles of naval weapons and combat systems in the littoral mission areas. This includes demonstrated expertise in the design, testing, and integration of these systems within a naval context.

TQ#2. Principal Scientific Advisor on Emerging and Disruptive Technologies: The candidate must have experience serving as the principal scientific advisor to senior leadership on emerging and disruptive technologies. This role involves providing strategic insights into the potential impact of these technologies on military readiness and national defense. The candidate must be capable of identifying, assessing, and developing strategic plans to incorporate promising technologies into high-priority national defense initiatives. Proven experience in shaping technology adoption strategies at the organizational level is required.

Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website:
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=GS-PROF
AND

All Professional Engineering series, 08XX
General Physical Science series, 1301
Physics Series, 1310
Operation Research Series, 1515
Mathematics Series, 1520
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.

Education

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

For 0801 Professional Engineering Series:
A. Degree: Engineering. Successful completion of a bachelor's or higher engineering degree from an accredited college or university. 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. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position.
-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:
(I) 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; or
(II) Written Test -- 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; or
(III) 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; or
(IV) 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.)

For 1301-General Physical Science Series A degree 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 Combination of education and experience -- education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education; OR

For 1310-Physics Series: A degree in physics; or related degree that included at least 24 semester hours in physics; or
Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major in physics totaling at least 24 semester hours, plus appropriate experience or additional education; OR
For 1515-Operations Research Series: A 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; OR

For 1520-Mathematics Series: A degree in mathematics; or the equivalent of a major that included at least 24 semester hours in mathematics or A combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major in mathematics (including at least 24 semester hours in mathematics), as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education; OR

For 1550-Computer Science Series: A degree in computer science or bachelor's degree with 30 semester hours in a combination of mathematics, statistics, and computer science. At least 15 of the 30 semester hours must have included any combination of statistics and mathematics that included differential and integral calculus. All academic degrees and course work must be from accredited or pre-accredited institutions.

An advanced degree of Master's or Ph.D. in one of the educational fields listed above is highly desirable.

Additional information

Senior Scientific Technical Manager (SSTM) positions are positions which exceed the ND-05 (GS-15 equivalent). SSTMs provide a continuity of technical leadership and oversight that is needed to ensure long term stewardship of an organization's technical capabilities. Typically, applicants for SSTM positions are expected to have a graduate degree, significant research or development experience, and a national or international reputation in his/her field and are recognized throughout the applicable community as a renowned expert. SSTM positions are in the competitive service.

This position is not covered by the Department of War 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.

Federal annuitant information: The selection of an annuitant is subject to the Department of War 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

There are three key documents that contain important information about your rights and obligations. Please read and retain these documents:

- Noncriminal Justice Applicant's Privacy Rights, for those who undergo an FBI fingerprint-based criminal history record check for personnel vetting, which includes Rap Back,

- FD-258 Privacy Act Statement - FBI (this is the same statement used when your fingerprints are submitted as part of your background investigation), and

- SEAD-3-Reporting-U.pdf (dni.gov), (applicable to those who hold a sensitive position or have eligibility for access to classified information)

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy Statement: http://www.eeoc.gov/federal/index.cfm

Employment Information Resources - Resource Center: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to

Males born after 12-31-1959 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/RegVer/wfRegistration.aspx)

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.

Once the application process is complete, a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be conducted. If you meet minimum qualifications, your Application Package will be further reviewed to determine if you possess the Technical Qualifications (TQ) listed above. TQs must be thoroughly addressed within your two (2) page resume. Separate narratives will not be accepted or reviewed. Highly Qualified applicants may undergo one or more interviews and may be referred to the selecting official for further consideration. Additional documentation may be required in the interview/assessment process.

The Ad-hoc Executive Resources Board (AERB) will review results and make recommendations on final selections to the approving authority.

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, you may be found ineligible/not qualified.

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

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

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