Clarification from the agency

This public notice is to gather applications that may or may not result in selection.

• Serves as a ground and/or airborne test engineer, with responsibilities to include test planning, conducting and reporting on various types of ground, air-to-air and/or air-to-ground test programs.
• Plans and carries out the collection and analysis of information, data, and standards used by the assigned organization to perform test engineering tasks.
• Carries out special projects designed to facilitate full use of the incumbents training and development.
• Keeps abreast of emerging technologies and professional developments to maintain currency in the field and for application to work assignments.

Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship is required
• Males must be registered for Selective Service, see Legal and Regulatory Guidance
• This posn is subject to provisions of the DoD Priority Placement Program
• For more information on Acq Demo please go to DoD AcqDemo Homepage http://acqdemo.hci.mil/ and Fact Sheet http://acqdemo.hci.mil/faq.html
• Relocation costs or other incentives may be available and considered by the organization.
• Selectee is expected to be granted with and/or maintain the appropriate security clearance required for the position.
• Employee must maintain current certifications
• Employee may be required to work other than normal duty hours, to include evenings, weekends and/or holidays
• Shift work and emergency overtime may be required
• Disclosure of Political Appointments
• All federal employees are required to have direct deposit.
• This announcement may result in a 120-day register that may be used to fill like vacancies for 120 days after the closing date. Applicants may be referred for consideration as vacancies occur.
• Depending on the type of position (competitive/excepted) you are selected for, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period.
• Upon completion of your probationary/trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
• This is an acquisition coded position. Selectee must complete required certification level 2-Practitioner in T-Test and Evaluation within 24 months of assignment.
• Work may occasionally require travel away from the normal duty station on military or commercial aircraft.
• The work may require the employee to drive a motor vehicle. An appropriate, valid driver's license may be required for the position.

Qualifications

Experience requirements are described in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions, Professional Engineer Positions.

BASIC REQUIREMENT OR INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT:
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: (Click here for detailed explanation of each of these items)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.)

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must have at least 1 year (52 weeks) of specialized experience at the next lower broadband NH-02, equivalent to the next lower grade GS-11 or equivalent in other pay systems. Specialized experience includes mastery of advanced professional systems engineering concepts, principles, practices, standards, methods, techniques, materials, and equipment to effectively apply advanced engineering theories, principles, and concepts to development, execution, and advisory services. NOTE: Due to the use of 120-day rosters, this period of experience may be completed within 120 days of the closing date of this announcement.

Ideal Candidate:
-Solid foundation in aerospace, mechanical, or electrical engineering coupled with direct experience in autonomous systems, flight controllers (e.g., Pixhawk/ArduPilot), and RF data links.
-Proficient in translating complex mission requirements into structured test plans, executing rigorous Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) and Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) testing, and analyzing telemetry data using MATLAB/Python.
-Comfortable working out in the field to execute UAS flight test. Experience coordinating with remote pilots, managing ground control stations (GCS), and ensuring compliance with regulatory frameworks (e.g., FAA Part 107 or military equivalents).

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:
1. Knowledge of professional engineering concepts, principles, practices, standards, methods, techniques, and equipment to effectively apply engineering theories, principles, and concepts to project development and execution.
2. Knowledge of aircraft, ground systems, and support equipment sufficient to plan, design, test, troubleshoot, evaluate, and oversee the development and/or sustainment of aircraft systems, components and subsystems.
3. Knowledge of the principles of planning and program management; standard acquisition regulations, practices, and procedures; and other engineering disciplines.
4. Skill in preparing design concepts, formulating working drawings, expressing proposals, and establishing requirements for technical objectives and characteristics.
5. Ability to communicate clearly, concisely, and with technical accuracy, both orally and in writing, as well as work in a professional manner with peers, management, contractors, academia, and other agencies.
6. Ability to prepare design concepts, convey ideas, and formulate working drawings using computer aided design and drafting programs, and/or project management/scheduling software programs.

PART-TIME OR UNPAID EXPERIENCE: Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid and or part-time work. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week.

VOLUNTEER WORK EXPERIENCE: Refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service Programs (i.e., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student and social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge and skills that can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine your eligibility, qualifications, and quality ranking for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

Your responses to the questionnaire may be compared to the documents you submit. The documents you submit must support your responses to the online questionnaire. If your application contradicts or does not support your questionnaire responses, you will receive a rating of "not qualified" or "insufficient information" and you will not receive further consideration for this job.

Applicants who disqualify themselves will not be evaluated further.

APPRAISALS/AWARDS: Hiring Managers use objective methods and consider previous performance appraisals and awards in the selection process. Current Federal Civilian employees should list any relevant performance related rating and/or awards in your resume.