Clarification from the agency

This position is being advertised under Direct-Hire Authority. Under this authority, competitive rating, ranking and veterans' preference procedures do not apply.

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As an Electronics Engineer, you will perform the following duties:

At the ZP-3 level:

• Independently develop and carry out radiofrequency experiments, systems, and analyses to support spectrum management. Apply established and emerging engineering techniques, methods, and tools to address complex radio spectrum management problems. Review and support analysis of current spectrum management programs and policies; develop and implement wireless or electromagnetic measurement systems; characterize equipment spectrum emissions, and assess conformance
  with spectrum regulations; develop and recommend mitigation methods, technical approaches, or procedures to resolve interference issues or facilitate more efficient spectrum use. Measure and evaluate the current use and allocation of the radio spectrum to inform the development of new band plans.
• Present technical findings to internal teams and participate in meetings with managers, officials, and external stakeholders. Analyze and monitor research progress, and clearly communicate findings and recommendations to managers, external partners, and senior-level policymakers in a tactful and persuasive manner.
• Contribute to engineering reports and technical documentation that inform spectrum management or evaluate the conformance, performance, and interoperability of wireless systems. Develop project status and budget tracking reports.
• Conduct tests and measurements and/or develop, refine, and validate theoretical and empirical radio spectrum or wireless system models under general technical direction; document assumptions, limitations, and findings.

At the ZP-4 level:

• Provide technical leadership and serve as a principal investigator or senior technical authority in the development of new radiofrequency experiments, systems, and analytical approaches to support spectrum management. Evaluate and analyze current spectrum management programs and policies; develop and implement wireless or electromagnetic measurement systems; characterize equipment spectrum emissions, and assess conformance with spectrum regulations; develop and recommend mitigation methods, technical approaches, or procedures to resolve interference issues or facilitate more efficient spectrum use. Measure and evaluate the current use and allocation of the radio spectrum to inform the development of new band plans.
• Provide subject matter expertise in internal and external technical forums; brief senior leadership, high-level officials, and external stakeholder groups. Analyze and track the progress of research and effectively report to managers, external stakeholders, and senior-level policymakers; report findings and recommendations tactfully and persuasively.
• Author major engineering reports and technical publications that inform spectrum management, standards development, or system interoperability requirements. Develop project status and budget tracking reports.
• Formulate research and engineering strategies, define technical direction, and develop new methods and tools to address complex and emerging radio spectrum management challenges. Design, direct, and oversee tests and measurements and/or develop and validate state-of-the-art theoretical and empirical radio spectrum or wireless system models; translate findings into technical recommendations to support spectrum management.

This Job Opportunity Announcement may be used to fill other Electronics Engineer ZP-0855-3/4, FPL 4 positions within the Department of Commerce in the same geographical location or local commuting area with the same qualifications and specialized experience.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
• This position requires a SECRET CLEARANCE: Any required investigations and clearances must be completed before the selectee can be placed in the position.
• You must successfully pass a background investigation. This may include a credit check, a review of financial issues, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use of possession of drugs.
• A probationary period may be required.
• Selective Service: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/).
• If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application.
• All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
• Bargaining Unit Position: NO
• Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE form 450): NO
• Permanent Change of Duty Station (PCS) Expense: WILL NOT be paid
• License required: NO
• Drug Test Required: YES, This position is subject to pre-employment drug testing and random drug testing thereafter.
• Pre-employment physical required: All applicants tentatively selected for this position must successfully pass all required physical/medical examinations prior to appointment. Selectee must be able to successfully pass, as applicable, annual and periodic physical/medical examinations, and psychological screenings to maintain a level of physical fitness in accordance with the standards and policies of this agency.
• Recruitment Incentive may be offered (New Federal employees only) up to $10,000.
• Relocation Incentive may be offered (Current Federal employees only) up to $10,000.

Qualifications

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=Occupational-Series

Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations 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. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

This position is being filled under the Department Of Commerce (DOC) Alternative Personnel System (CAPS). Under CAPS, positions are classified by career path and pay band.

The ZP-3 is equivalent to the GS-11/12 grade levels.
The ZP-4 is equivalent to the GS-13/14 grade levels.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS - All applicants must meet the basic requirements listed below:

A. Degree in 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) 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.)

-AND-

All applicants must possess specialized experience and/or education outlined for each band level identified below:

To qualify at the ZP-3 or GS-11/12 level:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-2 (or GS-9) in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as:

(1) Applying mathematical, statistical, stochastic, simulation, or digital signal processing (DSP) methods to analyze measured signals, system behavior, or data from sensing, communication, electromagnetic signals, or measurement systems; AND

(2) Evaluating the performance of signals, systems, algorithms, or measurement processes using analytical, statistical, computational, or numerical methods; AND

(3) Preparing written technical reports or publications and presenting technical results and analyses to internal or external stakeholders; AND

(4) Executing research approaches that address signal-processing, measurement, communication, spectrum, propagation, or system-performance challenges.

-OR-

SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

-OR-

COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE that together meets 100% of the required qualifications for this position.
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To qualify at the ZP-4 or GS-13/14 level:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-3 (or GS-12) equivalent pay band) in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as:

(1) Planning, leading, and conducting laboratory, field, or operational measurement activities involving signal-processing, communication, sensing, electromagnetic signals, or measurement systems; AND

(2) Analyzing empirical measurement data and integrating those data with analytical methods, statistical analyses, simulations, or numerical models to develop, validate, or improve models of electromagnetic signals, spectrum utilization, propagation phenomena, or system performance; AND

(3) Authoring scientific and technical reports or publications, and presenting complex technical results and analyses to internal and external audiences; AND

(4) Formulating, planning, and leading research activities that address signal-processing, measurement, communication, spectrum, propagation, or system-performance challenges.; AND

(5) Providing technical leadership, expert consultation, or technical recommendations to inform program, research, or spectrum management challenges.

NOTE: Education can not be substituted for experience at the ZP-4 grade level.

How you will be evaluated

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

Under the provisions of the Direct-Hire Authority (DHA), rating, ranking and veterans' preference does not apply. While veterans' preference does not apply in DHA, preference eligibles are encouraged to submit their supporting documentation (DD-214 stating disposition of discharge or character of service, VA letter, SF-15, etc.).

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., two-page resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire and the result of the USA Hire assessment required for this position.

Applicants who meet the qualification requirements, as defined in the job opportunity announcement, will be referred for selection consideration.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

The technical assessment will evaluate you on the following competencies; please do not provide a separate written response:

Do NOT include the following types of information in your resume/application. If any are included, you will be deemed INELIGIBLE for consideration.

• Classified or government sensitive information
• Social Security Number (SSN)
• Photos of yourself
• Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.

To preview the questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13006938