The NASA Technical Fellows Program recognizes Agency-wide technical excellence and leadership, with Fellows serving within the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC); advising the Office of the Chief Engineer, NASA programs and Mission Directorates. Also serves as a voting member on the NESC Review Board. Fellows perform value-added testing, analysis, and assessments of NASA's high-risk projects to ensure safety and mission success.
Summary
The NASA Technical Fellows Program recognizes Agency-wide technical excellence and leadership, with Fellows serving within the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC); advising the Office of the Chief Engineer, NASA programs and Mission Directorates. Also serves as a voting member on the NESC Review Board. Fellows perform value-added testing, analysis, and assessments of NASA's high-risk projects to ensure safety and mission success.
The area of consideration for this position is open to current NASA civil service employees on career, career conditional, or NASA term appointments with conversion eligibility. A person is considered to be in the civil service only if occupying a civil service position at the time of application.
Serves as the Agency's authoritative technical resource in software, applying advanced engineering theory and operational expertise, frequently leading teams and providing the technical foundation for evaluating and reducing mission risk.
Provides Agency-wide technical leadership and collaboration in software, leading independent assessments and partnering with recognized researchers and engineers across NASA centers, academia, national laboratories, industry, and the Department of Defense to conduct and sponsor work that informs Software mission risk.
Communicates and fosters software knowledge, publishing engineering findings through NASA channels, journals, seminars, NESC Academy courses, or domestic/international universities; serves as an invited presenter at conferences and promotes participation in engineering academies.
Provides senior technical leadership for independent technical reviews, serving as the national/international expert in software.
Establishes, leads, and stewards a Technical Discipline Team (TDT) of the Agency's foremost software experts, and augmented by external specialists-to support independent assessments and ensure discipline stewardship across NASA.
Provides expert engineering support for the design, implementation, analysis, maintenance, verification, and validation of mission critical software and related computational hardware across flight, ground, science, operations, scheduling, and subsystem domains.
Conducts cross-project studies to analyze anomalies, data, metrics, and trends, and develops reliable, secure, fault-tolerant software, algorithms, and tools that support spacecraft subsystems and mission performance.
Advances software quality, security, standards, development environments, and knowledge management while applying advanced computing methods (AI, neural networks, expert systems, fuzzy logic) to enhance mission capabilities.
Designs, analyze, integrate, and evaluate software systems across key subdisciplines - including but not limited to flight software, ground system software, science data processing software, operations, scheduling, and flight dynamics software, electrical ground support equipment software, simulators, emulators, test systems software, subsystem software and algorithms - to ensure safe, reliable, mission ready power capabilities.
Leads Agency-wide Software discipline stewardship activities, including technical workshops, knowledge-sharing forums, identification and cataloging of critical skills and facilities, assessment of emerging technical challenges, and periodic reporting of discipline health, capability, and risk to Agency leadership.
The individual selected will be required to file an 'Executive Branch Personnel Financial Disclosure Report' (OGE-278e) within 30 days of appointment and annually from then on.
Successful completion of a background investigation commensurate with the risk and sensitivity level of the position.
Successful completion of random drug screening may be required.
Must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance as required by the position.
Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
Must meet qualifications requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
Qualifications
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE:
Candidates must be a recognized subject matter expert with at least 1 year of directly related experience equivalent to the GS-15 level in leading independent technical reviews and serving as a recognized expert in mission-critical software for high-risk programs. Must have experience in developing, evaluating, and applying advanced software architectures, algorithms, and tools-integrating AI or other advanced methods-to strengthen mission performance and reduce risk. Must also demonstrate national leadership through collaboration across NASA, industry, or academia, including technical knowledge sharing.
Your resume must include a clear and detailed narrative description, in your own words, of how you meet the required specialized experience. Experience statements copied from a position description, vacancy announcement, or other reference material constitutes plagiarism and may result in disqualification and losing consideration for the position. Please visit https://www.nasa.gov/careers/how-to-apply/#Artificial-Intelligence to review NASA's guidance on the use of artificial intelligent (AI) or AI-assisted tools during the application process.
To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, your resume must also address both Senior Level (SL) Evaluation Criteria listed below. Failure to address these criteria will result in your application being rated ineligible.
SL EVALUATION CRITERIA:
1. Technical Competence and Leadership
Led technical/discipline teams to advance or enable state-of-the-art solutions in science, engineering, or mission enabling functions. Developed or implemented innovative methodologies or technologies to solve complex scientific, engineering or mission enabling problems. Led or supported collaborative partnerships with industry, academic, or government organizations to advance scientific, engineering, or mission enabling technical capabilities at national or international levels.
2. Professional Contributions and Influence
Leveraged expertise and integration skills to resolve technical/discipline challenges for complex systems. Demonstrated impact in technical discipline to solve issues or improve operational effectiveness. Chaired or presented at professional conference sessions or technical forums to share expertise and influence field development. Developed or mentored students or professional practitioners in scientific, engineering or mission enabling communities. Shared technical knowledge or innovations that were adopted by outside organizations with documented results.
Please refer to the "How you will be evaluated" section for a list of competencies that you will be evaluated on.
Education
This position has a positive education requirement. To be eligible, you must clearly state in your resume the following: degree, major and/or minor, and college/university. A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation page.
An official transcript will be required if you are selected.
A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with major study in engineering, physical science, mathematics, life sciences, computer science, or other field of science.
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs. These education credentials must be deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, click here.
Additional information
NASA may discuss and consider candidate duty station location after selection, which means that the duties can be performed at any NASA location. The selected candidate will need to relocate and report to an on-site NASA location or duty station, which may be different from where he/she currently resides.
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.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How you will be evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
All qualifications requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
Applicants that meet minimum eligibility requirements outlined in the Qualifications and Education (if applicable) sections of the vacancy announcement will be referred to an executive panel for further evaluation. The panel reviews and evaluates the candidate's resume against each SL criterion. Candidates may receive an interview for further evaluation and/or be asked to provide a list of references. The panel will make a recommendation to the appropriate approving authority.
These competencies will be assessed using technical assessments. They may also be evaluated during a structured interview:
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
You must provide a complete application package. If you do not provide all required information, you will not be considered for this position. Only provide the following:
RESUME: All applicants are required to submit a resume limited to two (2) pages (recommend PDF file) showing all relevant experience (start/end dates stated in month/year, description of duties), applicable education at a minimum, and your contact information. Your 2-page resume should also address the SL Evaluation Criteria. For current or previous Federal employees, it should also include the Pay Plan, Series and Grade for each work experience entry. Please see this guidance: What to include in your resume.
Note: if any of the following types of information are included on your resume, you may be disqualified:
Classified or government sensitive information.
Social Security Number (SSN)
Photos of yourself
Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.
Encrypted and digitally signed documents.
If your resume contains any of the above information, you must redact that information prior to the submission of your application.
VACANCY QUESTION/ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES: Responses are automatically submitted through USAJOBS when you apply to this vacancy.You may be asked to provide additional documentation to support your eligibility and the information provided in your application package. For example, we may request transcripts, SF-50s, etc. Therefore, we encourage you to have these documents prepared and ready when requested. If you fail to provide the required documents within the stated time period, we may withdraw a job offer and/or remove you from further consideration.
To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section and submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration.
To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.
Follow the prompts to select your resume to be included with your application package. Your uploaded resume may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the "Include Personal Information" section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application.
It is applicant's responsibility to verify that information entered and uploaded, (i.e., resume) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Human Resources will not modify or change any part of your application.
To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account, all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit:https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.
Faxed, emailed, and/or mailed application materials will not be accepted for this announcement.
NASA provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you are an applicant with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency contact center listed on the job vacancy announcement. The decision on granting reasonable accommodations will be on a case-by-case basis.
Langley Research Center
1 NASA Dr
Hampton, VA 23666
US
Next steps
Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification email. Your application will be evaluated by the Human Resources Office to determine your eligibility for the position. After the evaluation is complete, you will receive another notification regarding the status of your application.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact NASA Executive Staffing at Agency-Executive-Staffing@mail.nasa.gov.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
You must provide a complete application package. If you do not provide all required information, you will not be considered for this position. Only provide the following:
RESUME: All applicants are required to submit a resume limited to two (2) pages (recommend PDF file) showing all relevant experience (start/end dates stated in month/year, description of duties), applicable education at a minimum, and your contact information. Your 2-page resume should also address the SL Evaluation Criteria. For current or previous Federal employees, it should also include the Pay Plan, Series and Grade for each work experience entry. Please see this guidance: What to include in your resume.
Note: if any of the following types of information are included on your resume, you may be disqualified:
Classified or government sensitive information.
Social Security Number (SSN)
Photos of yourself
Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.
Encrypted and digitally signed documents.
If your resume contains any of the above information, you must redact that information prior to the submission of your application.
VACANCY QUESTION/ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES: Responses are automatically submitted through USAJOBS when you apply to this vacancy.You may be asked to provide additional documentation to support your eligibility and the information provided in your application package. For example, we may request transcripts, SF-50s, etc. Therefore, we encourage you to have these documents prepared and ready when requested. If you fail to provide the required documents within the stated time period, we may withdraw a job offer and/or remove you from further consideration.
To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section and submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration.
To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.
Follow the prompts to select your resume to be included with your application package. Your uploaded resume may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the "Include Personal Information" section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application.
It is applicant's responsibility to verify that information entered and uploaded, (i.e., resume) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Human Resources will not modify or change any part of your application.
To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account, all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit:https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.
Faxed, emailed, and/or mailed application materials will not be accepted for this announcement.
NASA provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you are an applicant with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency contact center listed on the job vacancy announcement. The decision on granting reasonable accommodations will be on a case-by-case basis.
Langley Research Center
1 NASA Dr
Hampton, VA 23666
US
Next steps
Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification email. Your application will be evaluated by the Human Resources Office to determine your eligibility for the position. After the evaluation is complete, you will receive another notification regarding the status of your application.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact NASA Executive Staffing at Agency-Executive-Staffing@mail.nasa.gov.
Fair and transparent
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
