The Director, Systems Engineering and Standards Division position is located in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate, Office of Science and Engineering. S&T's mission: to protect the homeland by researching, developing, testing, evaluating, and demonstrating homeland security technologies of relevance and value to DHS Components, as well as federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial officials comprising the Homeland Security Enterprise.

Duties

The Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), Office of Science and Engineering is seeking interest from current/reinstatement eligible Senior Executive Service members or SES CDP graduates who are interested in being permanently reassigned or appointed as the Director, Systems Engineering and Standards Division. The Office of Science and Engineering provides S&T technical subject matter expertise, technology scouting, systems engineering, testing & evaluation, gap and requirement analysis, and transition planning and the capabilities needed by S&T program and project managers to effectively and efficiently deliver solutions to the priority needs of DHS and the Homeland Security Enterprise (HSE). The Office of Science and Engineering is an internally focused organization providing technical functions and services to S&T programs and directly to DHS and HSE customers to support solution identification and development. Specific responsibilities include: Supports DHS acquisition programs to improve the efficiency of transforming customer needs and requirements into operational capabilities by applying a well-defined and consistent approach from concept definition to deployment. Establishes and implements policies and programs to support systems engineering and standards development and coordination efforts. Responsible for the line management and leadership of Systems Engineering and Standards, stewardship of assigned resources, and execution of the office resources, including the cost, schedule, technical performance and deliverables of associated programs. Identifies, develops, and deploys appropriate systems engineering methodologies and tools. Evaluates and measure the effectiveness of appropriate methodologies and tools for the Systems Engineering mission space. Works across all DHS components and entities to support systems engineering developmental efforts. Integrates Systems Engineering into the development and acquisition cycle via early and continuous evaluation of system requirements, planning, and execution. Coordinates Systems Engineering resources; ensures adequate Systems Engineering resources for the anticipated requirements; and verifies attainment of technical performance specifications, operational effectiveness, and suitability. Assists DHS Components' program managers and DHS S&T program managers in evaluating the operational environment to discover and capitalize on opportunities for improving operational capabilities through technology insertion and process improvement. Leads and supports developing and implementing Systems Engineering & Process Management processes (System Engineering Master Plans) and deliverables adherence to DHS RDT&E acquisition processes and programs. Supports the development of requirements analysis, concept of operations, operational requirements, alternatives analysis, cost-performance trade-off analysis, Requests-for-Proposal (RFP), systems engineering master plans, risk management plans, configuration management and quality control plans, interface control documents, life-cycle cost analysis, and integrated logistics support plans. Reviews DHS components' research, development, and acquisition programs to ensure that the Standards programs are structured to provide accurate, timely, and essential information to decision-makers for programs in all acquisition categories throughout the system life cycle. Works with multiple customer groups to ensure that standards are implemented appropriately. Develops policy and technical guidance to improve the quality of components' Standards programs. Represents S&T and the Department on intra- and inter-agency workgroups, panels and committees that formulate Standards infrastructure and resource policy for one or more major research or technology areas such as radiological-nuclear, chemical, biological, non-nuclear explosives, communications, nuclear explosives, communications interoperability, infrastructure, maritime, border security, etc. Prepares input for Congressional hearings and other legislative interactions, providing authoritative advice and counsel on Standards issues.

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
• You must submit to a pre-employment drug test.
• You must be able to obtain/maintain a TS/SCI security clearance.
• You may be required to undergo periodic drug testing.
• You will serve a one-year probationary period unless you previously completed the probationary period in the SES.
• Selectee will be required to complete form OGE-278, Executive Personnel Financial Disclosure Form.

Qualifications

The application process to recruit for this position is the TRADITIONAL-BASED method. Applicants currently serving under a career Senior Executive Service appointment, who are eligible for reinstatement into the Senior Executive Service, or who have successfully completed a Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program approved by OPM, need not submit a narrative statement covering each of the Executive Core Qualifications. However, all applicants must address the below Mandatory Professtional/Technical Qualifications (PTQs) separately. Also applicants must demonstrate that they meet the Basic Requirements AND PTQs below, as appropriate for the series to which they are applying. BASIC REQUIREMENTS: Basic Requirement (0801 Series): You must meet one of the items listed below (A or B): A. Possess 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. Have a 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.) Additional Qualifications: You must possess all of the MANDATORY PROFESSIONAL/TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS (PTQ): All candidates must show evidence of the following PTQs below in order to meet basic qualifications for this position. Please label and include your name on each page. Please give examples and explain how often you used your skills, the complexity of the knowledge possessed, the level of people you interacted with, the sensitivity of the issues you handled managing a large public or private sector organization that administers complex, rules-based benefits or services, etc. It is recommended that you draft your PTQ(s) in a word document and then upload into the system. You must address each PTQ separately and you should not exceed 2 pages per PTQ. You are required to respond to all PTQs. If you fail to do so, you will be rated as 'ineligible.' PTQ 1: Demonstrated knowledge of applying systems engineering practices and knowledge to improve research and development outcomes and acquisition program outcomes within a systems development lifecycle or acquisition lifecycle framework. PTQ 2: Demonstrated understanding and use of digital models and analysis in the systems engineering process that include methodologies such as model-based systems engineering, digital engineering, and digital twins. PTQ 3: Demonstrated knowledge of principles and techniques for development of standards for new and innovative technologies applicable to the homeland security enterprise in areas such as cybersecurity, border security, counter-unmanned aerial systems, counter narcotics, communications, and interoperability. Veteran's Preference does not apply to the Senior Executive Service.

Education

This position has mandatory education requirements. You must meet the education requirement for the series listed below. You must certify that you have qualifying education by including an unofficial transcript or a list of course work, including semester hours earned and grade received. Education will be verified upon appointment. If you are a current Federal employee in one of these occupational series, you may include a copy of a personnel action in lieu of a transcript.

Please review the OPM page on specifics about required curriculum and for more information on qualifications, please visit: OPM Qualification Standards for the GS-0801 series.

You must submit a copy of your college transcript OR a list of college courses with credit hours, dates completed, and grades received to verify education. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted. Official transcripts will be required if you are selected for the position.

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications; applicant's resumes and supporting documentation should only reflect education received from schools accredited by such institutions. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following Website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html.

If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency (a U.S. private organization's interpretation that such education has been deemed at least equivalent to conventional U.S. education programs) with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For more information regarding evaluation of foreign education for federal employment, please visit the U.S. Department of Education webpage.

Contacts

• Address Department of Homeland Security Headquarters OCHCO/HRMS/MS #0170 6595 Springfield Center Drive Springfield, VA 20598-0170 US
• Name: Muriel Williams
• Phone: 202-919-0286
• Email: [email protected]