This position is located in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Science & Technology Directorate. The primary purpose of this position is to serve as an expert in test and evaluation (T&E) leading and conducting projects that evaluate homeland security technologies and systems. Bargaining Unit: This is a bargaining unit covered position, represented under the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). For more information visit: https://www.afge.org/about-us/afge-at-a-glance/.

Duties

As a General Engineer/Operations Research Analyst, GS-0801/1515-13/14, your typical work assignments may include: Identifies and interprets operational requirements so as to ascertain the type of examination required and the specific data to be obtained. Executes test experiments, including directions for recording data and data standardization from varied sensor modalities under test. Ensures compliance with contract provisions pertaining to schedules, quality, reports, and other contract matters. Develops and provides reports and presentations setting forth results of evaluations of systems and technologies. This announcement will be open for 5 business days OR until the first 100 applications have been received, whichever happens first. View common definitions of terms found in this announcement: Common Definitions.

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 successfully pass a background investigation.
• You must submit to a pre-employment drug test.
• You may be required to serve a one-year probationary period.
• Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions.
• Permanent Change of Duty Station (PCS) Expenses will not be paid.
• Vacancies filled from this announcement may be filled at any grade level listed.
• If selected below the full performance level, you may be noncompetitively promoted to the next higher grade level after meeting all regulatory requirements, and upon the recommendation of management. Promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed.

Qualifications

All applicants must meet at least one of the following Basic Requirements for either the General Engineer, and/or Operations Research Analyst. Applicants must demonstrate that they meet the Basic AND Specialized Experience requirements as noted below. Basic Requirement, General Engineer, 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 (El), 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.) Basic Requirement, Operations Research Analyst, 1515 series: You must meet one of the items listed below: {A or B) A. I possess a degree in operations research from an accredited college or university. (You must submit your transcripts to verify your education).OR B. Have successfully completed a full four (4) year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree (or higher) with 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. Examples of acceptable courses: optimization; mathematical modeling; queuing theory; engineering; physics (except descriptive or survey courses); econometrics; psychometrics; biometrics; experimental psychology; physical chemistry; industrial process analysis; managerial economics; computer science; measurement for management; mathematical models in social phenomena; and courses that involved application of operations research techniques and methodologies to problems of management, marketing, systems design, and other specialized fields; or other comparable quantitative analysis courses for which college-level mathematics or statistics is a prerequisite. Note: You must submit your transcripts to verify your education. In addition to the above you must meet the below specialized experience: Specialized Experience: GS-13: Applicant must demonstrate one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-12 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) performing the following duties: Implementing testing policies applicable agency-wide to ensure appropriate evaluation of assigned programs within an augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) and/or artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI/ML) environment; Interpreting test results to provide guidance to technology systems program upgrades; and Preparing budget proposals to ensure testing and evaluation (T&E) infrastructure is available to meet agency program testing requirements. GS-14: Applicant must demonstrate one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-13 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors) performing the following duties: Developing testing policies applicable agency-wide to ensure appropriate evaluation of assigned programs within a augmented reality / virtual reality (AR/VR) and/or artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) environment; Interpreting test results to provide guidance to technology systems program upgrades; Defending budget proposals to ensure testing and evaluation (T&E) infrastructure is available to meet agency program testing requirements; and Preparing input for Congressional hearings and other legislative interactions related to T&E issues. NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible. All qualifications and eligibility requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement. 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. Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

Education

This position requires specific coursework and/or a degree to meet the basic education requirement. You must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned. Your transcript(s) must clearly demonstrate the course(s) listed in the qualification requirement section. If the transcript(s) does not clearly demonstrate this you must submit a copy of the course description and/or other documentation demonstrating that the courses are equivalent.

If you are claiming education as any part of your qualifications for this position, you must submit an official transcript, unofficial transcript, or a list including courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned.

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: https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/home.

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 on the Recognition of Foreign Qualifications.

Contacts

• Address Department of Homeland Security Headquarters OCHCO/HRMS/MS #0170 6595 Springfield Center Drive Springfield, VA 20598-0170 US
• Name: Erica Wilson
• Email: [email protected]