As an optical engineer, specializing in thin film coatings, you will serve as the technical Lead Engineer for thin film coating research and development for near-term and future missions. In addition, as a lead and subject matter expert, technical authority, and technical advisor/consultant, you will develop space-flight, thin film coatings for instrumentation and serve in technical management as needed.

Duties

Lead the research and development of thin film coatings and related processes for application to near-term and long-range scientific missions. Perform technical work, provide technical direction to others, and perform the technical management of in-house and external partners. Evaluate requirements, develop a research plan, execute research and development activities, technical trade evaluation, and perform evaluation to requirements. Test and evaluate optical coatings, deposition systems, and evaluation systems for feedback to the design, fabrication, and testing processes. Publish papers on your work and/or give talks at internal and external forums, upon meeting research and development milestones. Manage programmatic issues such as cost and schedule. You will be responsible for meeting milestones and implementing research and development work in-house and/or through outside contractors. Technically lead a team of engineers, technicians, and contractors in the execution of these duties. As needed, you will function as Task Monitor, COR, or COTR for contracts related to the task. Develop and evaluate research proposals from industry, government organizations, and academia. You will initiate and/or monitor research contracts, grants, and/or cooperative agreements with external organizations. Integrate, oversee, and/or coordinate the efforts of agency personnel with those of university personnel, industry contacts, or contractors in research, development, and physical science research. Foster a culture of engagement, diversity, inclusiveness, excellence and innovation. Champion NASA's commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility to create an environment that promotes a commitment to safety, integrity, and teamwork.

Requirements

• Current Federal employees must meet qualifications, time in grade, and 90 days after competitive appointment requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

Qualifications

In addition to the Basic Education Requirement (in the Education section below), to qualify for this position you must meet the requirements below and have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade, which has equipped you with the particular competencies needed to successfully perform the duties of the position described above. NASA utilizes OPM-approved qualification and rating requirements specific for Aerospace Technology (AST) positions which recognizes NASA's unique aerospace work. The specific qualifications and minimum education requirements are further described below and within the education section of the job announcement. To qualify for GS-14, you must have one year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level: Designing and developing thin film coatings for optical performance in the space environment; Technically leading a research project in the area of thin film coatings with responsibility for delivering related hardware and data products; and Consulting to internal and external groups and providing technical oversight to contracts and/or partnerships. 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 job. NASA prohibits the use of artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted tool in drafting application and assessment responses. Please visit https://www.nasa.gov/careers/how-to-apply/#Artificial-Intelligence to review NASA's guidance on the use of AI tools during the application process.

Education

Basic Education Requirement: You must have successfully completed a bachelor's degree with a major in one of the following:
a) Engineering from a college or university that has ABET accredited engineering programs
b) Physical Science, Mathematics, Life Science or other field of Science
c) Computer Science that included 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours of course work in any combination of mathematics, statistics and computer science with at least half of those hours in mathematics and statistics courses that included differential and integral calculus; and that provided an in-depth knowledge of theoretical and practical applications of computer science, including digital computer system architecture and system software organization, the representation and transformation of information structures, and the theoretical models for such representations and transformations.

If you did not complete a qualifying bachelor's degree, you may be eligible if you have obtained a graduate degree in an AST qualifying field, as listed above.

Degrees in engineering technology are not considered qualifying for this position.

Engineering degrees earned within the United States: Engineering degrees earned within the United States must be from a college or university that has at least one ABET accredited engineering program. To find out if a school has at least one ABET accredited program, please visit http://www.abet.org.

Engineering degrees earned outside the United States: Engineering degrees earned outside the United States must be recognized by a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA), often known as accords. These are non-governmental agreements among organizations that accredit academic degree programs. MRAs recognize the substantial equivalence of mature accreditation systems and programs accredited by signatory organizations within their jurisdictions. For a listing of Signatories, please visit, https://www.abet.org/global-presence/mutual-recognition-agreements/is-your-program-recognized/.

Science and other related degrees earned within the United States: Science and other related degrees must have been awarded from colleges or universities that are accredited by recognized accrediting organizations. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, go to http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/.

Science and other related degrees earned outside the United States: 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, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

All degrees must have been received in the year of, or any year subsequent to the original date of accreditation.

Contacts

• Address Goddard Space Flight Center 8800 Greenbelt Rd Greenbelt, MD 20771 US
• Name: NASA Shared Services Contact Center
• Phone: 1-877-677-2123
• Email: nssc-contactcenter@mail.nasa.gov