Summary

This position is part of the Warfare Centers Personnel Demonstration Project. The ND-5 pay band encompasses positions equivalent to GS-14 and GS-15.

You will serve as the Gun Computer System (GCS) Software Systems Engineering and Test Lead in the Integrated Engagement Systems Department, Gun Weapon Systems Division (E30), GCS Software Design and Development Branch (Code E35) of the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division.

Duties

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• You will lead the development of overall technical architecture, design, and execution for the Gun Computer System (GCS) to provide gun fire control systems to the fleet.
• You will be responsible for defining, implementing, and leading the portfolio's unified test and integration strategy to support rapid expansion and the delivery of a cohesive, well-integrated capability.
• You will serve as the technical authority for the systems engineering lifecycle, enforcing technical rigor across the GCS code base and new effector integrations.
• You will lead technical efforts in establishing a seamless verification and validation framework that ensures requirements are considered at the earliest stages of design to eliminate redundant efforts.
• You will ensure that the system architecture is inherently testable and that every requirement is directly mapped to a specific verification method to mitigate significant integration risk.
• You will modernize the program's testing paradigm to fully support Agile software development, incorporating automated tools and advanced techniques to accelerate delivery to the warfighter.
• You will lead multi-disciplinary teams (software, hardware, analysis, test, pipeline, cyber, and systems engineering) to ensure technical rigor is applied uniformly across the entire development lifecycle.
• You will implement a strategy that generates Objective Quality Evidence (OQE) earlier in the lifecycle, ensuring software changes are tested with a rigor that aligns with the best practices of government and industry.
• You will drive the collaborative development and implementation of Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) models to establish a unified systems engineering approach across the portfolio.
• You will provide technical direction and mentorship to a multi-disciplinary team, developing proficiency in modern systems engineering, interface control, and multi-disciplinary collaboration.
• You will collaborate directly with software architecture and infrastructure leads to ensure the development pipeline incorporates the necessary tools and capabilities to support the test-first vision.
• You will review and approve all software integration and test-related products prior to external delivery, ensuring they meet formal review requirements.
• You will maintain continuous awareness of the technical state of the unified code base and effector integrations, implementing strategic improvements that increase software quality while reducing delivery timelines.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• Must be a US Citizen.
• Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
• Must participate in the direct deposit pay program.
• Within the Department of Defense (DoD), the appointment of retired military members within 180 days immediately following retirement date to a civilian position is subject to the provisions of 5 United States Code 3326.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• You will be required to obtain and maintain an interim and/or final Secret security clearance prior to entrance on duty. Failure to obtain and maintain the required level of clearance may result in the withdrawal of a job offer or removal.
• This position is covered under the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA). Certification in the Functional Area and Tier assigned to the position, along with Continuous Learning (CL) points, are required within established timeframes.
• This position may require travel from normal duty station to CONUS and OCONUS and may include remote or isolated sites. You must be able to travel on military and commercial aircraft for extended periods of time.

Qualifications

This is an interdisciplinary position and may be filled by a General Engineer (0801-series), a General Physical Scientist (1301-series), an Operations Research Analyst (1515-series), a Mathematician (1520-series), or a Computer Scientist (1550-series) depending upon the qualifications of the candidate. Applicants in positions with occupational series other than those listed (0801, 1301, 1515, 1520 and 1550) may apply; however, you must apply directly to the series listed in this vacancy that is most applicable to your qualifications.

In addition to the Basic Requirements for this position, your resume must also demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the ND-4 pay band (GS-12 and GS-13 equivalency) in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following: As a professional engineer or scientist leading technical teams in system engineering for Department of Defense weapon systems. Examples of specialized qualifying experience may include (1) Leading technical teams in the role of Lead System Engineer or in a similar role; (2) Technical experience in concept development, architecture definition, design, requirements engineering, and testing of weapon systems; (3) Extensive experience in conducting system and system of systems requirements analysis, specifications, as well as verification and validation of weapon systems; (4) Relevant technical knowledge of the integration of weapon system elements, including software and hardware. This includes fundamental understanding of weapon system technology, implementation and integration. The incumbent should have experience in conducting system and system of systems requirements analysis, specifications, as well as verification and validation of weapon systems. The incumbent should understand the integration of weapon system elements, including software and hardware. In order to execute this position, the incumbent must understand the interaction of system interfaces and components and their effect on the overall performance of a weapon system. Experience may also include designing, developing, prototyping, and fielding weapon systems, and the broad and extensive knowledge of the operations of weapon systems.

Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website:

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=List-by-Occupational-Series

Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR):

All Professional Engineering Positions, 08XX

General Physical Science Series, 1301

Operations Research Series, 1515

Mathematics Series, 1520

Computer Science Series, 1550

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (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.

Education

Applicants must meet at least one of the following positive education qualifications requirements of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualifications Standards Manual:

• Professional Engineering Series (08XX) - Degree: A professional engineering degree from an ABET-accredited college or university; OR a degree with curriculum in differential and integral calculus, with additional courses 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
• Professional Engineering Series (08XX) - Substitution of Education/Experience: A combination of education and experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional 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: (a) professional registration, (b) evidence of successfully passing the Engineer-in-Training (EIT) examination; (c) successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and in engineering that included the courses specified above; or (d) successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering technology or in an appropriate professional field, e.g., physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a degree in engineering provided that it included at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. (Note to Applicants: Please see the Qualifications & Education sections of this announcement for a link to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Individual Occupational Requirements. OPM guidance indicates that there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience. This training plan or experience must be well documented and provided at time of application.); OR
• 1301-General Physical Science Series: A degree in physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics; or education equivalent to one of the majors shown above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education; OR
• 1515-Operations Research Series: A degree in operations research; or a related degree that included at least 24 semester hours in a combination of operations research, mathematics, probability, statistics, mathematical logic, science, or subject-matter courses. At least 3 of these 24 semester hours must have been in calculus; OR
• 1520-Mathematics Series: A degree in mathematics; or a combination of education and experience - courses equivalent to a major in mathematics (including at least 24 semester hours in mathematics), plus appropriate experience or additional education. The total coursework described above must have included differential and integral calculus and, in addition, four advanced mathematics courses requiring calculus or equivalent mathematics courses as a prerequisite; OR
• 1550-Computer Science Series: A degree in computer science; or a degree with at least 30 semester hours in a combination of mathematics, statistics, and computer science. At least 15 of these 30 semester hours must have been in a combination of statistics and mathematics that included differential and integral calculus.

Additional information

This position is covered by the Department of Defense Priority Placement Program.

Additional vacancies may be filled by this announcement.

A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if the selectee fails to meet the pre-employment requirements, including failure to report to any of the scheduled appointments.

During the application process you will have the ability to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions in the local commuting area. Depending on the hiring organization and the position being filled, job requirements (e.g., security clearance, travel, drug testing, financial disclosure filing, bargaining unit status, etc.) may vary. Other hiring managers filling similar positions may offer relocation expense reimbursement and/or may offer recruitment incentives for new employees, depending on funding availability and in accordance with policy. If you opt-in and are referred on a certificate, your resume will be available to other hiring managers for 180-days from the date the job announcement closes. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Federal annuitant information: The selection of an annuitant is subject to the Department of Defense and Department of the Navy policy on the employment of annuitants. Policy information may be found at: http://www.secnav.navy.mil/donhr/Documents/CivilianJobs/FedCivAnnuitants.pdf

In addition to meeting all minimum qualification and eligibility requirements, ICTAP applicants must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. A well-qualified ICTAP applicant is one who possesses the competencies and experience to perform the duties of the position successfully with orientation to learn/understand the activities, procedures, policies and processes. Demonstrated work experience in the occupation is typically qualifying for placement. This criterion cannot be met by education and training. ICTAP candidates must provide copies of all of the following documentation at the time of application: 1) agency notice; 2) most recent performance appraisal and 3) most recent SF-50 or notification of personnel action that includes position, grade level, and duty location. Applicants who do not provide this documentation will not receive consideration as an ICTAP candidate.

For more information about ICTAP eligibility please review the following link: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/federal-employees/career-trans