ELECTRONICS ENGINEER

Duties

• You will serve as an ELECTRONICS ENGINEER in the PRECISE TIME DEPARTMENT, U.S. NAVAL OBSERVATORY, WASHINGTON, D.C.
• You will support the specification of requirements, the development of systems or software, the transition of the systems or software to operations, and other operations.
• You will participate in the processing and analysis of data in support of the mission area.
• You will perform a wide variety of research with the goal of contributing toward DoD related problems of current interest.
• You will independently plan, design, and carryout programs, projects, studies, and other work.
  
  

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Must be a US Citizen.
• Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
• Must participate in the direct deposit pay program.
• New employees to the Department of the Navy will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov
• 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 TOP 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.
• Successful completion of a pre-employment drug test (including marijuana) is required. A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if you fail to report to the drug test appointment or fail the test. You will be subject to random testing.
• You will be required to complete ethics orientation within three months of appointment and submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, OGE-450, within 30 days of appointment.
  
  

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIRMENTS:

• Degree: 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
• 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)1 , 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)2 examination or any other written test required for professional 2 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
  
  

EXPERIENCE:

GS-11: In addition to the Basic Requirements listed above, your resume must also demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-09 grade level or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

• Experience applying electronics engineering concepts, theories, principles, and practices applicable to the design construction and maintenance of precise time and time interval systems.
• Experience applying a wide range of technical methods, principles, requirements, work techniques, and practices in electronics and skill in applying standardized, analytical and evaluative methods and techniques sufficient to advise on or resolve difficult but well precedented, factual, procedural, or recurring issues, perform installation, maintenance, operation, and testing duties and employ unique and specially designed instruments.
• Experience applying, an extensive body of standard procedures or operations requiring extended training.
  
  

GS-09: In addition to the Basic Requirements listed above, your resume must also demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-07 grade level or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

• Experience applying technical methods and practices within the area of specialization sufficient to select the most efficient methods and procedures; carry out standard procedures based on assignments; use, adapt, and adjust equipment for optimum operation.
• Experience interpreting plans and specification; inspect and test a variety of equipment and materials; and recognize and report errors, inconsistencies, and other deficiencies in technical data.
• Experience of electrical engineering including radio frequency engineering and microwave engineering.
• Experience maintaining electronics test equipment such as multi-meters, oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, and network analyzers.
• Experience troubleshooting electrical and electronics systems.
• Experience applying standardized, analytical and evaluative methods and techniques sufficient to advise on or resolve difficult but well precedented, factual, procedural, or recurring issues, perform installation, maintenance, operation, and testing duties and employ unique and specially designed instruments.
  
  

Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website: all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf (opm.gov)

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

BASIC REQUIRMENTS:

• Degree: 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
• 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)1 , 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)2 examination or any other written test required for professional 2 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
  
  

SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE: In addition to the Basic Requirements, applicants may substitute the following education for the required experience, provided it demonstrates the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of the position:

GS-11: 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree

GS-09: 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree

COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: Equivalent combinations of education and experience may be combined to meet the total qualification requirements.

If you are using education to meet all or part of the qualification requirements, you must submit a copy of your transcripts or an itemized list of college courses which includes equivalent information from the transcript (course title, semester/quarter hours, and grade/degree earned) in your resume.

IF CLAIMING EDUCATION, FAILURE TO SUBMIT TRANSCRIPTS/ITEMIZED LIST WILL RESULT IN AN INELIGIBLE RATING. See OPM's General Policies for information on crediting education. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the qualification requirements if the applicant can provide documentation indicating that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide such evidence when applying for further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Additional Information

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

Several vacancies may be filled.

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.

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 .

Veteran's preference does not apply when selecting individuals under this specific hiring authority. However, if you claim veteran's preference, you will be required to submit supporting documentation with your application as described in the Required Documents section below.