Summary This position is located in the Office of Satellite and Product Operation (OSPO), Mission Operations Division (MOD), Engineering Branch, with one vacancy, in Suitland, MD. This position is also announced under vacancy number NESDIS OSPO-24-12268366-DE, which is open to all US Citizens or Nationals. You must apply to both announcements if you want to be considered for both. Responsibilities The working title for this position is Spacecraft Engineer. As a Spacecraft Engineer you would perform the following duties: Monitor, analyze, test, calibrate, maintain and correct deficiencies for spacecraft and spacecraft subsystems used in monitoring environmental and weather phenomenon. Manage and maintain spacecraft subsystems and spacecraft subsystem configuration along with developing testing and calibration procedures for those subsystems and providing technical direction to contractors on design, construction and integration. Act as primary point of contact for environmental monitoring spacecraft subsystems, coordinate all testing and calibration and develop both engineering procedures and training for spacecraft subsystems. Duties described above are at the full performance ZP-03 level, the ZP-02 level is developmental intended to prepare people for ZP-03 level duties. Requirements Conditions of Employment This position will be filled under the DOC Alternative Personnel Systems (CAPS). This system replace the Federal GS pay plan and structure. Under CAPS, positions are classified by career, pay plan, and pay band. The ZP-02 is equivalent to the GS-07.The ZP-03 is equivalent to the GS-11. NOTE: * A one year probationary period may be required. * Payment of relocation and recruitment incentives may be authorized. * This position is not in the bargaining unit. Key Requirements: Must be a U.S. Citizen. Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation. Selectee may be subject to serving a one-year probationary period. More requirements are listed under Qualification and Other Information. Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov). Must be able to obtain and maintain a drivers license. Selectee is an Emergency response personnel; 24-Hour on call. Required to carry a government provided cell phone. A background investigation will be required for this position. Continued employment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination. Throughout the recruitment and hiring process we will be communicating with you via email; therefore, it is imperative that the email address you provide when applying for this vacancy remains active. Should your email address change, please notify the point of contact identified in the vacancy announcement as soon as possible so that we can update our system. If you are a Federal employee applying for a promotion (under merit promotion procedures) you must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of the announcement. Qualifications Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy. BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This position has a positive Education Requirement in addition to at least 1 year of Specialized Experience OR substitution of education for experience OR combination in order to be found minimally qualified. Transcripts must be submitted with your application package. You MUST meet the following requirements: Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least 1 program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in 5 of the following 7 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 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 1 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 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.) Note: An applicant who meets the basic requirements as specified in A or B above, except as noted under B.1., may qualify for positions in any branch of engineering unless selective factors indicate otherwise. 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.) Note: An applicant who meets the basic requirements as specified in A or B above, except as noted under B.1., may qualify for positions in any branch of engineering unless selective factors indicate otherwise. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: To qualify at the ZP-02 or GS-07 level: Applicants must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-01 or GS-05 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Collaborating with diverse teams of scientific or technical personnel. Authoring technical reports discussing a technical engineering problem. OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: 1 full year of graduate level education in a related field. OR SUPERIOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with one of the following. (NOTE It is your responsibility to ensure your application clearly states how you meet one of the following provisions): (1) A grade point average (GPA) of 2.9 or higher based on a 4.0 scale for all completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last 2 full years of undergraduate study;(2) A GPA of 3.5 or higher based on a 4.0 scale for required courses completed in a major field of study, or those courses completed in a major field of study during the last two years of undergraduate study; (3) Class standing of upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision of the college; (4) Membership in a national Scholastic Honor Society certified by the Association of College Honor Societies, excluding freshman honor societies. OR COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of related graduate level education and specialized experience. (Note: Only education in excess of 1 year graduate education is creditable.) To qualify at the ZP-03 or GS-11 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-02 or GS-09 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Generating or executing a test and calibration plan for astronautical or aeronautical vehicles. Monitoring the performance of a spacecraft subsystem. SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or LL.M. if related or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree OR COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of related graduate level education and specialized experience. (Note: Only education in excess of 2 years of graduate education is creditable.) Education College Transcript: Submit a copy of your college transcript that lists college courses detailing each course by the number and department (i.e., bio 101, math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours and grade earned. You must submit evidence that any education completed in a foreign institution is equivalent to U.S. education standards with your resume. You may submit an unofficial copy of the transcript at the initial phase of the application process. If course content cannot be easily identified from the title of the course as listed on your transcript, you must submit an official course description from the college/university that reflects the content at the time the course was taken. Note: Your college transcript is used to verify successful completion of degree, or college course work. An official college transcript will be required before you can report to duty. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website. You MUST provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation by the closing date of the announcement will result in lost consideration. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated visit: OPM Foreign Education Evaluation. Additional Information CTAP and ICTAP candidates will be eligible for selection priority if it is determined that they have exceeded the minimum qualifications for the position by attaining at least a rating of 85 out of 100. Information about ICTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management's Career Transition Resources website at: Employee Guide to Career Transition. CTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents: 1. A copy of your specific RIF notice; notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate; a Certificate of Expected Separation (CES); or certification that you are in a surplus organization or occupation (this could be a position abolishment letter, a notice eligibility for discontinued service retirement, or similar notice). 2. A copy of your SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action", noting current position, grade level, and duty location; 3. A copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and 4. Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential. ICTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents: 1. A copy of your RIF separation notice; notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate; notice of disability annuity termination; certification from your former agency that it cannot place you after your recovery from a compensable injury; or certification from the National Guard Bureau or Military Department that you are eligible for disability retirement; 2. A copy of your SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action" documenting your RIF separation, noting your positions, grade level, and duty location, and/or Agency certification of inability to place you through RPL, etc; 3. A copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and 4. Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential. Non-Competitive Reinstatement to a Higher Grade/Band than Previously Held MUST submit the following documents: 1. SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action: you must provide the most current Notification of Personnel Action (Form SF-50) that verifies career/career-conditional status, title, series, and highest grade level held on a permanent basis for your previous position. (do not submit an Award SF-50) AND, the SF-50 that verifies your separation date; AND. 2. Performance Appraisal - most recent performance appraisal showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable. Do not submit a performance plan that does not include this information. NOAA participates in e-Verify. E-Verify is an Internet based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that enables participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees. The Department of the Commerce (DOC) places a high value on diversity of experience and cultural perspectives and encourages applications from all interested eligible candidates. Diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) are fundamental principles that guide the Department and allow us to successfully achieve our mission. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.