Summary This is a public notice flyer to notify interested applicants of anticipated vacancies. Applications will not be accepted through this flyer. Interested applicants must follow the directions in the "How to Apply" section of this flyer to be considered. There may or may not be actual vacancies filled from this flyer. Notice of Result letters will not be sent to applicants who respond to this flyer. Responsibilities You will be a key member of the Instrumentation Research and Engineering Division at USNOFS that supports the maintenance, upgrade, and development efforts of new and existing telescopes and astronomical instrumentation. You will be responsible for maintaining astronomical instrumentation for night-time operations, provide on-site support to the science staff, troubleshoot and solve instrument problems in a timely and flexible manner. You will be responsible for maintaining astronomical instrumentation for night-time operations, provide on-site support to the science staff, troubleshoot and solve instrument problems in a timely and flexible manner. You will maintain contacts with commercial and government agencies that design and operate astronomical telescopes and detector systems ensuring USNOFS remains equipped with forefront instrumentation capable of carrying out mission requirements. You will/may represent USNOFS at scientific and DOD meetings as they relate to telescope systems, optical systems, or detector systems. You will be expected to support the publication of scientific articles and learn new skills sets by attending relevant conferences and obtaining additional training as required. You will/may also be asked to provide tutoring and continued education to other technical staff members or visiting scientists and students. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Your resume must also demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-12 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 as a telescope engineer with a thorough understanding of large astronomical telescopes and their optical subsystems. Experience designing, constructing, and procuring new telescopes and/or telescope systems to meet emergent requirements. Additionally, the telescope engineer will support the maintenance and upgrade efforts of existing astronomical instrumentation at USNOFS. Experience and possess a solid background in structural design, drafting, modeling, and finite element analysis using SOLID WORKS. Experience with machine shop manufacturing, CNC, 3D printing, and working with external manufacturers to meet defined specifications or requirements. Experience and possess a strong mechanical engineering background and will be responsible for the mechanical design, analysis, drafting, and fabrication of mechanical assemblies and support equipment. Experience and must have the aptitude to work within a multidisciplinary engineering team consisting of software, controls, and electronics engineers, as well as machine shop personnel and technicians. Experience solving complex technical problems with little supervision and expected to be highly self-motivated. The candidate is a cooperative team player who strives to make the team successful. Experience and possess a firm understanding of optical systems, including the handling, coating, and alignment of the optical elements of the four one-meter class telescopes. As part of these efforts, the candidate is also responsible for the maintenance and upgrade of the station's mirror coating facility and its supporting infrastructure. Experience and possess excellent verbal and written communication skills. The incumbent must have the equivalent of a B.Sc. degree in Mechanical Engineering or Optical Sciences (Physics) with at least 10 years of professional experience, preferably at an astronomical observatory, or a M.Sc. or Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering or Optical Sciences and 5 years of professional experience, preferably at an astronomical observatory. 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 AND https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf 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 the following basic education requirements of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualifications Standards Manual: Successful completion of a professional engineering degree. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree (or higher) in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (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. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. OR Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), 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 more information about EI and EIT registration requirements, please visit the National Society of Professional Engineers website at: http://www.nspe.org OR 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 The FE examination is not administered by the U. S. Office of Personnel Management. For more information, please visit: http://www.nspe.org/Licensure/HowtoGetLicensed/index.html. 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 one 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. Additional Information This announcement uses the Certain Personnel of the DoD direct hire authority to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service. 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.
