Summary This position is being filled under the Pathways Recent Graduate Program. This position provides those who have graduated from a qualifying educational institution or certificate program within the past two years with opportunities for work in agencies and career development with training and mentorship. You must apply within two years of receving your degree or certificate (veterans have up to six years to apply due to their military service obligation). Responsibilities IDEAL CANDIDATE STATEMENT: The ideal candidate is an aerospace engineer who wants to improve the safety of the traveling public by analyzing aircraft dynamics from recorded data, and then document the results to help characterize the sequence of events and causes of accidents. As an Aerospace Engineer (Vehicle Performance), GS-0861-7/9, you will perform the following major duties: - Analyze data from multiple sources to determine an accurate time history of vehicle motion and the sequence of events. - Write and/or use computer programs to process data, analyze vehicle motion and investigate accident vehicle dynamics. - Develop plots or other graphical displays to assist in communicating findings. - Perform vehicle performance investigations in a technically competent and thorough manner under the supervision of more senior engineers. - Attend technical meetings and conferences, and participates through papers, presentations, and committee memberships. At the GS-9 grade level, in addition to the duties at the lower grade level, typical duties include: - Use simulation and related tools to reconstruct motion through the accident sequence, determine the cause of that motion, and explore alternate possibilities. -With assistance from more senior engineers, identify sources of aerodynamic, propulsion and ground interaction data used to model vehicle performance. -Write detailed technical reports of investigation findings and provide support for safety recommendations intended to prevent future mishaps. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Applicants must have completed, within the previous two-years, a qualifying associate's, bachelor's, master's, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical education program (which may include Registered Apprenticeship Programs, Job Corps, AmeriCorps, and Peace Corps). EXCEPTIONS TO THE TWO YEARS: Veterans, as defined in 5 USC 2108 , who, due to military service obligations, were precluded from applying to the Recent Graduate Program during the two-year eligibility. Veterans have a full two-year period of eligibility upon their release or discharge from active duty. The eligibility period shall not extend beyond six years from the date of academic completion. Current students or qualifying program participants may also apply, provided they are "up to nine months prior to completing their academic requirements". The application must include documentation that clearly shows the student is within the 9-month education completion window. Qualifying Education Institution: Any of the following educational institutions or curricula that have been accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations 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. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. To qualify at the GS-7 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as follows: Assisting in the execution of aircraft performance analyses (aerodynamics, propulsion, systems, and controls) while applying accepted principles, techniques, and practices of engineering, along with computational tools; and Assisting in preparing briefings, correspondence, reports, and/or memoranda. -OR- One full year of graduate-level education. -OR- Superior Academic Achievement as demonstrated by a 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 provisions below: A grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 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; 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; Class standing of upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision of the college; Membership in a national Scholastic Honor Society certified by the Association of College Honor Societies, excluding freshman honor societies. -OR- A combination of related graduate-level education and specialized experience. To qualify for the GS-9 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as follows: Assisting in the execution of aircraft performance analyses (aerodynamics, propulsion, systems, and controls) while applying accepted principles, techniques, and practices of engineering, along with computational tools; and Assisting in preparing briefings, correspondence, reports, and/or memoranda; and Developing new procedures to address complex investigation scenarios using engineering theories and methods. -OR- 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree. -OR- A combination of both experience and education. For qualification purposes, an academic year is computed as follows: At the undergraduate level, successfully completed education that has not led to possession of a degree is credited based on its relationship to 120 semester hours or 180 quarter hours. For example, 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours is comparable to 1 year of undergraduate education. Four years of progressive study or 120 semester hours meets the degree requirements. Additional credit cannot be given for duplicate course work. For study at a business or technical school, 36 weeks of study (20+ classroom hours per week) is comparable to 1 academic year above high school. An academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 academic year of full-time study. This determination is made based on normal course loads for a full year of study in the graduate program. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. When academic credit is expressed in contract months, units, or other terms that differ from conventional semester or quarter hours, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide an interpretation of such credits from the appropriate institution in order to equate them to the semester or quarter hours specified in the standard. NOTE: If your college, vocational, trade, technical or high schools' definition of "academic year" differs from above, you must submit proof of this difference (e.g., copy of course catalog that defines an academic year). Absent this documentation, you will be screened for academic qualifications based on the academic hours as defined in the bullets above. PROGRAM COMPLETION AND CONVERSION: Upon completion of the minimum 1-year career development program, Program participants may, at agency discretion, be non-competitively converted without a break in service, to a career or career conditional appointment. There is no guarantee for conversion. To be eligible for conversion, Recent Graduates must: Successfully complete the one-year developmental period identified. Demonstrate successful job performance. Meet the Office of Personnel Management's qualifications for the position to which the Recent Graduate will be converted. Complete 40 hours of formal interactive training within developmental period. Sign a Pathways Programs Participant Agreement upon appointment. Meet established goals outlined in the Recent Graduate's Individual Development Plan (IDP). Recommended by supervisor/manager for conversion to permanent OR term position. Additional Pathways Programs information can be found at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/students-recent-graduates/#url=Overview Education A. A 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree in professional engineering. To be acceptable, the curriculum must: (1) be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) as a professional engineering curriculum; 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 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 and physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics. OR B. 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 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 above. 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.) GENERAL EDUCATION: All academic degrees and coursework must be completed at an institution that has obtained accreditation or pre-accreditation status from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education for it to be credited towards qualifications. For a list of schools that meet these criteria, see https://www.ed.gov/accreditation?src=rn. Applications submitted without the required supporting documents will not be accepted. An unofficial transcript; statement from the institution's registrar, dean, or other appropriate official; or equivalent documentation is acceptable at the time of application. Education submitted must be appropriately accredited by an accredited body recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. For additional information, refer to the U.S. Department of Education web site at: http://www.ed.gov FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been 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/. Your transcripts are a required part of your application. NOTE: Proof of CURRENT enrollment and copies of unofficial transcripts must be provided at the time of application to support your educational claims. If selected, OFFICIAL transcripts/proof of enrollment must be submitted prior to establishing a start date. Additional Information The NTSB offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes, in part, paid vacation, sick leave, holidays, life insurance, health benefits, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. A variety of work life amenities are offered such as alternate work schedules, telework, flextime, fitness benefits and transit benefits. Moving expenses associated with permanent change of station (PCS) are not authorized for this position. Veterans who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and were separated under honorable conditions may be eligible for veterans' preference. Veterans' preference does not apply to positions in the Senior Executive Service or to internal agency actions such as a reassignment or promotion. When claiming preference, veterans must provide a copy of their DD-214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or other acceptable documentation. Applicants claiming 10 point preference will need to submit Form SF-15, Application for 10-point Veterans' Preference. If you have questions about the applicability of veterans' preference for a particular vacancy please contact the agency posting the announcement. To learn more about veterans' preference, special veteran appointing authorities, and other veteran related topics, please visit http://www.fedshirevets.gov. All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review in our office, in other Federal agency personnel offices, and on OPM's web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications. Ad-hoc/situational telework as determined by the agency policy. This is an Excepted Service Appointment. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. (https://appsupport.usastaffing.gov/hc/en-us/sections/28980686389652-Reasonable-Accommodation-Information) The National Transportation Safety Board provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process should contact the National Transportation Safety Board directly. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case ba
