INTERDISCIPLINARY GENERAL ENGINEER-DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY

To find additional information on “What Is DHA” and to view and/or apply to current DHA opportunities listed on Air Force Civilian Service’s “Direct Hire Job Board”, please click here.

The primary purpose of this position is to serve as a senior professional engineer in support of the acquisition, development, or sustainment of weapon systems, subsystems, and/or support equipment. For additional information on direct hire opportunities with the Air Force please click here.

• Plans, organizes, directs, and coordinates complex projects in Space Warfighting which represent critical segments in the field of astronautics and astrophysics such as adapting aerodynamics, computational fluid dynamics, fluid mechanics, flight dynamics, flight structures, propulsion, thermodynamics, and energy conversion/utilization to aerospace vehicles and related equipment.
• Performs professional space physics and/or engineering work involved in the application of advanced theories, concepts, principles, and processes to the acquisition, development, evaluation and/or sustainment of weapon systems, subsystems, and/or support equipment.
• Performs complex and comprehensive analysis and uses systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approaches to implement, develop, and document projects.
• Participates in special projects, initiatives, and prepares oral/written reports. Presents briefings and develops technical reports to document progress and results.

For additional information on direct hire opportunities with the Air Force please click here.

NH 801/861 SERIES

BASIC REQUIREMENT OR INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT: Professional Engineering Positions: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/general-engineering-series-0801/

• 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 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. 1 For more information about EI and EIT registration requirements, please visit the National Society of Professional Engineers website at: http://www.nspe.org. 2 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

NH 1310 SERIES

Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR) for the Physics 1310 Series can be found here: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1300/physics-series-1310/

Basic Requirements:

1. Degree: physics; or related degree that included at least 24 semester hours in physics.

or

2. Combination of education and experience — courses equivalent to a major in physics totaling at least 24 semester hours, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

In either A or B above, the courses must have included a fundamental course in general physics and, in addition, courses in any two of the following: electricity and magnetism, heat, light, mechanics, modern physics, and sound.

NH 1330 SERIES

Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR) for the Physics 1330 Series can be found here: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1300/astronomy-and-space-science-series-1330/

Basic Requirements:

1. Degree: in one or a combination of astronomy, physics, mathematics, space science, or electronics. The course work must have included differential and integral calculus and 12 semester hours in astronomy and/or physics.

or

2. Combination of education and experience — at least 30 semester hours of courses equivalent to a major in any combination of astronomy, space science, physics, mathematics, and electronics, with required course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the next lower broadband NH-03 or equivalent to the next lower grade GS-13 in the Federal Service. Specialized experience includes experience with weapon systems, subsystems, and/or support equipment, aerodynamics, computational fluid dynamics, fluid mechanics, flight dynamics, flight structures, propulsion, thermodynamics, and energy conversion/utilization to aerospace vehicles and related equipment. Knowledge of weapon systems and related subsystems/equipment, their tactical employment in military operations, and associated methods of testing and a broad scientific and technical knowledge in fields related to space science and space systems engineering, processing required.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

1. Mastery of Space Science and Space Systems test and evaluation techniques that enable incumbent to serve as Technical Advisor for multiple Space Warfighting systems and subsystems.

2. Knowledge of skills to organize and direct the technical portions of T&E programs.

3. Knowledge of weapon systems and related subsystems/equipment, their tactical employment in military operations, and associated methods of testing.

4. Broad scientific and technical knowledge in fields related to space science and space systems engineering, processing.

5. Knowledge and skill sufficient to guide assigned personnel and resolve unique as well as ordinary problems related to management and technical issues.

6. Knowledge of the DoD and USAF acquisition process is needed to conduct DT&E and to develop Test Team plans and processes reflective of current DoD and USAF DT&E objectives.

Other Duties

• Oversees development and integration of optics for various aerospace applications
• Advises the 718TS Technical Director on matters of EO/IR data collection and management
• Mentors the junior workforce in optical based data collection techniques
• Supports outside stakeholders in applications of optics

Position specific skills and experience desired in a potential candidate:

• 8-10+ years of experience in optics integration in various environments
• An advanced degree in STEM related fields, with a specialization in Optics
• Familiarity with space-based optic systems