Summary This position retains responsibility for the management and oversight of airline customers desiring participation with digital departure clearances and/or digital automatic terminal information services (D-ATIS). Responsibilities As industry becomes more familiar with the capability of Tower Data Link Services (TDLS) to provide departure clearances as text messages, they must request participation. The individual meets with airline industry customers to identify interface requirements, message formats, and connection requirements through the FAA boundary to collaborate on development and testing of their interface, and ensures the customer passes critical test and operational parameters to allow participation. This position also supports a high level of responsibility with the oversight and technical management of TDLS information security actions. The position oversees the management of certificates and authentication for any airline customer connecting to TDLS for departure clearance messages or D-ATIS messages. The individual in the position maintains the proper security protocols between industry and TDLS. Additionally, this position works with the Information System Security office on identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities and risks with TDLS and its connection to other FAA systems, operational IP circuits through the Federal Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI), and industry customers through the FAA NAS Enterprise Security Gateway (NESG) boundary. a. Assigned as the agency’s technical expert providing highly complex and challenging work activities for a system or family of systems in the National Airspace System (NAS). Within assigned area, provides guidance and technical direction, and serves as senior consultant on matters relating to problems with these systems from acquisition and initial implementation through the life cycle. Has considerable latitude in determining technical approach to resolving problems. b. Frequently represents the organization as technical expert in assigned area to other organizations of the ATO, other organizations of the FAA, other government organizations, contractors, and airline customers. c. Analyzes performance of equipment and systems in assigned areas and identifies the need to investigate and resolve problems that affect system performance, reliability, or service continuity. Conducts engineering studies of system-wide scope to develop and implement solutions to these problems. Problems are often complex and unique. Engineering studies often involve extensive research across engineering disciplines. Solutions often apply new technologies and develop new and innovative methods of testing. d. Identifies the need for, and adequacy of, technical documentation required to maintain and certify NAS equipment in assigned area. Sets maintenance policy for systems in assigned area. Oversees the review, development, and enhancement of technical instruction books and maintenance handbooks by contractors and project engineers. Identifies new maintenance and testing technologies and practices, and initiates efforts to incorporate these into maintenance documentation for assigned systems. e. Reviews work of project engineers on exceptionally complex projects for technical accuracy and adequacy. Maintains an awareness of the status and progress of all projects within the assigned technical area and recommends adjustments in accordance with established priorities. Provides input to management on performance, progress, and training needs of project engineers and computer scientists. Incumbent applies experience and comprehensive knowledge of engineering principles, theories, and concepts applicable to electronics engineering as well as an understanding of new technologies and methodologies to solve complex problems and develop improved technical processes for the organization. Broad policies and objectives provide general guidance for addressing issues, but allow considerable discretion to develop new and innovative approaches. Work is reviewed rarely, typically though status reports and at project completion, to ensure technical compliance and alignment with the requirements of the project or other work activity. Requirements Conditions of Employment We are not accepting applications from noncitizens. Qualifications To view the complete OPM qualification standard for the Group Coverage Qualification Standard for Electronics Engineering Series, 0855, please refer to: Electronics Engineering Series 0855 (opm.gov) Basic Requirements: A. 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 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. 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.) In addition to the Basic Requirements, to qualify for this position you must demonstrate in your application that you possess at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to FV-I / FG/GS 13. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. Specialized experience is: Experience providing operational engineering support (modification engineering; technical assistance in restoration) for NAS Communications equipment and systems. A Quality Ranking Factors (QRFs) have been identified for this announcement. A QRF is a KSA or competency that could be expected to significantly enhance performance in a position. Possession of the QRF is not mandatory for minimum qualifications, however may determine the best qualified. Quality Ranking Factor(s)(QRF's): Skill working with commercial airlines to develop requirements and testing procedures to receive digital clearances from the Tower Data Link Services (TDLS) equipment. Applicants should include examples of specialized experience in their work history. Qualifications must be met by the closing date of this vacancy announcement. Errors or omissions may impact your rating or may result in you not being considered for the job. Interview Policy: If the Agency decides to interview any qualified employee on the selection list, then all on the list who are qualified must be interviewed. If the selection list is shortened to a best qualified list through a comparative process, then the best qualified list shall be considered to be the selection list. Education This position has a positive education requirement: Applicants must submit a copy of their college or university transcripts(s) and certificates by the closing date of announcement to verify qualifications. If selected, an official transcript will be required prior to appointment. You may upload these documents with your application in USAJOBS or fax it to fax number provided in the announcement (please include announcement number on each page). Failure to do so will result in loss of consideration. Schools must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Accreditation may be verified at the following website: www.ed.gov/accreditation. Foreign education must be evaluated by a private professional organization specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials or an accredited U.S. educational institution in terms of equivalence to a degree acquired at an American college or university. A copy of the evaluation results must be included, otherwise your foreign education will not be considered. Additional Information We may use this vacancy to fill other similar vacant positions. Position may be subject to a background investigation. A one-year probationary period may be required. The U.S. Department of Transportation strives to ensure that equity, transparency, accountability, collaboration, and communication permeate all that we do for the betterment of the Department, the traveling public, and our nation. As such, DOT values a highly diverse workforce of persons who promote a culture of belonging by respecting the personal dignity and worth of each individual and fostering a positive environment where all feel safe and welcome. If these commitments coincide with your personal ideals and professional aspirations, please consider joining the DOT family. As a part of the Federal-Wide Hiring Reform Initiative (streamlining the hiring process), the FAA is committed to eliminating the use of the Knowledge, Skills and Ability (KSA) narratives from the initial application in the hiring process for all announcements. Therefore, as an applicant for this announcement, you are NOT required to provide a narrative response in the text box listed below each KSA. In lieu of providing a KSA narrative response in the text box listed below each KSA, in your work history, please include information that provides specific examples of how you meet the response level or answer you chose for each KSA. Your work history examples should be specific and clearly reflect the highest level of ability. Your KSA answers will be evaluated further to validate whether the level that you selected is appropriate based on the work history and experience you provided. Your answers may be adjusted by a Human Resource Specialist as appropriate. Eligible applicants meeting the minimum qualification requirements and selective factor(s), if applicable, may be further evaluated on the KSAs listed in the announcement. Based on this evaluation, applicants will be placed in one of the following categories: score order, category grouping, or alphabetical order and referred to the selecting official for consideration. Links to Important Information: Locality Pay, COLA