Summary This is a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) solicitation utilizing the DHA for Mission Support Positions (STRL) to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service. About the Position: This is a Flexible Renewable TERM appointment NTE 2 years which may be extended or renewed indefinitely. Contingent to specific conditions there may be an opportunity to be converted to a career-conditional or career appointment at a later date. Responsibilities Serve as a quality assurance engineer in the Program Manager – Special Operations Forces (PM-SOF) team in one or more of the following areas: ballistics, body armor, tactical military headgear, protective eyewear, and/or comparable areas. Develop and test a system that meets a specific set of Special Operations requirements through a process that yields timely, affordable, high-quality products that meet the needs of the warfighter. Produce quality requirements for PPE items and material systems to include generating documentation for procurement and contracting activities associated with design, development, production, and manufacturing for end item use. Responsible for advancing the state of the art and creating new or substantially improved end items in the form of equipment, systems, materials, processes, procedures, and techniques. Interpret test data of personal protective equipment (PPE) against broad applications of research objectives and/or specific programmatic performance requirements using a variety of tools including statistical methods. Routinely present data findings to military customers and fellow team members to integrate project plans and fulfill program requirements that involve cost, schedule, and performance. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications Who May Apply: US Citizens In order to qualify, you must meet the education and or experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. Basic Requirement - Engineering: 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: 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. 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. 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. 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.) Basic Requirement - Physical Scientist: A. Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics. OR B. Combination of Education and Experience: Courses equivalent to one of the majors, as shown in A above, that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Basic Requirement - Operations Research Analyst: Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in operations research; or a degree with at least 24 semester hours in a combination of operations research, mathematics, probability, statistics, mathematical logic, science, or subject-matter courses requiring substantial competence in college-level mathematics or statistics. At least 3 of the 24 semester hours must have been in calculus. In addition to meeting ONE of the Basic Requirements above, you must also meet the one of the requirements listed below. Experience Requirements for DB-02 (at the GS-9/11 level): Experience: One year of specialized experience typical of work performed at the GS-07 level which includes 1) Supporting the creation, development, testing, and/or modifying of new materials, processes, procedures, and techniques pertaining to projects/systems. 2) Supporting or assisting in design of equipment, projects, or systems. 3) Supporting or assisting in developmental or operational testing, evaluations, training instruction of equipment. 4) Identifying problems and/or deficiencies with products and generating either a sound approach to overcome the problems or write reports or briefings to deliver to stakeholders. OR Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education/experience may be used to qualify as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the first year (total graduate semester hours minus 18) by 18. Add the two percentages. OR Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education/experience may be used to qualify as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages. Requirements for DB-03 (GS-12/14): Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience typical of work performed at the DB-02 (GS-11) level which includes 1) Organizing the creation, development, testing, and/or modifying of new materials, processes, procedures, and techniques pertaining to military projects/systems. 2) Organizing the design of military equipment, projects, or systems. 3) Organizing and carrying out developmental or operational testing, evaluations, training, and/or fielding of military equipment; 4) Identifying problems and/or deficiencies and generating reports or briefings to stakeholders; 5) Experience with personal protective equipment such as body armor, helmets, and eye protection systems. 6) Experience in military acquisition or Special Operations. Education ***NOTE: TRANSCRIPTS ARE REQUIRED even if you are a current federal employee.*** 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html Only degrees from an accredited college or university recognized by the Department of Education are acceptable to meet positive education requirements or to substitute education for experience. For additional information, please go to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and U.S. Department of Education websites at - http://www.opm.gov/qualifications and http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html Additional Information Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration. You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship. two year trial/probationary period may be required. Direct Deposit of Pay is required. This position requires you to submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE450) upon entry, and annually thereafter. Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees. If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet. This is a Career Program (CP) 16 - Engineer and Scientist position. Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement. Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is not authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest. You will be required to undergo a background investigation leading to the successful adjudication of eligibility for Secret security clearance. Derogatory information developed during the background investigation, such as a criminal history or an adverse credit history, could render the selectee ineligible for both the security clearance and continued employment in the position, if already appointed. This is an Army Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology Workforce position. Selectees must meet position requirements for certification at Foundational Level (for DB-02) within 3 years of entrance on duty in the Acquisition Career Field Engineering and Technical Management. (Certification requirements may be found in the Defense Acquisition University Catalog at http://www.dau.mil/.) Selectees for DB-03 must meet position requirements for certification at Practitioner Level Certification within 5 years of entrance on duty in the Acquisition Career Field Engineering and Technical Management. This position is a Flexible Length Renewable Term Appointment NOT-TO-EXCEED 2 years. Appointments made under this authority may be extended without limit in up to six-year increments at any time during any term of service, indefinitely renewed and or may be made permanent at a later date. FLRTTA appointees are provided with benefits comparable to those provided to permanent employees at the STRL concerned, including professional development opportunities; eligibility for all laboratory awards programs; designation as "status applicants" for the purposes of eligibility for positions in the Federal service; annual leave and sick leave accrual; eligibility for health and life insurance; and retirement coverage.