General Engineer

Duties
Help

This is a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) solicitation utilizing the DHA for Acq Demo Engineering and Technical Management to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service.

As a General Engineer at the NH-0801-4 broadband level, some of your typical work assignments may include:

• Oversee and perform systems engineering at the systems/component level for a complex defense weapons system.
• Perform concept planning; design and development; integration and testing, verification, and system assessment at the Missile Defense System (MDS) system, element or component level.
• Advise on technical, acquisition and operational issues related to technical performance requirements, systems engineering, financial management, and performance trades among program elements.
• Perform engineering studies to support the development and testing of systems or components.
• Work in engineering specialty areas which include but are not limited to s systems architecture, systems engineering, threat systems engineering, cybersecurity engineering, modeling & simulation, sensors & radars, command & control, battle management, missiles, targets, kill vehicles, space vehicles, directed energy, discrimination, hypersonics, artificial intelligence/machine learning.
• Identify and resolve highly complex problems crossing organizational boundaries and promulgate solutions.
• In cooperation with coworkers, identify needs of internal and external customers and address their concerns.
• Develop and present technical briefings and reports to Flag Officers/Senior Executives.

Requirements
Help
Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen
• Occasional Travel
• Work Schedule: Full-time
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service
• Suitable for Federal employment, determined by a background investigation
• May be required to successfully complete a probationary period
• Overtime: Occasionally
• Tour of Duty: Maxi Flex
• Recruitment Incentives: Certain incentives (such as Recruitment, Relocation or Student Loan Repayment) may be authorized to eligible selectees based on agency policy and availability.
• Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): Exempt
• Financial Disclosure: Required
• Telework Eligibility: This position is telework eligible.
• Employee must obtain and maintain a Critical Sensitive (Top Secret) Security Clearance.
• This position is part of a planned Transfer of Function (TOF) from the Missile Defense Agency to the Department of the Army. This action is projected to be effective on or about October 1, 2026.
• Selectee must acquire 80 continuous learning points every two years.
• This is an acquisition position coded Practitioner in Engineering Technical Management. Incumbent must obtain mandatory Back to Basics (B2B) certification within 60 months of entry into position.
• This is a Drug Testing designated position condition
• This is a Critical Acquisition Position. Selectee for this position will be required to sign a written agreement to remain, for a minimum of three years, in the federal service in this critical acquisition position.

Qualifications

You may qualify at the NH 04 Broadband Level, if you fulfill the following qualifications:

A. One year of specialized experience equivalent to the 04/GS-14 grade level in the Federal service as listed below and must meet 2 out of the 3 specialized experience listed below to be qualified:

• Experience applying acquisition policies to complex defense systems
• Experience in the field of systems engineering in one or more of the following key specialty areas: systems architecture, systems engineering, threat systems engineering, cybersecurity engineering, modeling & simulation, sensors & radars, command& control, battle management, missiles, targets, kill vehicles, space vehicles, directed energy, discrimination, hypersonics, artificial intelligence/machine learning.
• Experience in one or more sub-specialty area: architecture development, requirements development, design, model-based systems engineering, object oriented analysis, performance modeling & analysis, interface development & engineering, system integration, test requirements, test & performance analysis, system assessment, risk management, verification & validation, lethality, specific/multiple radar frequencies, signal processing, antenna design, networks, protocols, propulsion, avionics, guidance, navigation & control, structures & dynamics, rocket motors & thrusters, seekers, radiation hardening, software engineering, data analytics, cyber testing, power systems, parts / materials, industrial & manufacturing, sustainability, reliability, international requirements, specialty engineering.

In addition to meeting qualifications, your application package must reflect the applicable experience to meet the Individual Occupational Requirements for the 0801 series.

This position has a Basic Requirement for the 0801 series: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf '

Degree: 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 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 and I have included my transcripts with my application.

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), 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.)

NOTE: Failure to provide transcripts will result in you being rated ineligible for this position.

Education

Substitution of education may not be used in lieu of specialized experience for this grade level.

ARE YOU USING YOUR EDUCATION TO QUALIFY?

You MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims.All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement.GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours that your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that 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: Foreign Education

Additional information

ACQUISITION POSITION: This position requires a Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) program management, III level. Certification prior to hiring is not essential but must be accomplished within 24 months after entry into this position. For information regarding the DAWIA Back to Basics please visit: Home (dau.edu) or Back to Basics - Helpful Resources (dau.edu)

• DAWIA (Back to Basics) Certification: NON-CAP: Position requires DoD Acquisition Program management, III certification within required timeframes. Selectee must also achieve 80 hours of Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) every 2-years. Click here for more details and Resources .

All applicants must meet qualifications and eligibility criteria by the closing date of the announcement.

Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/register/who-needs-to-register/#p5 )

To receive consideration please make sure you select ALL appropriate eligibilities in the application questionnaire.

• IMPORTANT NOTICE: TRANSFER OF FUNCTION (TOF)
  • This position is part of a planned Transfer of Function (TOF) from the Missile Defense Agency to the Department of the Army. This action is projected to be effective on or about October 1, 2026.
  • The individual selected for this position will be required to transfer with their function to the Department of the Army as a condition of employment. Upon the effective date of the transfer, the incumbent will become an employee of the Army, and all personnel and pay actions will be administered by the gaining command.
  • By applying for this position, you acknowledge and accept this condition of employment.

Other Notes:

CRITICAL ACQUISITION POSITION (CAP): Selectee for this position will be required to sign a written agreement to remain, for a minimum of three years, in the federal service in this critical acquisition position.

Re-employed Annuitant: This position does not meet criteria for re-employed annuitant. The DoD criteria for hiring Re-employed Annuitants can be found at: https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/140025/1400.25-V300.pdf