ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN

Duties

• You will serve as an Engineering Technician located in the Celestial Reference Department of the U.S. Naval Observatory.
• You will obtain, provide, and give basic recommendations on manufacturing processes and materials to engineer/ build one-of-a-kind components and systems.
• You will design new equipment, modify existing equipment, and instrument research related to mission specific science.
• You will use lasers, beam splitters, and various filters to design and manufacture instruments used daily in the shop and field.
• You will read and work with CAD drawings and programs, blueprints, and mechanical sketches to determine optimal instrument specifications.
• You will be responsible for sharing design expertise, computer skills, and instrument fabrication skills to less experienced technicians.
• You will be responsible for maintaining tools of the instrument shop.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• Must be a US Citizen.
• Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
• Must participate in the direct deposit pay program.
• New employees to the Department of the Navy will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov
• Within the Department of Defense (DoD), the appointment of retired military members within 180 days immediately following retirement date to a civilian position is subject to the provisions of 5 United States Code 3326.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• This position may require travel from normal duty station to CONUS and OCONUS and may include remote or isolated sites. You must be able to travel on military and commercial aircraft for extended periods of time.
• You will be required to obtain and maintain an interim and/or final security clearance prior to entrance on duty. Failure to obtain and maintain the required level of clearance may result in the withdrawal of a job offer or removal.
• This is a Mission Essential position. You will be required to ensure organization or facility continuity of operations and/or completion of tasks that are considered essential to the mission designated by a local or command decision.
• This position is subject to work an uncommon tour, including nights, weekends, and holidays to meet mission requirements. Overtime or night differential pay and/or unusual duty hours may be required.
• You will be required to wear personal protective equipment such as helmets, gloves, coveralls, glasses, goggles, respirators and safety shoes continuously for the duration of the work shift.

Qualifications

GS-11
Your resume must also demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-09 grade level or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

• Experience operating manual shop equipment in accordance with standard shop safety practices
• Experience with Program, setup, and operating CNC equipment
• Experience designing one-of-a-kind fixtures or instrumentation using CAD systems
• Experience performing maintenance to machining equipment and pneumatics
• Experience maintaining complex mechanical systems that may require climbing heights with the use of a ladder, crane, and safety harness
• Experience troubleshooting electrical systems
• Experience communicating scientific and technical material in both verbal and written formats to a wide range of audiences from astronomy experts and peers to government or international experts
• Experience adapting to work in complex technical environments with a willingness to learn
• Experience in performing credit card purchases and maintaining purchasing documents

Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website:

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=Occupational-Series

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/engineering-technical-series-0802/

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (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.

Education

There is no education substitution for this position.

Additional information

This announcement uses the OPM DHA for STEM authority to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service.

A relocation incentive is generally a single payment intended to offset some of the relocation costs experienced by the selectee. A relocation incentive may be authorized.

Certain incentives (such as Recruitment, Relocation) may be authorized to eligible selectees.

The incumbent of this position may be directed to come to work during inclement weather, installation closure, or other emergency situations, or may be
required to work overtime or shifts as required by the mission.

The incumbent shall perform other duties required to support the division, the Department, and the Naval Observatory needs as directed by supervisory chain of command.

The incumbent may be required to serve as a WAWF invoice acceptor and/or credit card holder.

This position is covered by the Department of Defense Priority Placement Program.

Several vacancies may be filled.

A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if the selectee fails to meet the pre-employment requirements, including failure to report to any of the scheduled appointments.

Federal annuitant information: The selection of an annuitant is subject to the Department of Defense and Department of the Navy policy on the employment of annuitants. Policy information may be found at: .

Veteran's preference does not apply when selecting individuals under this specific hiring authority. However, if you claim veteran's preference, you will be required to submit supporting documentation with your application as described in the Required Documents section below.