COMPUTER SCIENTIST

Experience requirements are described in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards for General Schedule Positions, Professional and Scientific Positions. Basic requirements for 0854: 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.) Basic requirements for 1550: Bachelor’s degree in computer science or bachelor’s degree with 30 semester hours in a combination of mathematics, statistics, and computer science. At least 15 of the 30 semester hours must have included any combination of statistics and mathematics that included differential and integral calculus. All academic degrees and course work must be from accredited or pre-accredited institutions. In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must have at least 1 year (52 weeks) of specialized experience at the next lower broadband NH-03, equivalent to the next lower grade GS-11 or equivalent in other pay systems. Specialized experience includes expert knowledge on the application of computer science principles, practices, and techniques to difficult and unprecedented design problems involving assigned network computer systems. Monitors major programs involving communications, computer, file storage, and data backup systems. project manager, directs and executes hardware and software development and configuration efforts to provide networked computer virus protections. Knowledge on project management, assigned overall project financial, scheduling, and performance responsibility KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas: Expert knowledge of the fundamentals and principles of professional computer science/computer engineering gained through formal education and experience; computer hardware, systems software, and computer systems architecture, modeling, and integration; and mathematics, including calculus, probability, statistics, discrete structures, as it relates to the design, development, and model maintenance of network computer systems. Knowledge of policies, programs, organizations, functions, resources, and legislation affecting the program(s) and the organizations studied or served, and related customers, functions, resources, and users. Ability to recognize and analyze problems, conducts research, summarize results, and make appropriate recommendations. Professional skill and ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, complex scientific issues and reports, or briefings prepared for senior military and civilian officials throughout the government and in private industry. Skill and ability to organize, prioritize, analyze, interpret, and evaluate computer projects, complex problems, and prediction of results. Ability through study to keep abreast of computer/IT state knowledge technology, and to utilize such knowledge in the solution of theoretical or complex problems. In-depth knowledge of diversified, computer science/computer engineering concepts, phenomena, and relationships, and ability to apply such knowledge to theoretical and practical problems with versatility, judgment, and perception in order to analyze performance of complex communication and data storage networks. PART-TIME OR UNPAID EXPERIENCE: Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid and or part-time work. You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week. VOLUNTEER WORK EXPERIENCE: Refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service Programs (i.e., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student and social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge and skills that can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Click on “Learn more about this agency” button below to view Eligibilities being considered and other IMPORTANT information. The primary purpose of this position is to provide technical expertise in the areas of computer software and hardware engineering. Serves as the lead technical authority and team leader in the areas of web-enabled applications, computer software and hardware engineering projects.