Systems Engineer (Pathways Recent Graduates)

To be eligible for this position, you must have completed (within the previous two years of the closing date of this job announcement) a qualifying associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, professional, doctorate from a qualifying educational institution OR a qualifying certificate program, vocational or technical degree, or qualifying career or technical education program (Registered Apprenticeship Programs and certain volunteer service programs, i.e., Job Corps, AmeriCorps, and Peace Corps). Veterans unable to apply within two years of receiving their degree, due to military service obligation, have as much as six years after degree completion to apply. NOTE: Qualifying educational institution means- Any of the following educational institutions or curricula that have been accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the Secretary of Education: A technical or vocational school; A 2-year or 4-year college or university; A graduate or professional school (e.g., law school, medical school); or A post-secondary homeschool curriculum. AND in addition to the eligibility requirement above, you must also meet one of the Basic/Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) criteria below for the 0801 series (Systems Engineer). Basic/Individual Occupational Requirement for Systems Engineer (GS-0801): A. Degree: Bachelor’s degree (or higher degree) in engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor’s degree (or higher degree) in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (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), 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) examination, or any other written test required for professional registration, by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, or 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 A above. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program. 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 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. In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes performing analyses and evaluations of limited systems engineering requirements of acquisitions such as information technology (IT) and Non-IT systems and equipment that support systems engineering activities and operations; preparing systems engineering reports and related program documentation that addresses technical acquisition system; and providing technical systems engineering assistance to implementing organizations and acquisition officials. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-05) or equivalent. OR Education: One full year of graduate level education in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: engineering and architecture. OR Superior Academic Achievement. In order to be creditable under this provision, Superior Academic Achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled, such as that identified in Education above. Superior Academic Achievement is based on: See information under Education heading below. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position 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) by 18. Add the two percentages. After Program completion, Department of Homeland Security Recent Graduates may be converted to a term or permanent position in the competitive service. To be eligible for conversion to a permanent or term position, Recent Graduates must: Successfully complete at least 1-year of continuous service in addition to all requirements of the Program. Demonstrate successful job performance. Meet the Office of Personnel Management’s qualifications for the position to which the Recent Graduate may be converted. To learn more, please visit: http://www.opm.gov/HiringReform/Pathways/program/graduates/. 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). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
This position is located in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of the Chief Procurement Officer (OCPO). The primary purpose of this position is to carry out developmental assignments in performing analyses and evaluations of limited systems engineering requirements of acquisitions such as information technology (IT) and Non-IT systems and equipment that support systems engineering activities and operations Non-BU: This is a non-bargaining unit position.