ENGINEER/SCIENTIST
What you'd do
This position is part of the Warfare Centers Personnel Demonstration Project. The ND-5 pay band encompasses positions equivalent to GS-14 and GS-15. You will serve as the Gun Computer System (GCS) Software Systems Engineering and Test Lead in the Integrated Engagement Systems Department, Gun Weapon Systems Division (E30), GCS Software Design and Development Branch (Code E35) of the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division.
Major duties
You will lead the development of overall technical architecture, design, and execution for the Gun Computer System (GCS) to provide gun fire control systems to the fleet. You will be responsible for defining, implementing, and leading the portfolio's unified test and integration strategy to support rapid expansion and the delivery of a cohesive, well-integrated capability. You will serve as the technical authority for the systems engineering lifecycle, enforcing technical rigor across the GCS code base and new effector integrations. You will lead technical efforts in establishing a seamless verification and validation framework that ensures requirements are considered at the earliest stages of design to eliminate redundant efforts. You will ensure that the system architecture is inherently testable and that every requirement is directly mapped to a specific verification method to mitigate significant integration risk. You will modernize the program's testing paradigm to fully support Agile software development, incorporating automated tools and advanced techniques to accelerate delivery to the warfighter. You will lead multi-disciplinary teams (software, hardware, analysis, test, pipeline, cyber, and systems engineering) to ensure technical rigor is applied uniformly across the entire development lifecycle. You will implement a strategy that generates Objective Quality Evidence (OQE) earlier in the lifecycle, ensuring software changes are tested with a rigor that aligns with the best practices of government and industry. You will drive the collaborative development and implementation of Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) models to establish a unified systems engineering approach across the portfolio. You will provide technical direction and mentorship to a multi-disciplinary team, developing proficiency in modern systems engineering, interface control, and multi-disciplinary collaboration. You will collaborate directly with software architecture and infrastructure leads to ensure the development pipeline incorporates the necessary tools and capabilities to support the test-first vision. You will review and approve all software integration and test-related products prior to external delivery, ensuring they meet formal review requirements. You will maintain continuous awareness of the technical state of the unified code base and effector integrations, implementing strategic improvements that increase software quality while reducing delivery timelines.
What you need to qualify
This is an interdisciplinary position and may be filled by a General Engineer (0801-series), a General Physical Scientist (1301-series), an Operations Research Analyst (1515-series), a Mathematician (1520-series), or a Computer Scientist (1550-series) depending upon the qualifications of the candidate. Applicants in positions with occupational series other than those listed (0801, 1301, 1515, 1520 and 1550) may apply; however, you must apply directly to the series listed in this vacancy that is most applicable to your qualifications. In addition to the Basic Requirements for this position, your resume must also demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the ND-4 pay band (GS-12 and GS-13 equivalency) in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following: As a professional engineer or scientist leading technical teams in system engineering for Department of Defense weapon systems. Examples of specialized qualifying experience may include (1) Leading technical teams in the role of Lead System Engineer or in a similar role; (2) Technical experience in concept development, architecture definition, design, requirements engineering, and testing of weapon systems; (3) Extensive experience in conducting system and system of systems requirements analysis, specifications, as well as verification and validation of weapon systems; (4) Relevant technical knowledge of the integration of weapon system elements, including software and hardware. This includes fundamental understanding of weapon system technology, implementation and integration. The incumbent should have experience in conducting system and system of systems requirements analysis, specifications, as well as verification and validation of weapon systems. The incumbent should understand the integration of weapon system elements, including software and hardware. In order to execute this position, the incumbent must understand the interaction of system interfaces and components and their effect on the overall performance of a weapon system. Experience may also include designing, developing, prototyping, and fielding weapon systems, and the broad and extensive knowledge of the operations of weapon systems. 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=List-by-Occupational-Series Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR): All Professional Engineering Positions, 08XX General Physical Science Series, 1301 Operations Research Series, 1515 Mathematics Series, 1520 Computer Science Series, 1550 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.
Before you apply
Federal applications are different: your resume should be 3–5 pages and mirror the language of this announcement. Read our federal resume guide first — it's the #1 reason qualified people get screened out.
Don't miss the next one.
Get an email the moment a similar federal job opens — postings can close in as little as 5 days.