Duties
As an Electronics Engineer, you will perform the following duties:
- Perform basic or applied research or engineering in such areas as propagation theory, scattering and diffraction, antenna design and optimization, radiated electromagnetic interference, and microwave systems.
- Oversee and conduct lab and field measurements and/or develop, refine, and validate state-of-the-art theoretical and empirical radio propagation, spectrum, or wireless system models.
- Develop software tools that use measurement findings and simulations to evaluate wireless system performance, predict technology behavior under various deployment conditions, and recommend more efficient uses of the radio spectrum.
- Apply digital signal processing methods-including techniques for noise reduction, sampling, spectral estimation, filtering, and real-time detection and estimation-in software and hardware to analyze wireless signals.
- Develop research proposals and present plans, progress, financials, and findings to managers, senior officials, and external stakeholders; lead meetings to communicate and coordinate research activities.
- Author and contribute to peer-reviewed scientific publications in multiple media that advance the scientific and engineering understanding of radio spectrum technologies.
This Job Opportunity Announcement may be used to fill other Electronics Engineer ZP-0855-4, FPL ZP-4 positions within the Department of Commerce in the same geographical location with the same qualifications and specialized experience.
This position is also advertised under NTIA-ITS-DE-25-12798502, which is open to Delegated Examining eligible applicants. You must apply to both announcements if you want to be considered for both.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
- You must successfully pass a background investigation. This may include a credit check, a review of financial issues, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use of possession of drugs.
- A probationary period may be required.
- Selective Service: Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/).
- If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application.
- All Federal employees are required to have Federal salary payments made by direct deposit to a financial institution of their choosing.
- Bargaining Unit Position: Yes
- Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE form 450): No
- Permanent Change of Duty Station (PCS) Expense: Will not be paid
- License required: Yes - incumbent is required to operate a motor vehicle and must possess a current, active state-issued Driver's license.
- Drug Test Required: No
- Time-in-grade/band requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement unless eligible for special hiring authority, reinstatement eligible, non-current Federal employee applying as a VEOA eligible which do not require time-in-grade/band.
- Relocation Incentive may be offered (Current Federal employees only) up to $10,000.
- Recruitment Incentive may be offered (New Federal employees only) up to $10,000
Qualifications
Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=Occupational-Series
Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government.
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 being filled under the Department Of Commerce Alternative Personnel System (CAPS). Under CAPS, positions are classified by career path and pay band.
The ZP-4 is equivalent to the GS-13/14 grade levels.
To qualify at the ZP-4 level you must meet the following basic requirements and specialized experience.
BASIC REQUIREMENTS - All applicants must meet the basic requirements listed below:
A. Degree in 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:
- 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.
- 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, and Puerto Rico.
- 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.
- 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.)
-AND-
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-3 (or GS-12 equivalent pay band) in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as:
- Applying and interpreting engineering principles, statistical or computational methods, and relevant policies or guidelines to address challenges in the Radio Frequency (RF) spectrum; AND
- Conducting laboratory and field measurements of electromagnetic or wireless communication systems; AND
- Preparing and delivering scientific and technical reports, proposals, or publications; AND
- Presenting and briefing technical results or project progress to internal and external stakeholders; AND
- Formulating and executing research approaches that address spectrum management challenges.
NOTE: Education can not be substituted for experience at the ZP-4 grade level.
Education
There is a positive education requirement for this position.
See Qualifications Above.
NOTE:
Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. You MUST provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation when requested will result in lost consideration.
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
Review our benefits
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., two-page resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, the result of the USA Hire assessment and Structured Resume Review required for this position.
For Certain Military Spouses: All applicants who meet the qualification requirements and military spouse noncompetitive eligibility requirements (see "Additional Information" section above") will be forwarded to the Selecting Official for consideration on a separate referral list. While veterans' preference is not a consideration when filling positions under the military spouse non-competitive hiring authority, preference eligibles are encouraged to submit their supporting documentation (DD-214, stating disposition of discharge or character of service, VA letter, SF-15, etc.).
All:
"Performance appraisals and/or Incentive award documentation may be submitted and will be forwarded to the selecting official as support in consideration of your application in the evaluation process. To receive due weight, you must submit a recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable (do not submit a performance plan) and/or incentive award documentation (i.e. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increases, etc.)".
Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration.
The assessments will evaluate you on the following general/technical competencies required to perform the job; please do not provide a separate written response:
- Electronics Engineering
- Oral Communication
- Writing
- Research
- Attention to Detail
- Decision Making
- Integrity/Honesty
- Interpersonal Skills
- Learning
- Reading
- Reasoning
- Self-Management
- Teamwork
- Customer Service
- Flexibility
To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. Do NOT include the following types of information in your resume/application. If any are included, you will be deemed INELIGIBLE for consideration.
- Classified or government sensitive information
- Social Security Number (SSN)
- Photos of yourself
- Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.
To preview the questionnaire, click the following link:
https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12798349
How to Apply
Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section above. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration.The application process is as follows:
- To begin the application process, click the Apply Online button.
- Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation.
- Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
- Note: To update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (https://usajobs.gov). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.
- If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
- Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
- Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
- Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
- Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.
Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us.
To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. {If utilizing the "Locking Assessment Responses" functionality, substitute this paragraph with the recommended text found in Appendix E.}
To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.
Next steps
You will be notified of your application status through USAJOBS at four points during the hiring process, as applicable. You can check the status of your application by accessing the USAJOBS website at http://www.usajobs.gov and clicking on "Track Your Online Application." The four points of notification are:
- Application Received or Application Incomplete
- Minimum Qualification Requirement Met or Minimum Qualification Not Met;
- Eligible (Application Referred to the Selecting Official) or Ineligible (Application Not Referred to the Selecting Official); and
- Selected or Not Selected.
By submitting your application, you are certifying the accuracy of the information contained in your application. If you make a false statement in any part of your application, you may not be hired; you may be terminated after you begin work; or, you may be fined or jailed. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation.
You will be required to submit official documentation prior to appointment. The agency will then verify the information provided on your application (i.e., degree, veterans' preference, disability, etc.).