Electronics Engineer

Clarification from the agency

Current FCC Employees Only

• Serves as a consultant and advisor to the Branch Chief and higher management on the development of technical requirements covering diverse state-of-the-art communications equipment and techniques.
• Develops policy recommendations on unique and challenging allocation matters relating to the shared use of governmental and non-governmental spectrum bands.
• Drafts memoranda, correspondence, speeches, and Commission decision documents as required.
• Works with senior engineers on projects and negotiations on resolutions to complex engineering and policy matters with engineering staff of other Bureaus/Offices, and as appropriate other Federal agencies.

Conditions of employment

• FCC Employees Only.
• Suitable for employment as determined by a background investigation.
• Current FCC employees must provide SF-50 verifying grade & status.
• Resume must not exceed two pages and must meet resume format criteria.
• Education-Transcripts Required
• Security Clearance Required
• Drug Testing Required.

In order to be considered for this position, applicants must:

-Currently be employed in the Federal Communications Commission in positions serving under career or career conditional appointments.

ALL FCC EMPLOYEES MUST provide a legible Personnel Action, SF-50, that verifies your status and highest permanently held grade.  If an SF-50 is not submitted, the application will be rated as ineligible. To request a copy of your SF-50 please send an email to PersonnelRecordsRequest@fcc.gov

Qualifications

Interested candidates should be passionate about the ideals of our American republic, committed to upholding the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution, and committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government. Hiring decisions will not be based on race, sex, color, religion, or national origin.

Applicants must meet eligibility and qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.  Current Federal employees must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement.  

To be deemed as qualified, candidates must meet the qualification criteria as listed in both Part A & Part B.

PART A. REQUIRED OPM EDUCATION

Candidates must meet the OPM educational qualification standards as listed here: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf

Applicants are required to submit transcripts (unofficial or official) to confirm attainment of the OPM educational requirements for this position. If transcripts are not submitted, the application will be rated as ineligible.

PART B. ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATION CRITERIA

GS-12

In addition to meeting the educational qualification requirements, candidates must have one year of specialized experience which is equivalent to the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as follows: 1) Experience which demonstrates knowledge of the concepts, principles and practices of electronics engineering as it relates to telecommunications;  2) Experience performing engineering analysis and studies concerning radio frequency communications systems;  3) Experience which demonstrates knowledge of FCC policies and regulations as pertains to spectrum coordination among FCC Bureaus/Offices and Federal Departments/Agencies; and 4) Experience writing technical documents with analyses and recommendations.

PART-TIME OR UNPAID EXPERIENCE: 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.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Optional Four Essay Questions

At the time of application, applicants have the option of answering the following four short, free-response essay questions.

1. How has your commitment to the Constitution and the founding principles of the United States inspired you to pursue this role within the Federal government? Provide a concrete example from professional, academic, or personal experience.
2. In this role, how would you use your skills and experience to improve government efficiency and effectiveness? Provide specific examples where you improved processes, reduced costs, or improved outcomes.
3. How would you help advance the President’s Executive Orders and policy priorities in this role? Identify one or two relevant Executive Orders or policy initiatives that are significant to you, and explain how you would help implement them if hired.
4. How has a strong work ethic contributed to your professional, academic or personal achievements? Provide one or two specific examples, and explain how those qualities would enable you to serve effectively in this position.

Applicants will be required to certify that they are using their own words, and did not use a consultant or AI (such as a large language model [LLM]). The responses to each question cannot exceed 200 words per question.

All applicants will be rated on the extent and quality of experience and education relevant to the duties of the position.  An automated score is administered based on the on-line application process used.  Eligible applicants will receive a numerical rating based on their responses to the job specific questions for this position.

There are several parts to the application process that affect the overall evaluation of your application including:

1. the core questions
2. the vacancy questions
3. supplemental documentation (e.g., DD-214, SF-50, SF-15, transcripts), if applicable; and
4. your resume.

Applicants will be rated ineligible, if they do not respond to job specific questions provide supplemental documents and submit resume.  For more information, please click on Rating Process

SME REVIEW

Subject matter experts will review your application to determine if you meet the following required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA's):

• Knowledge of the concepts, principles and practices of electronics engineering as it relates to telecommunications.
• Knowledge of spectrum coordination among FCC Bureaus/Offices and Federal Departments/Agencies to mitigate potential harmful interference to Federal and non-Federal operations.
• Ability to evaluate and analyze new or novel applications of existing communication technology.
• Knowledge of radio frequency engineering, RF propagation physics and phenomena, the FCC’s equipment authorization processes, and principles of spectrum management.
• Written and oral communication skills in order to convey information clearly and concisely to effectively present recommendations, to gain credibility and acceptance of recommendations, and to engender cooperation and support.

If you are deemed to be qualified by the Subject Matter Experts, your application will be referred to the hiring manager for hiring consideration. Alternatively, if your application is not deemed as qualified by the Subject Matter Experts, your application will not be referred to the hiring manager for hiring consideration.

Merit Hiring Plan Resume Requirements

In compliance with Executive Order 14170, Reforming the Federal Hiring Process and Restoring Merit to Government Service resumes must not be longer than two pages in length. The resume must address minimum qualifications and other requirements listed in the job announcement.

Resumes must include all of the following information outlined below:

Contact Information

Name and how best to contact you, including email address and phone number.

Relevant Work Experience

• Job Title and Employer (including series and grade for any Federal positions)
• Start and end dates with month/year (e.g., 05/2019 –08/2022)
• The number of hours you worked per week

Ensure work experience descriptions are aligned with the job announcement and address all required qualifications. Brief descriptions should demonstrate your ability to perform the tasks at the required level as stated in the job announcement.

Resumes must be formatted as outlined above. If the two page resume criteria and/or the resume formatting requirement is not met candidates will be rated as ineligible and will not be referred for hiring consideration.

The FCC is providing the following applicant resume resources: 

• Applicant Guidance on the Two-Page Resume Limit
• USAjobs-How to Write a Federal Resume

ALL SUPPLEMENTAL DOCUMENTS MUST BE UPLOADED BY THE CLOSING DATE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. 

Supplement Documents Required: Employees must provide a legible Personnel Action, SF-50, that verifies your status and highest permanently held grade.  If an SF-50 is not submitted, the application will be rated as ineligible.

ALL FCC EMPLOYEES MUST provide a legible Personnel Action, SF-50, that verifies your status and highest permanently held grade.  If an SF-50 is not submitted, the application will be rated as ineligible. To request a copy of your SF-50 please send an email to PersonnelRecordsRequest@fcc.gov

Next steps