Summary
Responsible for advising and managing efforts associated with DoD's Technical Nuclear Forensics, military applications of nuclear energy, nuclear weapons effects, nuclear survivability, and nuclear threat reduction-related activities and other duties as assigned. Supports day-to-day operational matters and research, development, test, and evaluation programs within these portfolios.
Duties
This is a Direct Hire Public Notice, under this recruitment, applications will be accepted for each location and/or installation identified in this Public Notice and selections are made for vacancies as they occur. There may or may not be actual/projected vacancies at the time you submit your application.
This Public Notice is to gather applications which may or may not result in a referral or selection.
This position is being filled under the memorandum from the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (USD(P&R)) "Expansion of Direct Hire Authority for Certain Personnel of the Department of Defense," dated August 12, 2024.
Please read this Public Notice in its entirety prior to submitting your application for consideration.
Incumbents typical work assignments may include the following:
- Serve as Deputy Director, Nuclear Forensics, Energy, and Survivability (NFES).
- Assists the Director, NFES in managing and prioritizing workflow for all military, federal civilian, and contract support personnel to ensure efficient and on-time completion of a wide variety of complex tasks and projects.
- Assists the Director, NFES in leading analysis, developing policy, guiding implementation, and providing oversight for nuclear forensics, nuclear weapons effects, military applications of nuclear energy, and nuclear survivability consistent with Presidential guidance.
- Assists the Director, NFES in translating higher echelon goals and objectives into actionable plans and assigning specific tasks and timelines to subordinate staff. Provides advice and guidance to subordinate staff in executing these tasks and monitors progress to completion.
- Assists the Director, NFES serving as the Chairperson for the DoD Nuclear Forensics Working Group and centralized coordinator to sponsor research, development, test, and evaluation to enhance Defense technical nuclear forensics collection, assessment, and evaluation. Manages the day-to-day activities of the nuclear forensics mission and associated exercises.
- Assists the Director, NFES in maintaining cognizance of obligations and expenditures as the DoD centralized coordinator of National Technical Nuclear Forensics (NTNF) programs and select nuclear survivability efforts.
- Assists the Director, NFES as the OSD principal point of contact for nuclear survivability policy and standards, providing technical guidance in the assessment of mission critical system survivability in nuclear weapons environments.
- Ensures Doctrine, Organization, Training, Material, Leadership, Personnel, Facilities, and policy across DoD are consistent with US Guidance.
- Assists the Director, NFES in coordinating the military use of nuclear energy among Services and Agencies. Provide advice and support to the ASD(ND-CBD) role as advisor to the Secretary on matters related to nuclear energy.
- Teams with other OSD, Joint Staff, Services, and Defense Agency offices along with interagency partners to develop, integrate, and manage nuclear forensics, effects, energy, and survivability equities and activities.
- Develops, reviews, and/or evaluates reports and briefings related to (among other topics): Nuclear forensics, nuclear energy, nuclear weapons effects, nuclear survivability, nuclear threat reduction and any related policy or budget matters.
- Evaluates legislative language for impacts on assigned areas of responsibility and provides higher echelons with advice and courses of action as needed to minimize negative outcomes and maximize mission effectiveness.
- Prepares and coordinates technical program reviews and analysis of programmatic and fiscal changes.
- Assists the Director, NFES in overseeing development of, and advising other organizations and leadership on, strategic communications on assigned areas of responsibility, including public statements, media engagements, Congressional reports, inquiries, and testimony, and foreign government interactions.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- U.S. Citizenship is required
- Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/Home/Registration)
- May be required to successfully complete a probationary/trial period
- Must be determined suitable for federal employment
- Required to participate in the direct deposit program
- This position is subject to pre-employment and random drug testing
- Position requires a Top Secret/SCI clearance
- This position requires a Program Management Practitioner 2 DAWIA (Back to Basics) acquisition certification. You will have 60 months to achieve this certification.
- Condition of appointment, a written agreement to remain in Federal service in the position for at least three years.
- Travel required <25%
Qualifications
For qualifications determinations, it is recommended that applicants include their months and hours worked per week for each employment listed on their resume. If a determination is not able to be made about the length of your creditable experience for qualification requirements, you will be removed from consideration.
Read more about what should I include in my federal resume? at
https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/faq/application/documents/resume/what-to-include/
You may qualify at the GS-14/15 level, if you fulfill the following qualification requirement:
One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service (experience may have been gained in the private or military sector) that demonstrates your ability to:
- Interacting with a wide variety of DoD and NNSA components, interagency and private sector partners, and foreign government partners.
- Briefing senior levels of the U.S. government and preparing them for public and Congressional engagements.
- Understanding of U.S nuclear weapons systems, strategic deterrence policies, and interagency relationships.
- Evaluating legislative language and providing recommendations to superiors.
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.
All qualifications and education requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement and clearly documented in your resume.
Education
Education cannot be substituted for experience.
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.
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.
Traditional rating and ranking of applications does not apply to this vacancy. Your application (resumes and supporting documentation) will be evaluated to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications required as listed in this announcement.
Note: Under this DHA, veteran's preference does not apply.
When the application process is complete, we will review your resume to ensure you meet the hiring eligibility and qualification requirements listed in this announcement. You will be rated based on the information provided in your resume and responses to the Occupational Questionnaire.
Your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine your eligibility and qualifications for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.
Your responses to the questionnaire may be compared to the documents you submit. The documents you submit must support your responses to the online questionnaire. If your application contradicts or does not support your questionnaire responses, you will receive a rating of "not qualified" or "insufficient information" and you will not receive further consideration for this job.
Applicants who disqualify themselves will not be evaluated further.
Required Documents
YOU ARE REQUIRED TO DOCUMENT IN YOUR APPLICATION PACKAGE EVIDENCE THAT SUPPORTS YOUR ELIGIBILITY AND QUALIFICATION CLAIMS. You MUST upload the applicable documents with your application package. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.
1. If you submit more than one copy of your resume, only the most recent version will be reviewed. The latest timestamp will be used to determine which version of your resume is "most recent."
If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations and you will not be considered for this vacancy.
2. Other supporting documents:
- Cover Letter, optional
- Most recent SF-50, "Notification of Personnel Action" showing you are/were in the competitive service and the highest grade held (WHS serviced employees SF-50s will be verified via eOPF).
- PPP Registrants/Eligibles: Must submit the following applicable documents: 1) PPP registration 2) PCS orders (if applicable)
DOES THIS POSITION REQUIRE A LICENSE OR CERTIFICATE?
You are strongly encouraged to provide a copy of your license or certificate in your application package. It is also acceptable to document your license number and the name of the licensing authority in your resume.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from
schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
How to Apply
This announcement will close on September 26, 2025 or when 100 applications have been received, whichever is sooner.
To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.
The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date of the announcement (09/26/2025) to receive consideration.
- To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.
- Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
- After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
- You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application.
- To view the assessment questionnaire, click here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12797168
To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (
https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login) all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit:
https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.
You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.
Failure to submit a complete application package will result in an ineligible rating and loss of consideration.
Do not email or send hard copy resumes/applications to the Contact Information or Agency Information listed in this vacancy announcement. All resumes/applications received at the addresses listed in the Contact Information or Agency Information will be destroyed and will not be considered for this vacancy announcement.
It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that all information in their resume and documents are legible and accurate. HR will not modify answers/documents submitted by an applicant.
Washington Headquarters Services provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please view the "Alternate Application" method listed in the "Other Information" section of this announcement. Your requests for reasonable accommodation will be addressed on a case-by-case basis. Please visit the following link for more information
http://http://www.esd.whs.mil/Directives/issuances/admin_inst/
Next steps
Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. Your application will be evaluated by the Human Resources Office to determine your eligibility for the position. After the evaluation is complete, you will receive another notification regarding the status of your application. If you are determined to be ineligible or not qualified, your application will receive no further consideration.
Stay informed of changes to your application status by signing up for automatic email alerts at: https://www.usajobs.gov/Applicant/Application/ListApplications?
Washington Headquarters Services is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.