PRINCIPAL TECHNICAL MANAGER FOR RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT Job in Indian Head, MD

Vacancy No. DE-12728732-25-JAS Department Naval Sea Systems Command
Salary $192,744.00 to $207,500.00 Grade 6 to 6
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 4/24/2025 Close Date 5/8/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Indian Head, MD


Summary

You will serve as the Principal Technical Manager for Research and Engineering Department for the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division (NSWC IHD).

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens

Duties

  • You will serve as the principal advisor and technical leader for shaping the research, development, science, technology and engineering associated with energetic materials and their use in ordnance systems.
  • You will guide, prioritize, and oversee the full range of research, technology development, acquisition, integration, in-service engineering, and ordnance assessment efforts to rapidly provide and deploy combat capability to the Nation’s warfighters.
  • You will provide expert technical and program advice for all areas of Research and Technology, and Systems Engineering related to energetics across the NAVSEA, Office of Naval Research (ONR), and the Navy.
  • You will provide expert guidance and direction to sponsors and stakeholders for the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense, other government agencies, academia, and industry on research, development and engineering of ordnance technologies.
  • You will serve as a consultant and expert advisor focused on increasing mutual understanding of emerging technologies and opportunities, fleet requirements, and more effective collaboration between warfare centers, academia, and industry.
  • You will serve as the Department Head of the Research and Engineering Department, providing leadership and technical direction, as well as administrative supervision to employees in the department.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Must be a US Citizen.
  • Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
  • Must participate in the direct deposit pay program.
  • New employees to the Department of the Navy will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov
  • Within the Department of Defense (DoD), the appointment of retired military members within 180 days immediately following retirement date to a civilian position is subject to the provisions of 5 United States Code 3326.
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
  • You will be required to complete ethics orientation within three months of appointment and submit a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report, OGE-450, within 30 days of appointment.
  • This position is covered under the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA). Certification in the Acquisition Functional Area and category assigned to the position is required within established category timeframes.
  • This position may require travel from normal duty station to CONUS and OCONUS and may include remote or isolated sites. You must be able to travel on military and commercial aircraft for extended periods of time.
  • Successful completion of a pre-employment drug test (including marijuana) is required. A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if you fail to report to the drug test appointment or fail the test. You will be subject to random testing.
  • You will be required to obtain and maintain an interim and/or final security clearance prior to entrance on duty. Failure to obtain and maintain the required level of clearance may result in the withdrawal of a job offer or removal.
  • Supervisors in the executive branch have heightened personal responsibility for advancing government ethics. You will be required to review the 14 General Principles of Ethical Conduct at 5 CFR 2635.101.

Qualifications

The applicant is to provide a separate narrative statement which describes fully, but concisely, how his/her experience supports each of the following Mandatory Technical Qualifications. Each technical qualification narrative should not exceed 2 pages. Failure to address these specific qualifications in a separate narrative statement will eliminate you from consideration:

1. Expert knowledge of weapons technology to include the areas of: (1) warheads and component technologies (energetics, fuzzing), (2) advanced diagnostics, modeling and simulation, (3) weapon system development and transition (design, build, test).

2. Expert knowledge in weapon system qualification, performance characterization, in-service engineering, ordnance assessment and an overall understanding of 6.1 - 6.7 of energetic systems transitions ordnance development from basic research to demilitarization.

3. Expert knowledge in weapon system usage, to include tactics and implementation, theater constraints, fleet needs and gap areas, weapon system platforms and general tactical doctrine.

4. Demonstrated subject matter expert (SME) in the field of energetics research, design/development, prototyping, in-service engineering/ordnance assessment (specific areas of expertise could include the following: organic synthesis of energetics, materials science & advanced fuels, formulations development & scale-up, polymer chemistry, improvised threats and munitions, Shock Physics Research, Advanced Diagnostics, Formulation Testing, Rocket Fuel Development, Reactive Material Research, Modeling & Simulation (M&S), Inorganic chemistry and new materials development, Reactive Materials development and characterization, Materials processing and testing, Advanced Fuels development).

5. Experience as a technical expert and consultant across areas associated with R & D and engineering of energetic materials.

6. Ability to develop and analyze future war-fighting concepts and capabilities.

7. Knowledge of energetic test and evaluation.

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=GS-PROF
AND
0801 Professional Engineering Series
1301 General Physical Science Series
1501 Mathematics Series

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.

Education

Applicants must meet the following positive education qualifications requirements of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualifications Standards Manual:

For 0801 Professional Engineering Series:
A. Degree: Engineering. Successful completion of a bachelor's or higher engineering degree from an accredited college or university. 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. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position.
-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:
(I) 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; or
(II) 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; or
(III) 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; or
(IV) 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.)

For 1301 General Physical Sciences Series:
Successful completion of a degree in physical science, engineering, or mathematics that includes 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics;
-or-
a combination of education and experience in one of the above majors that includes at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

For 1501 Mathematics Series:
Successful completion of a degree in mathematics, statistics, or actuarial science;
-or-
a combination of education and experience demonstrated by coursework that is equivalent to a major in mathematics, statistics, or actuarial science (at least 24 semester hours), plus appropriate experience or additional education.

An advanced degree of Master's or Ph.D. in one of the educational fields listed above is highly desirable.

Additional information

Senior Scientific Technical Manager (SSTM) positions are positions which exceed the ND-05 (GS-15 equivalent). SSTMs provide a continuity of technical leadership and oversight that is needed to ensure long term stewardship of an organization's technical capabilities. Typically, applicants for SSTM positions are expected to have a graduate degree, significant research or development experience, and a national or international reputation in his/her field and are recognized throughout the applicable community as a renowned expert. SSTM positions are in the competitive service.

This announcement is being used to recruit qualified individuals, under the STRL Direct Hire Authority, authorized by Section 1108 of the NDAA for FY 2009 for qualified candidates possessing an advanced degree to scientific and engineering positions, and Federal Register Notice (FRN), Volume 79 Number 144, dated 28 July 2014. An advanced degree is a Master's or higher degree from an accredited college or university in a field of scientific or engineering study directly related to the duties of the position to be filled.

This announcement is also being used to recruit qualified individuals under the STRL Direct Hire Authority, authorized by Section 1107 of the NDAA for FY 2014 for qualified candidates who possess a Bachelors' degree to scientific and engineering positions.

The Rule of Three, Veteran's Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to the Direct Hire process.

This position is not covered by the Department of Defense Priority Placement Program.

Additional vacancies may be filled by this announcement.

A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if the selectee fails to meet the pre-employment requirements, including failure to report to any of the scheduled appointments.

Federal annuitant information: The selection of an annuitant is subject to the Department of Defense and Department of the Navy policy on the employment of annuitants. Policy information may be found at: http://www.secnav.navy.mil/donhr/Documents/CivilianJobs/FedCivAnnuitants.pdf

Veteran's preference does not apply when selecting individuals under the specific hiring authority addressed in this announcement. However, if you claim veteran's preference, you will be required to submit supporting documentation with your application as described in the Required Documents section below.

Certain incentives (such as Recruitment, Relocation or Student Loan Repayment) may be authorized to eligible selectees.

A relocation incentive is generally a single payment intended to offset some of the relocation costs experienced by the selectee. A relocation incentive may be authorized.

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.

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, along with your supporting documentation to determine your ability to demonstrate the mandatory technical qualifications listed above.

You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process.

If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.

If after reviewing your resume and supporting documentation, a determination is made that you inflated your qualifications and/or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities or you may be found ineligible/not qualified.

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

All eligibility and qualifications requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Required Documents

You are required to provide documentation that supports the eligibility and qualification claims made in your resume and assessment questionnaire. You must submit the applicable documents listed here and those listed with the eligibilities you select in the announcement questionnaire with your application package. Applicants who do not provide supporting documentation that fully support their claims will not be referred to the hiring manager. Cover letter is optional.

A complete resume is required. Your resume must show relevant experience, job title, duties and accomplishments. Your resume must show complete information for each job entry to support minimum qualifications. The following information should be provided in your resume, but it is acceptable to provide elsewhere in your application package: employer's name, starting and end dates (Mo/Yr), hours per week, and pay plan, series and grade level (e.g. GS-0201-09) for relevant federal experience. TIP: A good way to ensure you include all essential information is to use the Resume Builder in USAJOBS to create your resume.

A separate narrative statement is required. Your narrative statement must address the Mandatory Technical Qualifications (MTQs).

Are you claiming membership in any professional organizations, or possession of a license, certificate or credentials? Check the Conditions of Employment section above to see if any are required. If you claim membership, license, certification, or credentials, you must submit a copy of said document in your application package.

Is there a basic education requirement for this position? Are you using education as a substitute for some or all of the experience requirement? Check the Education section above to see what is allowed and what is required. Any claims you make in your resume or assessment questionnaire regarding education or degrees MUST be supported by submitting with your application official or unofficial transcripts or a list of courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned issued from your school. While unofficial transcripts are acceptable for initial application, an official transcript will ultimately be required if you are selected for the position. You may submit a copy your degree(s) if specific coursework does not have to be verified.

Are you a veteran claiming 5-point veterans' preference or claiming sole survivorship preference? You must submit a copy of your latest DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (any copy that shows all dates of service, as well as character of service [Honorable, General, etc.] is acceptable) OR a VA letter that shows dates of service or service connected disability AND character of service. If you have more than one DD-214 for multiple periods of active duty service, submit a copy for each period of service. If you were issued a DD-215 to amend aforementioned information on the DD-214 you must submit that too. If you are not sure of your preference eligibility, visit the Department of Labor's website: Veterans' Preference Advisor

Are you a disabled veteran or claiming 10-point veterans' preference?
If you are eligible to claim 10 point veterans preference you must submit a DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty as described above for 5-point preference.

You must also provide the applicable supporting documentation of your disability (e.g. disability letter from the VA) as described on Standard Form-15 (SF-15). http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf.

Are you an active duty service member? Active Duty Service Members are required to submit a statement of service printed on command letterhead and signed by the command. The statement of service must provide the branch of service, rate/rank, all dates of service, the expected date of discharge and anticipated character of service (Honorable, General, etc.).

Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents contain personal information such as SSN and DOB and some documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove said personal information before you submit your application. You must provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected.

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

Click the Apply Online button to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
1. Complete resume. Your resume must show relevant experience, job title, duties and accomplishments. Your resume must show complete information for each job entry to support minimum qualifications. The following information should be provided in your resume, but it is acceptable to provide elsewhere in your application package: employer's name, starting and end dates (Mo/Yr), hours per week, and pay plan, series and grade level (e.g. GS-0201-09) for relevant federal experience. TIP: A good way to ensure you include all essential information is to use the Resume Builder in USAJOBS to create your resume.
2. Complete assessment questionnaire. For a quick preview of the assessment questionnaire click here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12728732
3. Documentation that supports all of the claims made in your resume and assessment questionnaire

Failure to submit a complete application package will result in an ineligible rating and loss of consideration.

Your complete application (resume, assessment questionnaire, and all supporting documents) must be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on 05/08/2025to receive consideration. Applications received after 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on 05/08/2025 will generally not be accepted. If more than one resume is received, only the last resume received and processed will be reviewed. Please do not submit multiple resumes.

NOTE: To check the status of your application or return to a previous or incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account: https://mydon.usajobs.gov/Account/Login select Application Status, and click on the more information link under the application status for this position. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process so please plan appropriately.

You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.

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, assessment questionnaire, and supporting documents are legible and accurate. Human Resources will not modify a resume or change an applicant's answer to a question, even upon request.

Agency contact information

Dept of the Navy Executive Hiring
Address
NAVSURFWARCEN IH DIV
4247 S Patterson Rd
Suite 116
Indian Head, MD 20640-5150
US

Next steps

When the application process is complete, your complete application (resume, assessment questionnaire, and all supporting documents) will be reviewed to determine if you meet the hiring eligibility and qualification requirements for which you requested consideration. You will be rated based on the information provided in your resume and responses to the questionnaire, along with your supporting documentation to determine your level of knowledge, skill, and ability related to the job requirements.

Generally, only best qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager. Sometimes well qualified andminimally qualified candidates are referred. Occasionally, candidates eligible for priority consideration are referred, and no other candidates are referred.

The hiring manager may choose to conduct interviews.

You will be notified of our rating and referral decision. If you are referred, you will be notified when a hiring decision is made.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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