Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- Must be a U.S. citizen
- Tour of Duty: Flexible
- Security Requirements: Non Sensitive
- Appointment is subject to the completion of a favorable suitability or fitness determination, where reciprocity cannot be applied; unfavorably adjudicated background checks will be grounds for removal.
- Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): Non-Exempt
- Selective Service Requirement: Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service.
- Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
- Bargaining Unit Status: Yes
- Pre-Employment Physical: Not Required
- Defense Acquisition Workforce position. Must complete DoD certification and other requirements. See Additional Information.
Qualifications
To qualify for a Quality Assurance Specialist, your resume and supporting documentation must support:
A. Have a bachelor's degree from an accredited educational institution with major study in quality assurance, statistics, mathematics, production management, industrial management, computer science, engineering, engineering technology, physical sciences, textiles, or another field related to the position AND meet Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) based on ONE of the following: (1) class standing (upper third standing in graduating class); -OR- (2) grade-point average (2.95 or higher overall or over the last two years of bachelor's degree -or- 3.45 in my major field or over the last two years in my major); -OR-(3) election to membership in a national scholastic honor society. -OR
B. Have at least one full year of graduate level study, or possess a master's or Ph.D., with major study in quality assurance, statistics, mathematics, production management, industrial management, computer science, engineering, engineering technology, physical science, textiles, or other closely related fields to the position. One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement. -OR
C. Have at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-5 in the Federal Service that demonstrated a practical knowledge in monitoring, controlling, or maintaining the quality of products or services in quality assurance, procurement, inspection, production, or related areas. Examples include: reviewing production activities and capabilities in light of contract quality requirements; or reviewing written quality or inspection procedures for adequacy, and evaluating the implementation and effectiveness of quality/inspection systems, including sampling plans; or analyzing quality data to detect unsatisfactory trends or weaknesses in the quality/inspection system; or verifying by test or inspection, using sampling inspection or intensive product inspection techniques, that products comply with requirements prior to acceptance; or identifying inadequacies and requesting corrective action; or computing data, summarizing results, and preparing reports or charts depicting pertinent relationships using statistical methods; or Investigating customer complaints and deficiency reports, and providing identification of causes to appropriate authorities; or reading, interpreting, and applying technical data such as blueprints, engineering drawings, product specifications, or technical manuals; or reviewing and evaluating supply systems operations and procedures through periodic audits and surveillance inspections. -OR-
D. Have less than the full amount of graduate education described in "B" and less than the amount of experience described in "C," but have a combination of the type of graduate education described in "B" and the type of experience described in "C."COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: If you do not qualify based on education or experience alone, you can combine your education and experience by converting each to a percentage and then adding the percentages.(If your education is currently described in quarter hours, convert the quarter hours into semester hours by multiplying the quarter hours by the fraction 2/3.) For GS-7: To calculate your percentage of graduate education divide the number of graduate semester hours by 18.Refer to the qualification requirements above for a description of the type of experience that is considered qualifying. To determine your percentage of qualifying experience, you must divide your total number of months of qualifying experience by the required number of months of experience. GS-07: Requires 12 months of specialized experience as described in "C" above. Now add your percentages of education and experience. The two percentages must total at least 100% for you to qualify under the combination of education and experience.
NOTE REGARDING EDUCATION: Legible transcripts MUST be submitted to substantiate your education claims or you may be rated ineligible. Documentation must substantiate meeting qualification requirements as defined above. At time of application, unofficial transcripts are acceptable. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement.
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.
Education
Are you using your education to qualify? You MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: Unofficial transcripts are acceptable at time of application. All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency accordingly. If selected, an official transcript will be required prior to appointment.
GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours that your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.
FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.
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 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 submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. 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 10/22/2024.
- After submitting your online application, you will be notified whether or not you are required to take any additional online assessments through the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment system. This message will be delivered to you both on screen and via email notification. The email may be routed to your "Spam" or "Junk" folder. If you do not receive the email invitation to the assessment and you meet the minimum qualifications for the position, you should contact https://apply.usastaffing.gov/HelpTicket to request the email be re-sent. Requests to re-send invitations to the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments must be received by https://apply.usastaffing.gov/HelpTicket BEFORE the close of the JOA.
- If you are asked to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be presented with a unique URL to access the USA Hire system. Access to USA Hire is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Be sure to review all instructions prior to beginning your USA Hire Assessments. Click here for Computer System Requirements.
- NOTE: Set aside at least 3 hours to take these assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue at a later time, you can re-use the URL sent to you via email and also found in your USAJOBS account under the "Track my application" link for the corresponding application.
You may update your application documents and some questions related to your personal information at any time during the announcement open period. However, you will not be able to make changes to questions related to assessing the minimum qualifications and competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics) mentioned in the "How You Will Be Evaluated" section above. To make an allowed update to your application, return to your USAJOBS account (
https://www.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.
To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account at
https://www.usajobs.gov. On the Home page, scroll down and locate your job application. Once the job has been located, click the "Track this application" link on the right under the application date. The page will refresh to display the Agency's Application Information page where you can scroll down and review any notifications the agency has sent you. 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/.
Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here:
https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire.
To preview the questionnaire, please go to
https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12573640.
Next steps
If you meet the minimum qualifications of this position, you may be presented with instructions on how to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments (CBA) system. These additional online assessments must be completed within 48 hours following the close of this announcement unless you have requested Reasonable Accommodation for the USA Hire CBA. Your results will be kept on record for one year when applying for future jobs that require the same USA Hire CBA. NOTE: If the USA Hire CBA is altered within a year of your last application, you will be required to take the new USA Hire CBA. If no additional online assessments are required you will receive an OPM notification stating "It has been determined that you have completed all required online assessments and your application is complete. No further action is required."
Once you successfully complete the application process, you will receive a notification of receipt. Your application package will be reviewed to ensure you meet the basic eligibility and qualifications requirements, and you will receive a notification. A review may be completed of your online questionnaire and the documentation you submitted to support your responses. Applicants that are found qualified may be referred to the hiring official for consideration, and you will receive a notification of referral. The selecting official may choose to conduct interviews, and as part of the selection process, applicants may be required to complete additional supplemental documents. Once the selection is made, you will receive a notification of the decision. If interviews are conducted, DLA uses a technique called Behavior Based Interviewing (BBI). Be sure to check your USA Jobs account for your notification updates.