Clarification from the agency

Applications will only be accepted from students CURRENTLY enrolled in a degree or certificate-seeking (Diploma, Bachelors, Masters, etc.) academic program recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Full-time during school breaks and Part-time 10 to 20 hours while attending school.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is seeking bright, innovative, results-oriented individuals to join our Pathways Internship Program (IP). Internships can be seasonal (spring, summer, fall) or year-round. Interns may work full-time while on academic breaks or part-time (up to 20 hours per week) while attending school. The Internship Program under the Pathways Program is designed to provide students enrolled in a wide variety of educational institutions, from high school to graduate level, with opportunities to work in Federal agencies and explore Federal careers while still in school and getting paid for work performed. At the successful conclusion of this program, you may be eligible for non-competitive conversion to a Federal career or career-conditional position.

This developmental position serves as a critical technical resource for enabling national and international spectrum strategies, protecting mission-critical federal systems, and supporting global U.S. leadership in wireless technology innovation. This includes applying RF engineering principles to ensure spectrum-dependent systems are planned, coordinated, and operated efficiently, without harmful interference. These principles may include the analysis of communications, radar, and radionavigation systems; computational simulation and modeling of RF systems and electromagnetic compatibility and interference scenarios; and the development, testing, and evaluation of RF sensors, and radionavigation systems, and defense systems.

NOTE: This position is with either the Office of Spectrum Management or Institute for Telecommunication Sciences.

As a Student Trainee (General Engineering), you will perform the following duties:

• Providing engineering support services to higher graded engineers;
• Assisting in the testing, installation, modification or maintenance of electronics systems and components;
• Performing basic engineering analyses and calculations;
• Planning work procedures and researching available references for technical problem solving;
• Preparing reports for technical review by the senior staff.

This Job Opportunity Announcement may be used to fill other Student Trainee (General Engineering) GS-0899-5 FPL 9 positions within the Department of Commerce in the same geographical location or local commuting area with the same qualifications and specialized experience.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this position.
• You must be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a degree-seeking student the duration of the appointment.
• 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 or 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.
• Drug Test: NO
• License required: NO
• Pre-employment physical required: NO
• Bargaining Unit Position: NO
• Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE form 450): NO
• Permanent Change of Duty Station (PCS) Expense: WILL NOT be paid
• If selected, must sign Student Pathways Program Agreement and provide official transcript at the time of appointment and at the end of each academic term to ensure eligibility. Your college transcript is used to verify successful completion of degree, or college course work. Official transcripts will be required before you can report to duty.

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/

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.

To qualify, the candidate must:

• Be at least 16 years of age at the time of appointment.
• Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a student on at least a half-time schedule at a qualifying educational institution in a certificate, degree, or diploma program. Qualifying Educational Institutions are any of the following: 1) A public high school whose curriculum has been approved by a State or local governing body; 2) A private school that provides secondary education as determined under State law; 3) A home school that is allowed to operate in a State; 4) Any of the following educational institutions or curricula that have been accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education: A technical or vocational school; a 2-year or 4-year college or university; a graduate or professional school (e.g. law school, medical school); or a post-secondary home school curriculum.
• If selected, must sign Student Pathways Program Agreement and provide official transcript at the time of appointment and at the end of each academic term to ensure eligibility. Your college transcript is used to verify successful completion of degree, or college course work. Official transcripts will be required before you can report to duty.

To qualify at the GS-05 grade level you must possess one of the following:

EDUCATION: Completion of 4 academic years of post-high school leading to a bachelor's degree or equivalent degree in engineering or a related field.

OR

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-04 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as:

• Collecting engineering testing data; AND
• Developing basic functions in MATLAB or Python; AND
• Participating in research.

-OR-

COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

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.

Structured Resume Review: Subject matter experts (SMEs) will review your resume to determine your technical qualifications for this position based on the required specialized experience. SMEs will review ONLY two (2) pages of your resume. SMEs will not review additional information beyond your resume (e.g., cover letter, links embedded in your resume). Applicants passing the structured resume review will move on to the next phase of the assessment process.

If you meet the minimum qualifications stated in the vacancy announcement, you will be placed in one of the three pre-defined categories. The categories are "gold", "silver" and "bronze". Candidates placed in the "gold" category will be identified for referral to the hiring manager.

How you will be evaluated for preference eligibility: Within each category, those entitled to veterans' preference will be listed at the top of the pre-defined category for which they are placed. Preference eligible with a service-connected disability of 10% or more will be listed at the top of the highest quality category (gold) depending on the position and grade level of the job. For more information on Category Rating, please go to Category Rating.


The scored occupational questionnaire will evaluate you on the following competencies; please do not provide a separate written response:
· Attention to Detail
· Flexibility
· Interpersonal Skills
· Learning
· Problem Solving
· Self-Management
· Technology Application
· Oral Communication
· Accountability
· Written Communication
· Problem Solving
· Customer Service
· Computer Literacy

The online assessment will evaluate you on general competencies required to perform the job.

The assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the 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.

We recommend that you preview the online questions for this announcement before you start the application process. To preview the questionnaire, click the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12962051

A complete application consists of the following:

• Resume showing relevant experience; cover letter optional. Your resume must list your educational and work experience including the dates (mm/yy) of each employment along with the number of hours worked per week. Your resume may be used to validate your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire. Your resume should also indicate your citizenship and if you are registered with the Selective Service System if you are a male born after 12/31/59. Refer to the "How you will be Evaluated' section for types of information not to include in your resume/application.
• If you are a veteran with preference eligibility and you are claiming 5-points veterans' preference, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 stating disposition of discharge or character of service or other valid proof of eligibility (i.e., statement of service that shows service dates AND character of service). If you are claiming 10-point veterans' preference, you must also submit an SF-15, "Application for 10-Point Veterans' Preference" plus the proof required by that form. For more information on veterans' preference see http://www.opm.gov/staffingPortal/Vetguide.asp#VeteransEmploymentAct1998.
• Education. If this position requires proof of higher education, you must submit an unofficial transcript or a list of courses that includes the following information: name of accredited institution, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned.
• Transcript(s). All applicants MUST furnish a copy of their academic transcript(s); unofficial copies are acceptable. If selected, you will be required to provide official transcripts showing enrollment or course registration for the current academic semester. If selected, you will need to provide official transcripts to verify your educational qualifications prior to entrance on duty.
• Are you a current or former political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee? Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment:
  • Position title;
  • Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES, or Presidential Appointee);
  • Agency; and
  • Beginning and ending dates of appointment.

Students who are unable to provide a transcript will be required to submit a letter of verification from his/her education institution showing proof of enrollment in school for the current academic semester either as a part-time or full-time degree-seeking student (diploma, degree, etc.) You are not required to submit official documents at this time; copies are sufficient.

Failure to provide such documents when requested may result in lost consideration.

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. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website - http://www.ed.gov/international/usnei/us/workrecog.doc. 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.

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