AEROSPACE ENGINEER

Full Job Description

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The primary purpose of this position is: To serve as engineering expert and consultant for aircraft airworthiness assuranceand safety risk management, leading multi-discipline teams of engineers and aviation safety specialists.

In order to qualify, you must meet the specialized experience requirements described in the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards for General Schedule, Professional and Scientific Positions.

BASIC REQUIREMENT OR INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT: A. Degree: Engineering.

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.

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: 1.

Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT)1, 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.

2.

Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)2 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.

3.

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. 4.

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.) In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience at the next lower grade GS-13, or equivalent in other pay systems.

Examples of specialized experience includes knowledge of advanced concepts, principles and practices of aerospace engineering with emphasis aerospace systems and subsystems that enables employee to provide expert advice to leadership; knowledge of aviation mishap investigation techniques necessary to participate in investigations and formulate appropriate recommendations for equipment redesign and for policy initiatives; knowledge of related aviation engineering fields, such as software, electrical and electronic systems, in order to understand their basic functions and interactions with mechanical systems and subsystems; knowledge of the regulatory requirements, principles and practices of mishap investigation, system safety engineering and safety risk management, with emphasis on system analysis, hazard identification, analytical techniques, and safety risk assessments.

FEDERAL TIME-IN-GRADE (TIG) REQUIREMENT FOR GENERAL SCHEDULE (GS) POSITIONS: Merit promotion applicants must meet applicable time-in-­grade requirements to be considered eligible.

One year at the GS-13 level is required to meet the time-in-grade requirements for the GS-14 level. TIG applies if you are in a current GS position or held a GS position within the previous 52 weeks.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas: 1.

Broad knowledge of engineering principles and practices, with functional knowledge of all major systems and components used in air vehicles and with high-level specific expertise in selected specialty areas.

2.

Knowledge of aerospace materials properties, the application of fatigue, fracture mechanics and damage tolerance principles in design, manufacturing and maintenance practices used for aeronautical vehicles.

3. Expert knowledge of safety principles, practices, procedures, laws, regulations, and the ability to formulate mishap prevention and risk reduction theories, concepts, and practices. 4.

Knowledge of Air Force and DoD organizational structures and their functional responsibilities and operating procedures at the Headquarters, MAJCOM, Center and base levels related to acquisition, sustainment and operation of aircraft.

5. Demonstrated ability to plan, organize work and consistently meet milestones, suspenses and deadlines while maintaining effective interpersonal professional relationships. 6.

Highly skilled in effective oral and written communication, suitable for publication and/or presentation to both broad and specialized audiences and to senior USAF leadership.

PART-TIME OR UNPAID EXPERIENCE: Credit will be given for appropriate unpaid and or part-time work.

You must clearly identify the duties and responsibilities in each position held and the total number of hours per week.

VOLUNTEER WORK EXPERIENCE: Refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service Programs (i.e., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student and social).

Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge and skills that can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Major Duties:

Aeronautical systems analysis.

Leads teams of engineers from AFSEC and other organizations in the analysis of aerostructures, landing gear, fluid and mechanical systems, turboprop and turbofan engines, avionics, fire protection, egress and life support systems, and crashworthiness design, for the purpose of identifying potential hazards, ensuring adequate safety risk management and preventing mishaps.

Safety risk assessment & safety risk management.

Conceives, implements, develops and manages Air Force programs, policies and methodologies to produce and validate safety risk assessments for aeronautical system hazards, and prepares effective risk management plans.

Mishap investigation. Serves as a recognized technical authority in the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents, determination of causes, and development of corrective actions.

Risk mitigation solutions.

Conceives, plans and conducts analytical studies, technical reviews and system safetyengineering analyses to identify design changes, techniques, procedures and training that will reduce safety risks for aircraftand for the people operating and maintaining them.