Director, Office of Safety & Mission Assurance

Full Job Description

The Director, Safety & Mission Assurance (S&MA) is responsible for managing and directing the safety and product assurance activities for all Agency human spaceflight activities at the Stennis Space Center (SSC), such as the International Space Station, Space Launch System, Commercial Orbital Transportation Systems, and Commercial Crew Development Programs, etc., as well as Research and Development activities, Range Management and Industrial Operations.

As a basic requirement for entry into the Senior Executive Service (SES) under a career appointment, you must clearly articulate and describe within your 2-page resume hat you possess the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and Mandatory Technical Qualifications MTQ(s) related to this position.

If your 2-page resume does not reflect demonstrated evidence of the ECQs and MTQ(s), you may be disqualified. Any additional pages over the 2-page limit will not be reviewed.

Your resume should include evidence of progressively responsible supervisory, managerial, or professional experience which involved management of a program or organization of significant scope and complexity, normally obtained over several years by serving in positions at the GS-15 level or equivalent.

If you are (1) currently serving under a career SES appointment, (2) eligible for reinstatement into the SES (this means you were previously employed as a Career SES employee and you successfully completed a one-year probationary period), OR (3) have successfully completed a SES Candidate Development Program (CDP) and certified by OPM, you do not need to address the ECQs in your resume.

However, your resume must clearly state that you are a current career SES, eligible for SES reinstatement, or SES CDP certified and year of certification.

Please DO NOT submit separate documents addressing the ECQs or MTQ(s). Only your 2-page resume will be accepted and considered. Any additional documents submitted will not be accepted.

EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs) For more information on the ECQs, please visit OPM's ECQ webpage.

ECQ 1 - Commitment to the Rule of Law and the Principles of the American Founding: This core qualification requires a demonstrated knowledge of the American system of government, commitment to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law, and commitment to serve the American people.

Competencies: Knowledge of the American System of Government, Commitment to the Rule of Law, and Civic-Mindedness ECQ 2 - Driving Efficiency: This core qualification involves the demonstrated ability to strategically and efficiently manage resources, budget effectively, cut wasteful spending, and pursue efficiency through process and technological upgrades.

Competencies: Fiscal Responsibility, Managing Resources, Leveraging Technology ECQ 3 - Merit and Competence: This core qualification involves the demonstrated knowledge, ability and technical competence to effectively and reliably produce work that is of exceptional quality.

Competencies: Technical Skill, Problem Solving, Agility and Resilience ECQ 4 - Leading People: This core qualification involves the demonstrated ability to lead and inspire a group toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals, and to drive a high-performance, high-accountability culture.

This includes, when necessary, the ability to lead people through change and to hold individuals accountable.

Competencies: Accountability, Developing Others, Executive Judgment ECQ 5 - Achieving Results - This core qualification involves the demonstrated ability to achieve both individual and organizational results, and to align results to stated goals from superiors.

Competencies: Operational Mindset, Innovation, Strategic Thinking MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATION (MTQ): Your resume must include accomplishments that address the MTQ(s).

MTQ 1 - Demonstrated experience in leading and managing an organization, responsible for safety and mission assurance functions for institutional safety, propulsion and space launch vehicle test operations, and/or range operations.

This includes system safety, hazard analysis and quality assurance, pressure system and pressure vessel management, and risk management. Competencies: Quality Engineering and Assurance, System Safety.

Your application package must be in your own words.

Experience statements copied from a position description, vacancy announcement, or other reference material constitutes plagiarism and may result in disqualification and losing consideration for the job.

NASA prohibits the use of artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted tool in drafting application and assessment responses.

Please visit https://www.nasa.gov/careers/how-to-apply/#Artificial-Intelligence to review NASA's guidance on the use of AI tools during the application process. Major Duties:

The Director, Office of Safety & Mission Assurance: Develops and implements the capability to independently analyze and assess the safety, reliability, maintainability, and quality aspects of the design, development, test, manufacturing, and operational phases of aerospace programs.

Establishes policy, requirements, and criteria pertaining to these functions, and for ensuring SSC organizational and contractor compliance with the Center's Quality Management System.

Implements Agency S&MA policies and practices for programs and projects at SSC. This includes monitoring support contractor S&MA efforts.

Serves as technical expert, policy advisor, and consultant to the Center Director and senior staff on S&MA matters.

Advises the Center Director and senior Agency management regarding the overall status of S&MA issues.

Continually participates with Program Managers, Project Managers, and other managers of functional directorates in the development of policies, procedures, plans, and requirements for S&MA activities.

Develops plans, schedules, and procedures to implement the S&MA functions for the Program and Projects Offices, other Center organizations, and support contractor organizations.

Establishes requirements and criteria in procurement documents, and evaluates resulting proposals relative to the design, manufacturing, qualifications and testing of aerospace spacecraft, systems, subsystems, experiments, and related support equipment.

Provides support for program milestone reviews and provides an assessment report to the Flight Readiness Review Board.

Serves as the approval authority for the Center Director on requests for waivers to Center Safety policies and regulations; and acts for the program offices when authorized as approval authority for waivers to quality and reliability requirements.

Monitors spaceflight mission in real time to assist in the analysis of flight anomalies and corrective measures and participates in postflight analysis and test activities.

Monitors critical and hazardous testing and provides for safety hazards recognition and safety training.

Works with and supports responsible SSC directorates in environmental health, radiation safety, and range safety to ensure an integrated safety program for the Center, its employees, and tenants.

Ensures a safe working environment for all employees, ensures employees are provided adequate training and instructions on safety issues, and ensures that safety is a top priority in facility management and operations.

Engages with on-site tenants and partners, as required, in alignment with agreements and responsibilities, to ensure appropriate compliance and alignment with all applicable safety policies and requlations.