Electronics Engineer

Full Job Description

This vacancy is for an Electronics Engineer in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS) within the Department of Commerce.

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/#url=Occupational-Series 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. This position is being filled under the Department of Commerce (DOC) Alternative Personnel System (CAPS).

Under CAPS, positions are classified by career path and pay band. The ZP-3 is equivalent to the GS-11/12 grade levels. The ZP-4 is equivalent to the GS-13/14 grade levels.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS - All applicants must meet the basic requirements listed below: A. Degree in 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: 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.

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.

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.

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.) -AND- SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: All applicants must possess specialized experience and/or education outlined for each band level identified below: To qualify at the ZP-3 or GS-11/12 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-2 (or GS-9 equivalent pay band) in the Federal service.

Specialized experience is defined as: Applying mathematical, statistical, simulation, or signal-processing methods to analyze measured radio frequency (RF), Radar, or electromagnetic signals; Evaluating the performance of Radar, RF, or electromagnetic signals using analytical or numerical methods; Preparing written technical reports or publications and presenting technical results to internal or external stakeholders; AND Executing research approaches that address Radar, RF, or electromagnetic signal or spectrum challenges.

-OR- SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.

-OR- COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE that together meets 100% of the required qualifications for this position.

To qualify at the ZP-4 or GS-13/14 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-3 (or GS-12 equivalent pay band) in the Federal service.

Specialized experience is defined as: Planning and conducting laboratory or field measurement campaigns for Radar, radiofrequency (RF) signals, or wireless systems; Integrating radiofrequency (RF), Radar, or electromagnetic signal measurement data with analytical or numerical models to assess interference effects, protection criteria, or system performance; Authoring scientific and technical reports or publications, and presenting results to internal and external audiences; Formulating and leading research activities that address Radar, RF, or electromagnetic signal or spectrum challenges; AND Providing technical recommendations to inform program, research, or spectrum management challenges.

NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with the application. Education cannot be credited without supporting documentation. Major Duties:

As an Electronics Engineer, you will perform the following duties: Provide technical leadership and serve as a principal investigator or senior technical authority in the development of new radiofrequency experiments, systems, and analytical approaches to support spectrum management.

Evaluate and analyze current spectrum management programs and policies; develop and implement wireless or electromagnetic measurement systems; characterize equipment spectrum emissions, and assess conformance with spectrum regulations; develop and recommend mitigation methods, technical approaches, or procedures to resolve interference issues or facilitate more efficient spectrum use.

Measure and evaluate the current use and allocation of the radio spectrum to inform the development of new band plans.

Provide subject matter expertise in internal and external technical forums; brief senior leadership, high-level officials, and external stakeholder groups Analyze and track the progress of research and effectively report to managers, external stakeholders, and senior-level policymakers; report findings and recommendations tactfully and persuasively.

Author major engineering reports and technical publications that inform spectrum management, standards development, or system interoperability requirements.

Develop project status and budget tracking reports.

Formulate research and engineering strategies, define technical direction, and develop new methods and tools to address complex and emerging radio spectrum management challenges.

Design, direct, and oversee tests and measurements and/or develop and validate state-of-the-art theoretical and empirical radio spectrum or wireless system models; translate findings into technical recommendations to support spectrum management.

This Job Opportunity Announcement may be used to fill other Electronics Engineer ZP-0855-3/4, FPL ZP-4 positions within the Department of Commerce in the same geographical location with the same qualifications and specialized experience.