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Posted: February 11, 2026 (1 day ago)

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General Engineer/Operations Research Analyst

Missile Defense Agency

Department of Defense

Fresh

Location

Salary

$93,216 - $144,102

per year

Closes

February 18, 2026

GS-11 Pay Grade

Base salary range: $62,107 - $80,737

Typical requirements: 1 year specialized experience at GS-10. Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 years graduate study.

Note: Actual salary includes locality pay (15-40%+ depending on location).

Job Description

Summary

This job involves managing and advising on the testing and integration of complex weapon systems, like those used in missile defense, to ensure they work reliably.

It requires a strong engineering background to develop testing strategies and support model verification.

A good fit would be an experienced engineer who enjoys working on high-stakes defense projects and has hands-on knowledge of systems testing.

Key Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree in engineering from an ABET-accredited program or equivalent combination of education and experience
  • One year of specialized experience at NH-02/GS-11 level in federal service
  • Experience managing engineering test programs for complex weapon systems
  • Consulting on testing of complex weapons systems, sub-systems, and components
  • Advising on integration of complex weapon systems
  • Developing test concepts, policies, and standards for model verification, validation, and accreditation
  • U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain security clearance (implied for DoD role)

Full Job Description

The position(s) covered by this vacancy announcement is in the Department of Defense (DoD) Acquisition Workforce Personnel Demonstration Project (AcqDemo).

For more information please see: AcqDemo This is a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) solicitation utilizing the DHA for Acq Demo Business and Technical Management to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service.

You may qualify at the NH 03 Broadband Level, if you fulfill the following qualifications: One year of specialized experience equivalent to the NH-02/GS-11 grade level in the Federal service as listed below and must meet two of the four specialized experience listed below to be qualified: Managing engineering test programs of complex weapon systems for organization.

Consulting on complex weapons systems testing, sub-systems, and components. Advising on the integration of complex weapon systems.

Developing test concepts, policies, and standards to support the verification validation, and accreditation of core models. 0801 Series: 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.) For the 1515 series: Degree: in operations research; or at least 24 semester hours in a combination of operations research, mathematics, probability, statistics, mathematical logic, science, or subject-matter courses requiring substantial competence in college-level mathematics or statistics.

At least 3 of the 24 semester hours must have been in calculus.

Evaluation of Education: The primary requirement of operations research work is competence in the rigorous methods of scientific inquiry and analysis rather than in the subject matter of the problem.

Therefore, applicants should have sufficient knowledge of applied mathematics to understand and use the fundamental concepts and techniques of operations research methods of analysis.

In addition, some positions may require knowledge of a specific subject area.

Courses acceptable for qualifying for operations research positions may have been taken in departments other than Operations Research, e.g., Engineering (usually Industrial Engineering), Science, Economics, Mathematics, Statistics, or Management Science.

The following are illustrative of acceptable courses: optimization; mathematical modeling; queuing theory; engineering; physics (except descriptive or survey courses); econometrics; psychometrics; biometrics; experimental psychology; physical chemistry; industrial process analysis; managerial economics; computer science; measurement for management; mathematical models in social phenomena; and courses that involved application of operations research techniques and methodologies to problems of management, marketing, systems design, and other specialized fields; or other comparable quantitative analysis courses for which college-level mathematics or statistics is a prerequisite.

Courses in theory of probability and statistics are highly desirable, but are not specified as minimum educational requirements because to do so would possibly exclude some applicants who would otherwise be well qualified.

NOTE: Failure to provide transcripts will result in you being rated ineligible for this position. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement. Major Duties:

As an Interdisciplinary General Engineer/Operations Research Analyst at the NH-0801/1515-03 level.

Some of your typical work assignments may include: Assist Mission Director in the development of MDS Ground Test event schedules, configuration management of test event products and development of information and decision briefs.

Serve as Mission Test Director for highly complex Missile Defense System (MDS) Ground Tests.

Direct Test activities and lead participants in a multi-lab environment, to include training and execution activities Assist with Ground Test Schedule Management and Deconfliction.

Assist with System Test Observations (STOs) tracking, reporting, and closure. Performs other duties as assigned.

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Posted on USAJOBS: 2/11/2026 | Added to FreshGovJobs: 2/12/2026

Source: USAJOBS | ID: MDA-26-12880478-DH