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The primary purpose of this position is to serve as the principal scientific authority and independent researcher for hypersonic system development across multiple AFRL Directorates and therefore must apply an AFRL corporate strategic view and balance competing viewpoints from across AFRL.
11/07/2023 to 12/03/2023
$141,022 - $204,000 per year
GS 00
1 vacancy in the following location:
No
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Multiple Appointment Types - Temporary Promotion NTE 5 Years or Term Appointment NTE 5 years
Full-time
Competitive
00
No
Yes
SAFMRL2023-52
759639100
1. Represents AFRL to external audiences. Engages across multiple leadership levels and organizations to develop and execute a comprehensive, effective technology maturation strategy. Specifically, the Senior Scientist articulates technical development status and requirements to AFRL, DAF, and Department of Defense (DoD) senior leadership. The incumbent also builds technical relationships with external development partners such as, but not limited to, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Reconnaissance Organization (NRO), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the Air Force Test Center (AFTC). The Senior Scientist participates in Air Force, Space Force, Navy, Army, DARPA, DoD, NASA, NRO, industrial, and university program reviews and meetings to ensure the DAF is aware of the latest research and development (R&D) achievements essential to guiding Air Force investment and applications. Additionally, the incumbent engages with university and industry partners to develop enduring R&D collaborations that push the state of the art for development and fielding of hypersonic system technologies. Finally, the Senior Scientist is an expert consultant to military groups and panels, industry, and scientific professional groups and societies; and is an active participant and leader in scientific or technical professional conferences and symposia to present research results and to assess progress and leading-edge research by other national and international laboratories. Serves in a leadership role in at least one national scientific technical forum or panel.
2. Advises AFRL leadership on high-speed system development requirements. The Senior Scientist champions AFRL's investment strategy, including research objectives, knowledge/skills/abilities (KSAs) required within the current and future workforce, and enhancements required to keep AFRL facilities state-of-the-art. The incumbent assists the RQ Director and Chief Scientist, as well as the AFRL Chief Technologist and the members of the AFRL Research Advisory Council, in reviewing and designing an overall technology program and orienting research efforts towards maximum payoff for technology advances and mission relevance. As an authority in Hypersonic technologies, the incumbent serves as consultant for technical judgments and evaluations of related research efforts. The Senior Scientist consults with representatives from other organizations to determine current and future needs, to ensure the DAF has access to latest advances and helps develop future projects to achieve high priority Air Force and Space Force goals. The incumbent possesses broad technical knowledge to focus hypersonic investment strategy across AFRL; technical disciplines affected include all areas required to field effective hypersonic weapons and platforms, including: aerothermodynamics, propulsion, structures, guidance and control, materials and thermal protection systems, thermal management, high-speed sensor and communication system performance, power management, endothermic fuels, high-speed dispense of weapons or payloads, strike weapon end-game performance, ground and flight test techniques, and advanced diagnostics required by the unique hypersonic environment.
3. Guides research technical goals & execution. The Senior Scientist conducts technical reviews, assesses programs and new study areas, and interacts with other Air Force and government agencies in matters relating to hypersonic technology development. Also plans, conducts, evaluates, and coordinates theoretical and experimental studies in hypersonic technologies within AFRL and with other DoD and national laboratories and agencies. The incumbent defines and selects specific topics for investigations based on technical objectives and personal, authoritative knowledge of the subject. The Senior Scientist integrates scientific advances with the technical state-of-the-art and military technology requirements and technically guides R&D efforts accordingly. Creates and facilitates cross-directorate programs that bring together multidisciplinary teams to develop research initiatives that use advanced hypersonic technologies to address AF needs.
4. Mentors and develops S&E personnel. The Senior Scientist identifies, nurtures, and grows the S&E workforce to ensure both current and future sustainment of AFRL's world-class hypersonics R&D expertise.
5. Conducts high-speed system research. The Senior Scientist leads and conducts R&D activities in the broad area of hypersonic technology to increase Air Force and Space Force capabilities and improve the performance of DAF and DoD systems. The incumbent generates related new concepts, establishes investigations, and extends the basic knowledge of the core area technology.
1. This is an interdisciplinary professional position involving duties and responsibilities closely related to more than one professional occupation. As a result, the nature of the work is such that persons with education and experience in one of the two different professions (listed below) may be considered equally well qualified to do the work. To be qualified, the incumbent must meet one of the education requirements for one of the two occupational series listed below. Note: Acceptable combinations of education and experience for each series are listed on the OPM website under the General Schedule Qualification Standards.
(a) General Engineering (0801) series requires: A professional engineering degree from an accredited institution. To be acceptable, the program must (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited ABET or (2) including 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 a combination of education and experience - at least 60 semester hours of college-level education in engineering or the physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional engineers combined with specialized training and/or technical experience (as demonstrated by registration as a professional engineer or successful completion of the Engineer-in-Training examination).
(b) General Physical Science (1301) series requires: A degree in physical science, engineering or mathematics degree that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics OR a combination of education and experience - education equivalent to one of the majors shown above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
An advanced degree or doctorate in a related professional discipline is highly desired.
Veterans' Preference: Veterans' preference is not applicable to Scientific and Professional (ST) positions.
Relocation Authorized: Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is authorized in accordance with the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR).
Recruitment/Relocation Incentive: May be offered.
Direct Deposit: All federal employees are required to have direct deposit.
If you have questions regarding this announcement and have hearing or speech difficulties click here.
Tax Law Impact for PCS: On 22-Dec-2017, Public Law 115-97 - the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017" suspended qualified moving expense deductions along with the exclusion for employer reimbursements and payments of moving expenses effective 01-Jan-2018 for tax years 2018 through 2025. When you perform a Civilian Permanent Change of Station (PCS) with the government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers the majority of your entitlements to be taxable. Visit GSA Bulletin FTR 20-04 here for additional information.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
Applications will be evaluated against the foregoing qualification requirements. Failure to meet any one of the mandatory technical or senior professional qualification standards will eliminate a candidate from further consideration. Candidates will be evaluated for this position by a screening panel composed of a diverse mix of senior executives and/or general officers selected for organizational and/or functional backgrounds relevant to this position. The panel discusses each application and reaches consensus as to the Best Qualified, Qualified or Not Qualified candidates. Only the Best Qualified candidates will be interviewed. The panel will then make a recommendation of those Best Qualified candidates who should be referred to the selecting official, in priority order. Final selection is contingent upon USecAF approval.
REMINDER: Before uploading your required PDF documents (Resume, Technical Qualification narrative, Senior Professional Qualifications), please ensure they DO NOT EXCEED the noted page limits.
To receive full consideration, each applicant must submit the documents in the format as designated. Packages that do not include all of the required documents or meet format requirements will not be forwarded for consideration.
**************ALL DOCUMENTS MUST BE UPLOADED IN PDF FORMAT*******************
The Qualifications Documents must be formatted using Times New Roman, size 12 font, with 1-inch margins. Do not use borders, provide photos, or list a Social Security Number on any of the Qualifications Documents. DO NOT COMBINE DOCUMENTS.
A. Resume in the preferred (Limit 5 pages). Upload in PDF format. PLEASE DO NOT USE USAJOBS RESUME BUILDER.
B. Mandatory Technical Qualifications Statement addressing each of the TQs (NTE 6 pages Total). Upload in PDF format and include the MTQ statement as indicated in the announcement.
C. Mandatory Senior Professional Qualifications (NTE 2 pages Total). Upload in PDF format. Current OR former ST career/career conditional employees not required to provide a separate narrative response to the Senior Professional Qualifications. However, you must include a copy your ST career/career conditional appointment (please submit SF50).
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Please follow the below instructions to submit applications. Any applications received that do not include all of the required documents or do not meet format requirements will not be forwarded for consideration.
The complete Application Package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 12/03/2023.
To begin the process, click the Apply Online button to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account. Follow the prompts to complete the application questionnaire. Please ensure you click the Submit My Application button at the end of the process.
PLEASE NOTE: It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that information entered and/or uploaded, (i.e., resume) is received, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. You may verify your documents have been processed with your application package successfully. You can access your USAJOBS account to do so by clicking here. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan.
Human Resources WILL NOT modify or change any answers submitted by an applicant.
PREFERRED RESUME FORMAT: (Limit 5 pages/Times New Roman 12-font) (Do Not Use the USAJOBS Resume Builder) - Please submit a typewritten resume (upload as a PDF), including the following information:
Job Information: Announcement number (SAFMRL2023-52) and title of the position to which you are applying.
Personal Information: Full name, mailing address (with zip code), day and evening phone numbers (with area code) and complete e-mail address where you would like to receive correspondence regarding your application. **PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER**
Active-Duty/Retired Military: State highest rank held, date of promotion and date eligible to retire or date of retirement. (e.g., Colonel/June 2006/December 2014). NOTE: IAW 5 U.S.C. 3326, a 180-day waiver will be required for retired or retiring members of the armed forces during the period of 180 days immediately after retirement.
Education: Educational information, including the name, city and state of colleges or universities you attended, as well as the type and year of any degree received. Report only attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For more information, you may refer to the following U.S. Department of Education website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html
Work Experience: Give the following information for your paid and non-paid work experience related to the job for which you are applying: (Do not send job descriptions).
- Starting and ending dates (month and year)
- Job title (for government position, include civilian series and grade or military rank)
- Employer's name and address
- Supervisor's name and phone number, please indicate if we may contact your current supervisor
- Salary (current)\
- Accomplishments and contributions demonstrating qualityfing experience.
*Applicants should focus on recency of experience, hiring officials may consider experience over 10 years outdated.
References: Provide the names, addresses and telephone numbers of three individuals who can comment on your qualifications for this position. Please do not list supervisors already listed above.
This agency provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, please notify this office. The decision on granting reasonable accommodations will be on a case-by-case basis.
SAF/MRL CONTACT INFORMATION: Questions regarding this announcement may be directed to Melanie McGuire at melanie.mcguire@us.af.mil and Virginia Reynolds at virginia.reynolds@us.af.mil;
Once your application package is received an acknowledgement email will be sent.
If you provided an email address, you will receive an email message acknowledging receipt of your application. Your application package will be used to determine your eligibility and qualifications for consideration. If you are determined to be ineligible or not qualified, your application will receive no further consideration.
To check the status of your application or return to a previous or incomplete application, log into your USAJOBS account, select My Applications, and click on the more information link under the application status for this position.
If you do not provide an email address, you are responsible for checking status updates and notifications in USAJOBS. Hard copy notifications will not be sent to you.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/759639100. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
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The mission of the United States Air Force is to fly, fight and win...airpower anytime, anywhere. To achieve that mission, the Air Force has a vision of Global Vigilance, Reach and Power. That vision orbits around three core competencies: Developing Airmen, Technology-to-Warfighting and Integrating Operations. Core competencies and distinctive capabilities are based on a shared commitment to three core values -- integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do.
SALARY: $141,022.00 - $204,000.00 per annum.
AREA OF CONSIDERATION: Applications will be accepted from all qualified persons.
DUTY LOCATION: Arlington, Virginia or Wright-Patterson Air Force, Ohio
