ENGINEER or SCIENTIST

Summary

You will serve as the Senior Autonomous Capabilities and Software Technical Competency Manager (ACS STCM) - Code 80 in the Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) & Controls Engineering Resource Branch, Combatant Craft Division, of the Naval Architecture and Engineering Department, Carderock Division of NAVSRFWARCEN DET, Virginia Beach, VA. This position is part of the Warfare Centers Personnel Demonstration Project. The ND-5 pay band encompasses positions equivalent to GS-14 and GS-15.

Duties

• You will serve as senior subject matter expert/manager of ACSTC - Code 80 and lead POC for the design/integration of autonomous navigation, managing/controlling the autonomy interfaces and providing guidance on automation/autonomous control.
• You will interface with the mission autonomy system and perception system to receive and execute safe autonomous navigation.
• You will develop metrics, processes, definitions, requirements mapping, guidance, test objectives and scenarios for USV and USV systems certification.
• You will be responsible for the design and integration of USV and USV system architectures; autonomy architecture standard development, certification, and employment for USV programs across the Naval Research and Development Establishment.
• You will determine the plan of attack and direction of the work; and make recommendations for new work or stopping of work or major changes to objectives are accepted based on resources, effect on mission and manpower.
• You will be recognized as a technical authority in the field providing leadership and determine the perimeter of investigation of the state of the art and how to close the technological gap.
• You will be required to determine a broad attack on complex problems and establish requirements for the interdisciplinary effort in the field.
• You will be responsible for all aspects of the engineering, development, integration and delivery of architectures and software for autonomous and unmanned surface vessels.
• You will work with other program offices, sponsors, NSWC divisions, NIWC, OPNAV codes, and Technical Warrant Holders to ensure Carderock Division provides quality autonomous solutions to meet needs for safe operation of autonomous vessels/vehicles.
• You will communicate with senior leadership, military and civilians on all matters related to autonomous capabilities and software.
• You will report to the Code 8324 Branch Head and are responsible for assisting the Branch Head with recruitment, interviews, hiring actions, workforce development, mentoring, training, and equipping to grow and sustain the branch.
• You will be responsible for assisting Leads, Managers, and Branch Heads in decisions regarding autonomous capabilities, software research, development, technology, systems, enablers, designs, test and evaluation planning, execution, and analysis.
• You will ensure collaboration exists between WFC and Program Offices for the development and acquisition of hardware/software for autonomous systems.
• You will coordinate development work with various agencies and offices across the Naval Research and Development Establishment, including warfare centers, Navy labs, government program offices, research organizations, academia, and industry.
• You will maintain an effective relationship with sponsors and customers to translate customer requirements into effective planning and product development, employment, and sustainment.
• You will oversee the preparation of Statements of Work, Plans of Action and Milestones, and Cost Estimates to ensure all tasks are aligned.
• You will execute and manage multiple value streams while meeting schedule, cost and technical requirements.

Qualifications

This is an interdisciplinary position and may be filled by a General Engineer (0801-series) or a Computer Scientist (1550-series) depending upon the qualifications of the candidate. Applicants in positions with occupational series other than those listed (0801 and 1550) may apply; however, you must apply directly to the series listed in this vacancy that is most applicable to your qualifications. Your resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the ND-4 (GS-12/13 equivalency) grade level or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following: Software engineering and development providing autonomous solutions and capabilities for Navy unmanned surface vehicles/vessels, which includes software architecture, coding, simulation, integration, provisioning, troubleshooting. This also includes technical management of the same, overseeing software development, task management across a team, and providing software engineering leadership for the program offices and senior stakeholders. Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website:https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=List-by-Occupational-Series AND https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf AND https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1500/computer-science-series-1550/ Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (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.

Education

Applicants must meet the following basic education requirements of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualifications Standards Manual: For Series 0801: Successful completion of a professional engineering degree. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree (or higher) in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (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. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. OR 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 more information about EI and EIT registration requirements, please visit the National Society of Professional Engineers website at: http://www.nspe.org OR 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 The FE examination is not administered by the U. S. Office of Personnel Management. For more information, please visit: http://www.nspe.org/Licensure/HowtoGetLicensed/index.html. OR Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and in engineering that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A (above). The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A (above) OR 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 one 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. For Series 1550: Bachelor's degree in computer science or bachelor's degree with 30 semester hours in a combination of mathematics, statistics, and computer science. At least 15 of the 30 semester hours must have included any combination of statistics and mathematics that included differential and integral calculus. All academic degrees and course work must be from accredited or pre-accredited institutions.

How to apply

Click the Apply Online button to create an account or log in to your existing USAJOBS account. To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes: 1. Complete resume. Your resume must show relevant experience, job title, duties and accomplishments. Resumes are restricted to no more than 2 pages. Illegible/unreadable resumes will not be considered. Your resume must show complete information for each job entry to support minimum qualifications. The following information should be provided in your resume: employer's name, starting and end dates (Mo/Yr), hours per week if experience was less than full time (35-40 hours per week), pay plan, series and grade level (e.g. GS-0201-09) for relevant federal experience. TIP: A good way to ensure you include all essential information is to use the Resume Builder in USAJOBS to create your resume. 2. Documentation that supports all of the claims made in your resume and assessment questionnaire Failure to submit a complete application package will result in an ineligible rating and loss of consideration. Your complete application must be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on 09/09/2026to receive consideration. Applications received after 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST) on 09/09/2026 will generally not be accepted. If more than one resume is received, only the last resume received and processed will be reviewed. Please do not submit multiple resumes. For additional information on viewing your application status, click https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status. You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application. Do not email or send hard copy resumes/applications to the Contact Information or Agency Information listed in this vacancy announcement. All resumes/applications received at the addresses listed in the Contact Information or Agency Information will be destroyed and will not be considered for this vacancy announcement. It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that all information in their resume, assessment questionnaire, and supporting documents are legible and accurate. Human Resources will not modify a resume or change an applicant's answer to a question, even upon request.