Optical Engineer Intern Jobs in Washington (NOW HIRING)

Summary
The General Engineer serves as the senior engineer and recognized technical authority for the Direct Reporting Portfolio Manager for Unmanned Systems (DRPM-UxS) office.
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Duties
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This is a Direct Hire Public Notice, under this recruitment, applications will be accepted for each location and/or installation identified in this Public Notice and selections are made for vacancies as they occur. There may or may not be actual/projected vacancies at the time you submit your application.
This Public Notice is to gather applications which may or may not result in a referral or selection.
This position is being filled under Direct Hire Authority (DHA) in accordance with Section II.B.4.b and Pub. L. 111-383.
DHA for AcqDemo Business and Technical Management Professional Career Path (NH)
Please read this Public Notice in its entirety prior to submitting your application for consideration.
Incumbents typical work assignments may include the following:

• Surveys the commercial and defense industrial bases to identify and evaluate mature platform capabilities and emerging subsystems.
• Applies extensive multidisciplinary engineering expertise, the incumbent independently executes complex technical trade-off analyses, cost-benefit assessments, and systems integration studies to drive high-stakes portfolio investment strategies.
• Balances the long-term, strategic development of future systems against the urgent, timely fielding of highly mature capabilities, the incumbent ensures maximum operational impact and continuous technological superiority for the organization.
• Utilizes mastery-level knowledge of systems engineering and integration, the incumbent provides critical consultation on system interoperability, technical standards, and architectural compliance across all domains.
• Evaluates the feasibility of seamlessly integrating cutting-edge unmanned technologies into existing Department architectures.
• Serves as a pivotal advisor to senior DRPM-UxS and Department of War (DoW) leadership on complex technological gaps, integration risks, and critical large-scale investment opportunities.

Requirements
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Conditions of employment

• U.S. Citizenship is required
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/Home/Registration)
• Total salary varies depending on location of position
• May be required to successfully complete a probationary/trial period
• Must be determined suitable for federal employment
• Required to participate in the direct deposit program
• This position is subject to pre-employment and random drug testing
• Relocation incentive may be authorized in accordance with regulatory requirements.
• Recruitment incentive may be authorized in accordance with regulatory requirements.
• The incumbent must be able to obtain and maintain a Top Secret/SCI (Special Sensitive) security clearance.
• This position may require 25% travel away from your normal duty station for official business on military or commercial aircraft.
• This position requires an Engineering and Technical Management of Practitioner acquisition certification. The incumbent has 60 months to achieve this certification.

Qualifications
In order to qualify for this position, you must meet the requirements described below.
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/general-engineering-series-0801/
Basic Requirement: General Engineering Series 0801
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.)
Note: An applicant who meets the basic requirements as specified in A or B above, except as noted under B.1., may qualify for positions in any branch of engineering unless selective factors indicate otherwise.
You may qualify at the NH-4 (GS 14/15) level, if you fulfill the following qualification requirement:
One year of specialized experience equivalent to the NH-3 (GS-13) grade level in the Federal service (experience may have been gained in the private sector) that demonstrates your ability in:

• Applying mastery of advanced engineering concepts, principles, and practices to evaluate, integrate, and accelerate the development of complex unmanned and autonomous systems.
• Applying in-depth knowledge of the entire DoW acquisition life cycle and its application to advanced technology programs, from requirements generation and architecture development through testing, evaluation, and sustainment.
• Applying skills in comprehensive systems engineering and integration to architect robust technical solutions and mitigate programmatic risks across highly visible, multi-domain acquisition programs.
• Applying oral and written communication to expertly synthesize and translate dense technical data, market research, and capability assessments into clear, decisive, and actionable recommendations to advise senior leadership and defend high-stakes strategic decision.

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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
All qualifications and education requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement and clearly documented in your resume.
Your resume may not exceed two (2) pagesFor qualifications determinations, it is recommended that applicants include their months and hours worked per week for each employment listed on their resume. If a determination is not able to be made about the duration of your creditable experience for qualification requirements, you will be removed from consideration.
Read more about what should I include in my federal resume at https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/what-to-include
Education
ARE YOU QUALIFYING BASED ON EDUCATION or A COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE?
You must provide sufficient documentation of your education in your resume. You MUST provide a copy of official or unofficial transcripts or degrees in your application package. It may also be acceptable to document your applicable course listing in your resume (course number, credits earned, etc.). 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. Applicants can verify accreditation at the following website: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html. All education claimed by applicants will be verified by the appointing agency. If selected, an official/sealed transcript will be required prior to appointment.
PASS/FAIL COURSES: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.
GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study
FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html
Additional information
Probationary Periods: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:
- your performance and conduct;
- the needs and interests of the agency;
- whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
- whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.
Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing an online application, you may request an alternative application. Please send an email to the following address for information on how to obtain an alternative application: whs.job.application.assistance@mail.mil
Reemployed Annuitants: Applicants in receipt of an annuity based on civilian employment in the Federal Service are subject to the DoD Policy on The Employment of Annuitants. /www.esd.whs.mil/DD/DoD-Issuances/140025/
Current or Former Political Appointees: Agencies must seek prior approval from OPM before they can appoint a current or recent political appointee to a competitive or non-political excepted service position at any level. If you are currently or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, or Non-career SES employee in the executive branch, you MUST disclose that to the Human Resources Office.
Nepotism: Under the provisions of 5 USC 3110, an individual may not be appointed into a position if the position is under the supervisory chain of command of a relative.
Additional vacancies may be filled by this announcement.
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Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed