Langley Research Center

Summary
Serves as principal Deputy to the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) Director, sharing executive responsibility for leadership, strategic planning, management, and execution. Directs NASA's independent engineering assessment capability, ensuring objective testing, analysis, and evaluation of programs, projects, and institutional issues. Leads a multidisciplinary workforce and acts for the Director, exercising delegated authority to ensure continuity of operations and decision-making.
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Duties
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The Deputy Director, NASA Engineer and Safety Center:

• Assists the Director in establishing strategic priorities and directing the management and allocation of technical, financial, and organizational resources to ensure the timely execution of high-quality, engineering assessments supporting Agency missions.
• Serves as a senior authority for engineering, safety, and mission assurance reviews, audits, and enterprise-level evaluations, providing executive recommendations on issues involving significant technical, programmatic, operational, and institutional risk.
• Directs and evaluates engineering and safety trend analyses to identify emerging risks, systemic vulnerabilities, and cross-program issues, recommending strategies that strengthen Agency-wide mission assurance.
• Oversees systems engineering reviews of program management practices, technical decision-making processes, and institutional operations, and supports or leads major mishap investigations and reviews as delegated by the Director.
• Provides executive oversight of engineering assessments, testing, analyses, and evaluations to validate technical conclusions, identify root causes, and recommend corrective and preventive actions that improve the safety, reliability, and performance of NASA programs and facilities.
• Represents the NESC before senior NASA leadership, Federal agencies, industry partners, academic institutions, and professional organizations, communicating technical findings, and advancing Agency engineering and mission assurance objectives.
• Promotes an Agency-wide culture of technical excellence, continuous improvement, and informed risk management through the application of sound engineering and safety and mission assurance principles.
• Exercises the full authority of the Director when delegated or in the Director's absence, ensuring continuity of executive leadership, organizational effectiveness, and mission accomplishment.

Requirements
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Conditions of employment

• The individual selected will be required to file an 'Executive Branch Personnel Financial Disclosure Report' (OGE-278e) within 30 days of appointment and annually from then on.
• Initial Senior Executive Service (SES) Career appointee is subject to a one-year probationary period.
• Successful completion of a background investigation commensurate with the risk and sensitivity level of the position.
• Successful completion of pre-employment and random drug testing may be required.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance as required by the position.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Must meet qualifications requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
• Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.

Qualifications
As a basic requirement for entry into the Senior Executive Service (SES) under a career appointment, you must clearly articulate and describe within your 2-page resume that you possess the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) and Mandatory Technical Qualifications MTQ(s) related to this positionIf your 2-page resume does not reflect demonstrated evidence of the ECQs and MTQ(s), you may be disqualified. Any additional pages over the 2-page limit will not be reviewed.
Your resume should include evidence of progressively responsible supervisory, managerial, or professional experience which involved management of a program or organization of significant scope and complexity, normally obtained over several years by serving in positions at the GS-15 level or equivalent.
If you are (1) currently serving under a career SES appointment, (2) eligible for reinstatement into the SES (this means you were previously employed as a Career SES employee and you successfully completed a one-year probationary period), OR (3) have successfully completed a SES Candidate Development Program (CDP) and certified by OPM, you do not need to address the ECQs in your resume. However, your resume must clearly state that you are a current career SES, eligible for SES reinstatement, or SES CDP certified and year of certification.
Please DO NOT submit separate documents addressing the ECQs or MTQ(s). Only your 2-page resume will be accepted and considered. Any additional documents submitted will not be accepted.
EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs)
For more information on the ECQs, please visit OPM's ECQ webpage.
ECQ 1 - Commitment to the Rule of Law and the Principles of the American Founding: This core qualification requires a demonstrated knowledge of the American system of government, commitment to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law, and commitment to serve the American people. Competencies: Knowledge of the American System of Government, Commitment to the Rule of Law, and Civic-Mindedness
ECQ 2 - Driving Efficiency: This core qualification involves the demonstrated ability to strategically and efficiently manage resources, budget effectively, cut wasteful spending, and pursue efficiency through process and technological upgrades. Competencies: Fiscal Responsibility, Managing Resources, Leveraging Technology
ECQ 3 - Merit and Competence: This core qualification involves the demonstrated knowledge, ability and technical competence to effectively and reliably produce work that is of exceptional quality. Competencies: Technical Skill, Problem Solving, Agility and Resilience
ECQ 4 - Leading People: This core qualification involves the demonstrated ability to lead and inspire a group toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals, and to drive a high-performance, high-accountability culture. This includes, when necessary, the ability to lead people through change and to hold individuals accountable. Competencies: Accountability, Developing Others, Executive Judgment
ECQ 5 - Achieving Results - This core qualification involves the demonstrated ability to achieve both individual and organizational results, and to align results to stated goals from superiors. Competencies: Operational Mindset, Innovation, Strategic Thinking
MANDATORY TECHNICAL QUALIFICATION (MTQ):
Your resume must include accomplishments that address the MTQ(s).
MTQ: Demonstrated experience providing strategic leadership to highly technical teams conducting engineering activities for aeronautics, exploration, science, space operations, and/or space programs, including strategic management of technical resources, authoritative technical oversight, comprehensive trend analysis, or delivery of rigorous assessments that inform technical risk and decision-making. Competencies: Systems Engineering; Technical Work and Team Management
Your application package must be in your own words. Experience statements copied from a position description, vacancy announcement, or other reference material constitutes plagiarism and may result in disqualification and losing consideration for the job. Please visit https://www.nasa.gov/careers/how-to-apply/#Artificial-Intelligence to review NASA's guidance on the use of artificial intelligent (AI) or AI-assisted tools during the application process.
Education
This position has a positive education requirement. To be eligible, you must clearly state in your resume the following: degree, major and/or minor, and college/university. A college or university degree generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For a list of schools which meet these criteria, please refer to Department of Education Accreditation page.
A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with major study in engineering, physical science, mathematics, life sciences, computer science, or other field of science is required.
An official transcript will be required if you are selected.
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs. These education credentials must be 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, click here.
Additional information
Veterans' preference is not applicable to the SES.
NASA may discuss and consider candidate duty station location after selection, which means that the duties can be performed at any NASA location. The selected candidate will need to relocate and report to an on-site NASA location or duty station, which may be different from where he/she currently resides.
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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 to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
Benefits
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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.