Deputy Director, NASA Engineer and Safety Center

Serves as principal Deputy to the NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) Director, sharing executive responsibility for leadership, strategic planning, management, and execution of NASA's independent engineering assessment capability.

Responsibilities

• 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

• File an 'Executive Branch Personnel Financial Disclosure Report' (OGE-278e) within 30 days of appointment and annually thereafter.
• 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 suitability for Federal employment.

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 (MTQs) related to this position. If your 2-page resume does not reflect demonstrated evidence of the ECQs and MTQs, 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, 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.

Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs)

• ECQ 1 - Commitment to the Rule of Law and the Principles of the American Founding: 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: 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: 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: 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.
  • Competencies: Accountability, Developing Others, Executive Judgment
• ECQ 5 - Achieving Results: 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)

• 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.

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. 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.

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.
• 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

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.