Materials Engineer

The selectee will serve as a Materials Engineer in the Office of Technical Operations, Advanced Research and Capabilities Division. Typical work assignments include: Serving as a subject-matter expert and collaborating with other engineers to design, develop, and facilitate technical day-to-day activities. Assisting in the research, testing, and deploying ballistic and blast security equipment for specialized programs.

Assisting in the development and modification of materials and software, selecting technical solutions, and creating design specifications for specialized mission needs. Managing projects by coordinating tasks such as writing studies, developing and testing products, and preparing operational guidelines. Apply for this exciting opportunity to impact the Secret Service's mission by contributing to and delivering professional and scientific engineering support for daily operations.

This Materials Engineer position starts at a salary of $85,447.00, GS-11, step 1, with promotion potential to $158,322.00, GS-13 step 10.

U.S. Citizenship is required. Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service. If selected for this position, you will be required to: Obtain and maintain a Top-Secret Tier 5 clearance.

For more information visit OPM Mythbuster Page. Submit a credit check after a conditional offer of employment has been accepted. Submit to a drug test prior to your appointment and random drug testing while you occupy the position.

Submit to a Full-Scope (FS) polygraph examination prior to your appointment. Submit a financial disclosure report. Must obtain Federal Acquisition Certification-Contracting Officer's Representative (FAC-COR) Level 1 certification within one-year of appointment.

Work may involve exposure to sites and materials requiring special safety precautions (e.g., safety glasses, hearing protection, gloves and protective clothing). Incumbent may work with a variety of recurring exposures and hazards including chemical, biological, radiological and explosive materials, unidentified substances and exposure to various levels of noise. 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.

For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for a position by substituting education or training for experience, you MUST submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted that includes your name, the name of the educational institution, course title(s), number of credits, grade, and date of completion. An official transcript will be required if you are selected.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. Upon review, your resume and/or supporting documents need to support your answer choices and reflect the one year of specialized experience requirement, in order to be considered.

You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics): Attention to Detail Customer Service Decision Making Flexibility Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Materials Engineering Project Management Reasoning Research Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork Technical Competence The USA Hire Assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies.

You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered.

You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. If you meet the minimum qualifications, you will be placed in one of the following categories: 1. Best-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate high proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all Selective Placement Factors (SPF), and appropriate Quality Ranking Factors (QRF) as determined by the job analysis.

1. Well-Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrates acceptable proficiency in all of the critical competencies, including all SPF's and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis.
2. Qualified: Applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position and demonstrate basic proficiency in most of the critical competencies, including all SPFs and appropriate QRFs as determined by the job analysis. If you are best qualified, you may be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.

Veterans: Qualified veterans who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10% are listed in the best-qualified category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level, or higher. (This position is considered scientific/professional.). Other 10-point preference eligibles and veterans with 5-point preference who meet the eligibility and qualification requirements are placed above non-preference eligibles within the category in which they qualify. View information on veterans' preference.

Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP/CTAP) Eligibles: If you have never worked for the Federal government, you are not ICTAP/CTAP eligible. View information about ICTAP/CTAP eligibility on OPM's Career Transition Resources website. To be considered well qualified under ICTAP/CTAP, you must be rated at a minimum score of 85.0 for this position.

In addition, you must submit the supporting documents listed under the required documents section of this announcement. An interview may be required for this position. If an interview is required, failure to complete the interview may result in removal from further consideration.

DHS uses E-Verify, an Internet-based system, to confirm the eligibility of all newly hired employees to work in the United States. Learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities. If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty.

False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Homeland Security and its Components from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with 5 U.S.

Code § 9202(c) and 5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to [email protected]. More than one selection may be made from this announcement if additional identical vacancies in the same title, series, grade and unit occur.

Applying to this announcement certifies that you give permission for DHS to share your application with others in DHS for similar positions. The Department of Homeland Security encourages persons with disabilities to apply, to include persons with intellectual, severe physical or psychiatric disabilities, as defined by 5 CFR § 213.3102(u), and/or Disabled Veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30 percent or more as defined by 5 CFR § 315.707. Veterans, Peace Corps/VISTA volunteers, and persons with disabilities possess a wealth of unique talents, experiences, and competencies that can be invaluable to the DHS mission.

If you are a member of one of these groups, you may not have to compete with the public for federal jobs. To determine your eligibility for non-competitive appointment and to understand the required documentation, click on the links above or contact the Servicing Human Resources Office listed at the bottom of this announcement. Any offers of employment made pursuant to this announcement will be consistent with all applicable authorities, including Presidential Memoranda, Executive Orders, interpretive U.S.

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) guidance, and Office of Management and Budget plans and policies concerning hiring. These authorities are subject to change.

The Secret Service prohibits employees from having visible body markings (including but not limited to tattoos, body art, and branding) on the head, face, neck, hand and fingers (any area below the wrist bone) (exception: a single conservative and unobtrusive tattoo in the form of a ring is authorized on one finger).

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. PLEASE

NOTE: Only resumes up to a total of two pages will be accepted. Applicants with resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. If your materials are not received by the closing date, your application will be evaluated solely on the information available, and you may not receive full consideration or may not be considered eligible.

Also, if you do not provide a valid email address, you may not be notified of the outcome of your application. The application process is as follows: Click the Apply Online button Answer the questions presented in the application and submit the required documents.

Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email.

The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access to USA Hire using your unique assessment link.

Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments.

You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link.

Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. The vacancy questionnaire includes four short, free-response essay questions.

This provides an opportunity for you to highlight your dedication to public service for the hiring manager and agency leadership (or designee(s)). While your responses are not required and will not be scored, we encourage you to thoughtfully address each question. Please provide a response of 200 words or less to each question.

You will be asked to certify that you are using your own words and did not use a consultant or artificial intelligence (AI) such as a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT or Copilot. To preview the questionnaire please click the link https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12921616. The questionnaire is required

in addition to the USA Hire assessments. For more general information, system requirements, reasonable accommodation information, and to request assistance regarding the USA Hire Assessments, review the following resources: USA Hire Help. 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 the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application.

Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision.

You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: USA Hire Reasonable Accommodation We strongly encourage you to apply online. If you cannot apply online, you may contact the APT Talent Management Division at [email protected] by calling (202) 406-6420 or TDD at (202) 406-5390 between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:30 pm EST (excluding Federal holidays) prior to the closing date of this announcement to receive assistance.

The Secret Service provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities, on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us if you require this for any part of the application and hiring process.

In addition to addressing the vacancy specific questions, you must also submit the following documentation: Resume - Limit your resume to no more than two pages. The USAJOBS database will not allow an applicant to submit an application that includes a resume over two pages. In order to receive credit for experience contained in an uploaded resume, your employment history should show relevant work experience in month/year format (MM/YYYY), reflecting starting date and ending date, and include the number of hours worked per week.

To learn how to format and submit a two-page resume, please visit the USAJOBS Help Center.

This position has an education requirement. Submit a copy of your college/university transcript (unofficial is acceptable) it must show school name, student's name, credit earned, degree, and date awarded. Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S.

Department of Education. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet Federal qualification requirements if you can show that your foreign education is comparable to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States. For example, specific courses accepted for college-level credit by an accredited U.S. college or university, or foreign education evaluated by an organization recognized for accreditation by the Department of Education as education equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. college or university.

It is your responsibility to provide such evidence with your application. See Recognition of Foreign Qualifications for more information. Are you a veteran? Submit Member Copy 4 of your DD-214 or other (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) and/or documentation of service-connected disability.

If claiming 10-point preference, you will need to submit a Standard Form (SF-15), Application for 10-point Veterans' Preference. If applying based on eligibility under the Veterans Opportunity to Work (VOW) Act, you must submit certification from the Armed Forces that you will be discharged or released from active duty within 120 days from the date on the certification. This must indicate your dates of service, your rank, and confirm that you will be separated under honorable conditions.

View VEOA information on Feds Hire Vets. 10-Point Veterans' Preference: If claiming 10-point Veterans' Preference, you will need to submit a SF-15 and provide an official document from the Department of Veterans Affairs or from a branch of the Armed Forces certifying your overall compensable service-connected disability rating (NOTE: Your overall percentage must be clearly shown), and/or any other associated documentation based on your preference. Are you claiming special priority selection rights under the Interagency/Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP/CTAP)? Submit a copy of your agency notice, a copy of your most recent performance appraisal (with at least a satisfactory rating),and a copy of your most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, noting your current position, grade level, and duty location.

Are you a Current or Former political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee? Submit a copy of your applicable SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action, along with a statement that provides the following information regarding your most recent political appointment: Position title, Type of appointment (Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee) Agency, Beginning and ending dates of appointment.