Director for Spectrum Policy and Planning

NASA•District of Columbia, DC, US• Full Time

Posted 2 months ago• Supply Chain• Mechanical

Compensation

$151,661–$217,332/year

Job Description

Summary

The Director for Spectrum Policy and Planning analyzes spectrum utilization issues and policies, providing expert service and recommendations to the management officials with delegated responsibility to direct and discharge all major elements of the Agency's spectrum management program. Serves as a technical expert in both national and international spectrum management, representing NASA in the development of spectrum management use policy while performing official liaison with national bodies.

Accepting applications

Open & closing dates

02/02/2026 to 02/17/2026

Salary $151,661 to - $217,332 per year Pay scale & grade SL 00

Location

Who Can Apply

This position is open to: current federal employees on career, career conditional; NASA term appointments with conversion eligibility; current permanent federal employees of an excepted service agency with an OPM interchange agreement; and Veterans eligible under Veterans Employment Opportunity Act.

Duties

The Director for Spectrum Policy and Planning:

Reviews and recommends approval of developed descriptions of proposed missions that include forecasts of NASA's programmatic and administrative telecommunications and associated spectrum needs for the long term (5 to 20 years). Recommends all Agency long-range planning initiatives relative to the allocation and use of the spectrum for spaceflight operations.
Recommends approval of the development of plans and strategies aimed at securing the necessary radio frequency spectrum and orbital arc resources required for the successful conduct of the Agency's current and future telecommunications and scientific observation requirements.
Advises the Deputy Associate Administrator for Space Communications and Navigation and senior NASA officials on spectrum strategy critical to the conduct of the Agency's mission and provides policy and planning guidance regarding overall coordination of spectrum management across all NASA centers' spectrum management activities.
Actively participates in an official capacity in the collective national process for recommending plans and strategies for managing the spectrum and orbital arc resources on behalf of the Federal Government by being the Agency technical representative to the interdepartmental Radio Advisory Committee (IRAC).
Directs and approves results of studies and assessments conducted to assist in selection of technically and politically appropriate spectrum areas needed to assure compatible use of frequencies during critical spaceflight operations.
Formulates recommendations for spectrum management policy, rules, and guidelines, including relevant schedules required for effective administration of the NASA Spectrum Management Program.
Conducts Headquarters and field assessments to assure compliance with Agency, national, and international policy and regulations governing the Agency's use of the critically important spectrum and orbital arc resources.
Acts as Senior Agency Technical Representative in various national and international spectrum management organizations including the important international SFCG.
Serves as senior NASA person credentialed for official duty as U.S. Delegate to International Telecommunication Union activities such as International Radio Consultative Committee meetings and World Administrative Radio Conferences.

Requirements

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.
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.
You may be required to serve a probationary period. See additional information section.
Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE:
Candidates must be a recognized subject matter expert with at least 1 year of experience equivalent to the GS-15 level (5 years preferred) in radio-communication technology, spectrum management, spectrum licensing, and associated national and international spectrum regulatory policies of sufficient depth to allow the identification, assessment, and development of solutions to complex radio and telecommunications challenges involving both technical and policy considerations. In addition, demonstrated experience managing and delivering results across complex stakeholder groups, such as inter-agency and international stakeholders.

Your resume must include a clear and detailed narrative description, in your own words, of how you meet the required specialized experience. 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 position. NASA strictly prohibits the use of artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted tools to draft application or assessment responses. For more information, please refer to NASA's guidance: https://www.nasa.gov/careers/how-to-apply/#Artificial-Intelligence

To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, your resume must also address each of the Senior Level (SL) Evaluation Criteria listed below. Failure to address these criteria will result in your application being rated ineligible. For the full definition of the SL Evaluation Criteria please visit https://www.nasa.gov/careers/executiveleadership/#SL-Evaluation-Criteria. Please include your full name on all documents submitted.

SL EVALUATION CRITERIA:

1. Technical Excellence and Contributions

Experience/Accomplishments
Technical and Strategic Problem Solving
Information Transfer

2. Corporate Cooperation and Technical Leadership Skill

Please refer to the "How you will be evaluated" section for a list of competencies that you will be evaluated on.

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.

An official transcript will be required if you are selected.

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.

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.

Evaluation

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

All qualifications requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

To determine your qualifications and referral status, we may review your resume and compare it against your responses to the vacancy questionnaire. As part of the assessment, your resume will be assessed on SL Evaluation Criteria and used to place you into one of three quality groups. These scores, along with your qualifications and supporting materials, will determine your referral status. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration.

These competencies will be assessed using technical assessments. They may also be evaluated during a structured interview:

Technical Work and Team Management
Partnering
Technical Competence
Creativity and Innovation
Planning and Evaluating
Problem Solving
Teaching Others
Communications Network and Engineering
Policy Management

Under NASA's category rating process, applicants will be assessed on the position competencies and placed in one of three categories identified and defined below:

Best Qualified Category - Applicants who demonstrate a superior level of all evaluation criteria.
Highly Qualified Category - Applicants who demonstrate a satisfactory level of the evaluation criteria.
Qualified Category - Applicants who demonstrate the basic qualifications, with general knowledge, skills, and abilities.

The panel reviews the resumes against each SL criterion. Names of all qualified applicants in the Best Qualified category will be referred. Candidates may receive an interview for further evaluation and/or be asked to provide a list of references. The panel will make a recommendation to the appropriate approving authority.

Required Documents

You must provide a complete application package. If you do not provide all required information, you will not be considered for this position. Only provide the following.

RESUME: All applicants are required to submit a resume limited to two (2) pages (recommend PDF file) showing all relevant experience (start/end dates stated in month/year, description of duties), applicable education at a minimum, and your contact information. Your 2-page resume should also address the SL Evaluation Criteria. For current or previous Federal employees, it should also include the Pay Plan, Series and Grade for each work experience entry.

Please see this guidance: . Note: if any of the following types of information are included on your resume, your application package may be disqualified:

Classified or government sensitive information.
Social Security Number (SSN)
Photos of yourself
Personal information, such as age, gender, religious affiliation, etc.
Encrypted and digitally signed documents.

If your resume contains any of the above information, you must redact that information prior to the submission of your application.

VACANCY QUESTION/ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONSES: Responses are automatically submitted through USAJOBS when you apply to this vacancy.

You may be asked to provide additional documentation to support your eligibility and the information provided in your application package. For example, we may request transcripts, SF-50s, etc. Therefore, we encourage you to have these documents prepared and ready when requested. If you fail to provide the required documents within the stated time period, we may withdraw a job offer and/or remove you from further consideration.