Lead Electronics Technician

NASA•California, MD 20636, US• Full Time

Posted 6 hours ago• Electrical• Mechanical

Compensation

$124,085–$161,313/year

Job Description

Summary

This position is in the Engineering Support Branch of the Flight Operations Directorate at Armstrong Flight Research Center. As Lead Engineering Technician the position is responsible for the technical expertise, guidance, electronic fabrications, Telemetry and Calibration of extremely complex avionics and instrumentation system test articles to be installed on highly modified aerospace research and/or science aircraft, vehicles, or airborne fixtures.

Open & closing dates

03/20/2026 to 03/26/2026

Salary $124,085 to - $161,313 per year Pay scale & grade GS 13

Location

Who Can Apply

Current NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) federal employee serving on a career, career-conditional, VRA, Schedule A for individuals with disabilities, or NASA term appointment that provides eligibility to convert to a permanent appointment.

🎬

Video Content

Videos are hosted externally for security

Watch Video ↗

Duties

Communicate organizational goals and mission to the team and ensure they are integrated into team strategies, objectives, and milestones.
Lead and coordinate team activities by assigning, distributing, and balancing workloads among employees to ensure tasks are completed efficiently.
Coach and guide team members in the use of effective problem-solving methods, technical practices, and work processes.
Conduct testing, calibration, and evaluation of electronic equipment, including analyzing test data to verify system performance and accuracy.
Support engineering research and development activities by assisting engineers with experiments, prototype systems, and advanced technical projects.
Serve as liaison between the team and management, representing the team in meetings to obtain resources, information, and decisions.
Monitor and report team progress by tracking work status, milestones, and deadlines and informing supervisors of accomplishments or issues.

Requirements

Current Federal employees must meet qualifications, time in grade, and 90 days after competitive appointment requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular ability, skill, and knowledge to successfully perform the duties of this position and is typically in or related to this line of work.

To qualify for GS-13, you must have one year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level:

Leading or working on project test articles in both the avionics and instrumentation disciplines;
Performing repair, maintenance, installation, servicing, troubleshooting, and testing of highly complex electronic, instrumentation, test articles;
Working on highly modified or unique aircraft test articles; understanding project requirements, identifying resources, establishing expectations and assessing workloads; and
Identifying training needs and providing training to other technicians.

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 job.

NASA prohibits the use of artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted tool in drafting application and assessment responses. Please visit https://www.nasa.gov/careers/how-to-apply/#Artificial-Intelligence to review NASA's guidance on the use of AI tools during the application process.

This job does not have an education qualification requirement.

Evaluation

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

You will be evaluated for this position based on how well you meet the qualifications and eligibility requirements outlined in this vacancy announcement. Your resume and supporting documentation will be reviewed in conjunction with your responses to the assessment questionnaire. As part of the assessment, your responses to the Written Interview prompts will be scored 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. Please ensure your application materials and responses accurately reflect your experience and competencies, as misrepresentation may result in removal from consideration.

Assessment preview link:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12914790

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

Technical Competence
Flight and Ground Data Systems
Structural Design and Development Engineering
Integrity/Honesty
Research

NASA considers 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). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

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

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

Candidates eligible for ICTAP/CTAP, reemployment priority or priority consideration will be referred before other candidates, as necessary. If no such candidates apply or are eligible to be referred, the following candidates will be sent to the hiring official for employment consideration:

Best Qualified merit promotion candidates. Highly Qualified merit promotion candidates may also be referred, if additional candidates are needed.
Qualified candidates eligible for consideration under Schedule A or VRA in accordance with veterans' preference rules, as applicable.
Qualified candidates that are eligible for special hiring authorities or non-competitive hiring authorities.

NASA will not ask you to disclose criminal history record information during the application process or before we make a conditional/tentative offer of employment. If you apply for this position and are selected, NASA will conduct a suitability/security background investigation after you accept a tentative job offer. If you feel you are asked to disclose your criminal history before you accept a tentative offer and wish to file a complaint within 30 days, please contact: [email protected].

Required Documents

All submitted resumes must not exceed two (2) pages in length. Resumes longer than two pages will be rejected by USAJOBS. Applicants are strongly encouraged to prioritize including experience and relevant qualifications that directly align with the position advertised. All work experience and accomplishments must be associated with dates (month/year) to allow for accurate qualification assessment.

A complete application package includes a resume, required documents and completion of the vacancy announcement questionnaire. Please see this guidance: . Your resume should describe your specialized experience and support your answers to the vacancy announcement questionnaire.

Please note: if any of the following types of information are included on your resume, your application package will 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.

The following documents are required:

Resume
SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

There may be other supporting documents (Notification of Personnel Action SF-50, licenses, certification, veterans preference, etc.), depending on your answers to the questionnaire and job announcement description, that you may have to submit, please verify your application. Do not submit an OF-306 with your application.

If you are a surplus or displaced employee (CTAP and ICTAP), submit proof that you meet the requirements for CTAP/ICTAP. This includes copies of your agency notice, most recent Performance Rating and most recent Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) noting current position, grade level, and duty location.

If you are a veteran and you are claiming veterans' preference, you must submit a DD214, Certificate of Release from Active Duty, which shows dates of service and discharge under honorable conditions. For more information on veterans' preference and possible other supporting documents that you may have to submit, please visit FedshireVets. Official documents are required at the time of appointment for verification of eligibility and qualifications.