Research Astrophysicist, AST, Fields and Particles
Company
National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Goddard Space Flight Center
Location
Greenbelt, Maryland Greenbelt, Maryland
Type
Full Time
Job Description
Summary
As a Research Astrophysicist in the Gravitational Astrophysics Laboratory, you will work with scientists, engineers, project managers, and support staff to contribute to the successful delivery of gravitational wave instrument systems. You will support the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) mission, a space-based gravitational wave observatory, and will have opportunities to propose self-directed research to support the observation of gravitational waves or other areas of astrophysics.
Learn more about this agencyRequirements
Conditions of Employment
- This position is open to U.S. citizens, nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.
- Position subject to pre-employment background investigation.
- You must meet qualifications requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
- If selected, you will be required to complete a financial disclosure statement.
- This position may require a one-year trial period.
Qualifications
NASA utilizes OPM-approved qualification and rating requirements specific for Aerospace Technology (AST) positions which recognizes NASA's unique aerospace work. The specific qualifications and minimum education requirements are further described below and within the education section of the job announcement.
Vacant research positions may be filled at one of several grade levels depending upon the scientific impact of the person selected. A review may be required to determine the appropriate grade level of the position and supplemental materials may be required from the selectee. Please keep this in mind when indicating the lowest grade you will accept. If selected at the lower grade level, your scientific impact will be examined in addition to other factors, to determine if you are eligible for promotion.
To qualify for GS-13, you must have one year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level:
- Participating in multiple phases of an experiment life cycle, such as design, construction, operation, modeling, analysis, and interpretation;
- Contributing to the development of systems for the precision measurement of position, force, frequency, and/or time;
- Working with modern laboratory instrumentation and techniques, such as lasers, clocks, analog and digital electronics, digital signal processing, optics and optical metrology equipment, fiber optics, vacuum systems, temperature control, and clean spaces;
- Publishing precision measurement physics or gravitational wave instrumentation research results in professional journals.
To qualify for GS-14, you must have one year of directly related specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level:
- Serving in a lead role during multiple phases of an experiment life cycle such as design, construction, operation, modeling, analysis, and interpretation;
- Developing systems for the precision measurement of position, force, frequency, and/or time;
- Acting as a subject matter expert on the use of modern laboratory instrumentation and the advancement of associated techniques related to precision measurement such as lasers, clocks, analog and digital electronics, digital signal processing, optics and optical metrology equipment, fiber optics, vacuum systems, temperature control, and clean spaces;
- Publishing and reviewing precision measurement physics or gravitational wave instrumentation research results in professional journals.
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.
Education
Basic Education Requirement: You must have successfully completed a bachelor's degree with a major in one of the following:
a) Engineering from a college or university that has ABET accredited engineering programs
b) Physical Science, Mathematics, Life Science or other field of Science
c) Computer Science that included 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours of course work in any combination of mathematics, statistics and computer science with at least half of those hours in mathematics and statistics courses that included differential and integral calculus; and that provided an in-depth knowledge of theoretical and practical applications of computer science, including digital computer system architecture and system software organization, the representation and transformation of information structures, and the theoretical models for such representations and transformations.
If you did not complete a qualifying bachelor's degree, you may be eligible if you have obtained a graduate degree in an AST qualifying field, as listed above.
Degrees in engineering technology are not considered qualifying for this position.
Engineering degrees earned within the United States: Engineering degrees earned within the United States must be from a college or university that has at least one ABET accredited engineering program. To find out if a school has at least one ABET accredited program, please visit http://www.abet.org.
Engineering degrees earned outside the United States: Engineering degrees earned outside the United States must be recognized by a Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA), often known as accords. These are non-governmental agreements among organizations that accredit academic degree programs. MRAs recognize the substantial equivalence of mature accreditation systems and programs accredited by signatory organizations within their jurisdictions. For a listing of Signatories, please visit, https://www.abet.org/global-presence/mutual-recognition-agreements/is-your-program-recognized/.
Science and other related degrees earned within the United States: Science and other related degrees must have been awarded from colleges or universities that are accredited by recognized accrediting organizations. For a list of schools that meet this criteria, go to http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/.
Science and other related degrees earned outside the United States: 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, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.
All degrees must have been received in the year of, or any year subsequent to the original date of accreditation.
Additional information
Under the NASA Flexibility Act of 2004, individuals appointed under this announcement may be converted to permanent appointment, either non-competitively or through internal agency competitive placement procedures. Conversion is not guaranteed and is contingent on the employee meeting all legal requirements. For more information, see: Term Appointments | NASA
This appointment is at the maximum of six years.
Current Federal civilian employees may apply for this position. If selected, a break in service of at least 4 calendar days may be required prior to appointment to this position.
If you have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP), you must:
- Indicate your eligibility when applying for a position. The questionnaire asks you to identify your ICTAP/CTAP eligibility.
- Be well qualified for this position to receive consideration. Candidates rated in the 'Best Qualified' category are considered well-qualified. Please see 'How You Will Be Evaluated' for more information.
- Submit proof that you meet the requirements for CTAP/ICTAP as indicated in 'Required Documents.'
For additional information about CTAP/ICTAP eligibility, click here - https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/#ictap.
This is a bargaining unit position. If additional selections are made, those positions may or may not be in a bargaining unit. To learn more about bargaining units at NASA please click here NASA Unions (Bargaining Units) | NASA.
Date Posted
07/13/2024
Views
0
Similar Jobs
Supervisory Research Astrophysicist, AST, Fields and Particles (Direct Hire) - National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Goddard Space Flight Center
Views in the last 30 days - 0
The text describes a job opening for a Supervisory Research Astrophysicist at the High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center HEASARC a p...
View DetailsResearch Astrophysicist, AST, Fields and Particles - National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Goddard Space Flight Center
Views in the last 30 days - 5
As a Research Astrophysicist in the Gravitational Astrophysics Laboratory you will work with scientists engineers project managers and support staff t...
View DetailsResearch Astrophysicist, AST, Fields and Particles - National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Goddard Space Flight Center
Views in the last 30 days - 1
As a Research Astrophysicist in the Gravitational Astrophysics Laboratory you will work with scientists engineers project managers and support staff t...
View DetailsResearch Geophysicist, AST, Solid Earth Geophysical Studies (Direct Hire) - National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Goddard Space Flight Center
Views in the last 30 days - 0
The role involves technical oversight and contract leadership of satellite laser ranging SLR activities including development and deployment of Space ...
View DetailsSupervisory Research Oceanographer, AST, Oceanographic Studies (Direct Hire) - National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Goddard Space Flight Center
Views in the last 30 days - 0
This job posting is for a Supervisory Research AST position specifically the Chief of the Ocean Ecology Laboratory within the Earth Sciences Division ...
View DetailsResearch Physical Scientist, AST, Earth Sciences Remote Sensing - National Aeronautics and Space Administration - Goddard Space Flight Center
Views in the last 30 days - 4
The Earth Sciences Division at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center is seeking an experienced technical leader to serve as the Earth Action Lead coordina...
View Details