Chief Laboratories Development and Testing Division

Chief Laboratories Development and Testing Division

Department: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Location(s): Kennedy Space Center, Florida

Salary Range: $197201 - $210811 Per Year

Job Summary: The Chief, Laboratories, Development, and Testing Division is in the Engineering Directorate at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and provides a discipline-based, technical expertise that offers a set of integrated capabilities in terms of the workforce, laboratories, and test facilities that deliver products and services across program and project life cycles at KSC, other NASA Centers, government agencies, and commercial partners.

Major Duties:

• The Chief Laboratories Development and Testing Division: Provides strategic leadership for KSC's laboratory, development, and testing capabilities--ensuring alignment with Agency missions and national priorities--and represents KSC in high level interagency and executive forums to advance standards, influence policy, and drive cross government collaboration. Leads the integration and optimization of laboratory and test capabilities across the Center to maximize efficiency, reduce redundancy, strengthen mission readiness, uphold rigorous safety standards, and ensure effective risk management during hazardous operations. Shapes and sustains a world-class, multidisciplinary workforce through enterprise talent strategies and advances capabilities and innovation through strategic partnerships across NASA Centers, government, industry, and academia. Leads multidisciplinary engineering and scientific teams in analyzing, fabricating, and testing flight and ground systems, and provides end-to-end design, development, testing, and operational support for Agency research and technology efforts. Establishes and enforces materials, testing, metrology, contamination-control, and nondestructive-evaluation policy and standards; provides authoritative chemical analysis and contaminant-identification expertise; and delivers comprehensive materials and processing (M&P) engineering support for design, research, technology development, and Center operations, including advanced contamination control and corrosion mitigation. Provides expertise in advanced materials development--including corrosion control, cryogenics, and composite repair--and in electrical/electronic engineering for emerging technologies such as control and data systems, microcontrollers, embedded systems, programmable gate arrays, mechanical and fluid systems, materials science, and avionics. Serves as principal advisor to Center and Agency leadership on M&P engineering, testing strategy, technical risk, and mission assurance while overseeing failure analyses, metrology, and materials testing for aerospace flight hardware, ground support equipment, and facility systems. Oversees advanced engineering and technology development in embedded systems, microelectronics, controls, and avionics to support future mission needs; and leads modernization of laboratories and advancement of digital engineering, advanced materials, and next generation testing capabilities. Directs high-visibility failure investigations and anomaly resolution efforts, ensuring timely resolution, root cause identification, and Agency-wide application of lessons learned. Directs resources within a complex matrix environment, aligning workforce, infrastructure, funding, and sound business practices to deliver mission outcomes across a diverse portfolio.

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 MTQ(s) related to this position. If your 2-page resume does not reflect demonstrated evidence of the ECQs and MTQ(s), 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 (this means you were previously employed as a Career SES employee and you successfully completed a one-year probationary period), 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. Please DO NOT submit separate documents addressing the ECQs or MTQ(s). Only your 2-page resume will be accepted and considered. Any additional documents submitted will not be accepted. EXECUTIVE CORE QUALIFICATIONS (ECQs) For more information on the ECQs, please visit OPM's ECQ webpage. ECQ 1 - Commitment to the Rule of Law and the Principles of the American Founding: This core qualification requires a 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: This core qualification involves the 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: This core qualification involves the 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: This core qualification involves the 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. This includes, when necessary, the ability to lead people through change and to hold individuals accountable. Competencies: Accountability, Developing Others, Executive Judgment ECQ 5 - Achieving Results - This core qualification involves the 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): Your resume must include accomplishments that address the MTQ(s). MTQ - Demonstrated experience in leading and managing multidiscipline engineering and scientific laboratories, development, and testing capabilities and practices in support of ground and flight aerospace systems. This includes leading a team that performs analysis, fabrication, and testing of flight hardware and ground support equipment (e.g., prototypes, tools, test articles, test fixtures, and production hardware) for both design/development and operational activities. Competencies: Advanced Experimentation and Testing Technologies. 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. 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.

How to Apply: To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section and submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application. Follow the prompts to select your resume to be included with your application package. Your uploaded resume may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the "Include Personal Information" section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process. You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. It is applicant's responsibility to verify that information entered and uploaded, (i.e., resume) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Human Resources will not modify or change any part of your application. To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account, all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit:https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status. Faxed, emailed, and/or mailed application materials will not be accepted for this announcement. NASA provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you are an applicant with a disability and need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency contact center listed on the job vacancy announcement. The decision on granting reasonable accommodations will be on a case-by-case basis.

Application Deadline: 2026-05-18