Chief Project Management and Systems Engineer Division

U.S. Forest Service

U.S. Forest Service

Administration, Software Engineering

Houston, TX, USA

Posted on May 7, 2026

Summary

Incumbent serves as the Chief of the Project Management and Systems Engineering (PM & SE) Division and reports to the Director of Engineering at Johnson Space Center (JSC). Provides overall management and leadership for human rated spacecraft design and development, vehicle systems definition and integration, overall vehicle testing and verification, vehicle sustaining engineering, logistics and maintenance, and development, delivery, and sustained operation of flight hardware.

Major Duties

The Chief Project Management and Systems Engineer Division: Provides leadership and technical direction to teams responsible for the integration of International and Commercial Partner, and Government elements for all Human Spaceflight programs including development, verification, and test, readiness for flight, on-orbit checkout, operations support, cargo engineering integration and/or sustaining engineering. Provides technical leadership and domain stewardship in the engineering disciplines of project management and system engineering. Responsible for the overall strategic vision and exercising overall technical and administrative management of the organization. Responsible for technical management that houses JSC standards for PM and SE, as well as, providing Agency level leadership for advancing model-based system engineering (MBSE) tools and processes Formalizes project management and systems engineering as a domain at JSC, improving integration across technical disciplines. Oversees mid to larger scale Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) Engineering commitments that draw resources from across the directorate, center and agency, as well as the full spectrum of SE&I from conceptual design, thru design, development, test, evaluation (DDT&E) and operations, to senior systems engineering practitioners supporting both these GFE Engineering projects and large program Chief Engineers. Provides technical leadership in project management and systems engineering (PM & SE) over the program or project lifecycle. This involves concept to design to realization of complex systems. Responsible for the Division resources (budget, workforce, engineering assets) and advises the Director on all matters which may impact engineering operations. Reviews and directs the technical approach and progress toward the execution of operational functions. Formulates program goals and objectives (near-term and long-term) and develops plans for new projects while collaborating with programs and stakeholders to ensure the Division continues in its technical leadership across the Center and Agency.

Education

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. 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 is required. An official transcript will be required if you are selected. 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.

Evaluations

All qualifications requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement. We will review your resume to ensure you meet the qualification requirements. If you meet the basic qualification requirements, your application will be referred to and evaluated by an executive panel. Highly Qualified applicants may undergo one or more interviews and/or be asked to provide a list of references or additional documents to confirm eligibility. Upon selection, if the selectee does not have Qualifications Review Board (QRB) certification by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), he/she must undergo an ECQ based structured interview with OPM before being appointed to this position.

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.

What to Expect Next

Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification email. Your application will be evaluated by the Human Resources Office to determine your eligibility for the position. After the evaluation is complete, you will receive another notification regarding the status of your application. If you have questions, please feel free to contact NASA Executive Staffing at Agency-Executive-Staffing@mail.nasa.gov.

Required Documents

A complete application includes items described below. Please note that if you do not provide all required information, as specified in this announcement, you may be removed from consideration for this position (or may not receive the special consideration for which you may be eligible). Human Resources will not modify or change any part of your application. RESUME: All applicants are required to submit a two (2) page resume showing all relevant experience. Applicants seeking initial career appointment to the SES must include evidence of the ECQs and MTQ(s) within their resume. Please see this guidance: What to include in your resume. 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 academic transcripts, SF-50s, SES Candidate Development Program certificate, etc. Therefore, we encourage you to have these documents prepared and ready when requested by the agency. 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.

Other Information

Veterans' preference is not applicable to the SES.