U.S. Government Job Opportunities

I'm not a big fan of government employees in general since many, IMO, are filling unnecessary jobs created to build voter bases and expand the power and influence of politicians and appointed bureaucrats. It places a huge burden on those of us who do real work by having to deal with their ineptitude and arrogance and having our hard-earned income taken to subsidize their pampered existence.

That said, there are government jobs and employees that I highly regard, being primarily those who work in high technology fields. Who can argue that, with the exception of many high ranking department appointments of political nature, the rest of the people are typically very skilled, capable, and hard-working, and perform useful functions? NASA, NOAA, NSA, FBI, CIA, FCC, FAA, USAF, USMC, USNavy, USArmy, USCG, NSF, DOT, DOE, and many others perform critical functions to help keep America safe, strong, and at the forefront of technology. One of the biggest obstacles those folks face on a daily basis is dealing with the idiotic bureaucracy.

While reading through the latest IEEE Spectrum magazine, I ran across an employment advertisement for an electrical engineering position at NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). Following that lead, I went to the government job website www.USAJobs.gov and pulled a few samples for you to consider. Happy hunting.

• Patent Examiner
• Telecommunications Specialist
• Astronomer

Patent Examiner

• JOB TITLE: Patent Examiner (Electrical Engineering)
• DEPARTMENT: Department Of Commerce
• AGENCY: Patent and Trademark Office
• JOB ANNOUNCEMENT TITLE: CP-2014-0020
• SALARY RANGE: $70,598.00 to $91,778.00 / Per Year
• OPEN PERIOD: Monday, January 27, 2014 to Sunday, May 25, 2014
• SERIES & GRADE: GS-1224-11
• POSITION INFORMATION: This is a Full-time permanent position - Career/Career-Conditional appointment in the competitive service.
• PROMOTION POTENTIAL: 13
• DUTY LOCATIONS: MANY vacancies - Denver, CO View Map
• WHO MAY APPLY: U.S. Citizens and Nationals -
• SECURITY CLEARANCE: Public Trust - Background Investigation
• DUTIES: A patent examiner (PE) reviews patent applications to determine if they comply with Federal law and regulation and scientific principle. A PE scrutinizes patent applications, determines the scope of protection claimed by the inventor, researches relevant technologies, and communicates findings and decisions to patent practitioners and/or inventors. The PE conducts extensive reviews of a large body of technical information, including detailed drawings as represented in electrical schematic, 3-dimensional mechanical portrayed drawings or chemical manufacturing process diagrams.
  
  The position requires the analytical ability to efficiently digest large volumes of scientific information and to use this in making timely decisions regarding the patentability of an application. The PE reviews patent applications and writes office actions in a production-oriented environment. Almost all of the PE's work is performed using a computer and is visually very demanding.
  
  As a PE, you will independently perform patent examining functions and formulate or recommend appropriate action with respect to:
  • Checking applications for technical accuracy and compliance with formal requirements
  • Treating disclosure statements and claims of priority
  • Analyzing disclosure and claims for compliance with 35 USC 112
  • Planning a field of search
  • Conducting search
  • Formulating rejections under 35 USC 102 and 103 with supporting rationale, or determining how claim(s) distinguish over the prior art
  • Determining whether amendment introduces new matter
  • Determining whether restriction is proper
  • Determining whether claimed invention is operable/useful as disclosed
• SEE COMPLETE JOB LISTING INFORMATION

• JOB TITLE: Telecommunications Specialist
• DEPARTNET: Department of the Air Force
• AGENCY: U.S. Air Force - Agency Wide
• JOB ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: AFPCACQEH-926861-0391
• SALARY RANGE: $57,408.00 to $106,369.00 / Per Year
• OPEN PERIOD: Tuesday, October 01, 2013 to Monday, March 31, 2014
• SERIES & GRADE: GS-0391-11/13
• POSITION INFORMATION: Full Time - Multiple Appointment Types
• PROMOTION POTENTIAL: 13
• DUTY LOCATIONS: Few vacancies in the following location(s):
        Dublin, CA View Map, Eglin AFB, FL View Map, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH View Map, Tinker AFB, OK
        View Map, Hill AFB, UT View Map, More Locations
• WHO MAY APPLY: United States Citizens
• QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED: Candidates must have a Ph.D. in physical science, mathematics, geoscience, computer science, or electrical engineering field plus after award of the Ph.D., six or more years of working knowledge of radio frequency (RF) engineering principles and terminology. Prior experience in radio spectrum management is highly desired. Fluency in Spanish is desirable but not required.
• DUTIES:
  • Provide overall management, supervision, and technical advice; relate user requirements to existing technology.
  • Perform work involved in developing, refining and complying with telecommunications systems planning and policy direction including short- and/or long-range planning.
  • Develop planning documentation, review requests for communication services, prepare budgetary justifications, coordinate the allocation of resources, design networks/systems, prepare/review equipment and facility specifications, monitor/resolve technical communications problems, and/or conduct operational acceptance tests.
  • Review plans and specifications for adequate analysis and justification of requirements, realistic cost estimates, and implementation dates, and considering supporting requirements such as scheduling deliveries, availability of installation and test personnel, site preparation, and similar concerns.
  • Test and implement systems. Prepare justification for new systems or improvements.
  • Implement various telecommunications programs to improve existing telecommunications capabilities and new systems requirements.
• SEE COMPLETE JOB LISTING INFORMATION
  

• JOB TITLE: Astronomer (Program Director)
  AGENCY: National Science Foundation
  JOB ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: AST-2014-0002
  SALARY RANGE: $106,263.00 to $165,596.00 / Per Year
  OPEN PERIOD: Thursday, February 13, 2014 to Monday, March 31, 2014
  SERIES & GRADE: AD-1330-04
  POSITION INFORMATION: Full-time. - Permanent.
  PROMOTION POTENTIAL: 04
  DUTY LOCATIONS: Few vacancies in the following location(s):
         Arlington, VA View Map, Arlington, VA View Map
  
• WHO MAY APPLY: Applications will be accepted from US Citizens. Recent changes in Federal Appropriations Law requires Non-Citizens to meet certain eligibility criteria to be considered. Therefore, Non-Citizens must certify eligibility by signing and attaching this Citizenship Affidavit to their application. Non-citizens who do not provide the affidavit at the time of application will not be considered.
  • This job opportunity announcement has been AMENDED to extend the closing date to March 31, 2014.
• SECURITY CLEARANCE: Public Trust - Background Investigation
• DUTIES: The candidate selected for this position will be directly responsible for establishing NSF’s positions on a wide range of spectrum-related issues, and will work within various national and international committees to further those positions. The successful candidate will also be responsible for making presentations at scientific conferences and advisory bodies on spectrum-related issues, and will interface with government and private-sector spectrum-using entities to coordinate frequency use.
  
  ESMU duties related to this position may include, but are not limited to, the following:
  • Represent the interests of the United States’ scientific community within international and regional telecommunications communities;
  • Participate in and contribute to the U.S. preparatory process for ITU Study Groups and Working Parties;
  • Participate in and contribute to ITU Working Parties and Study Groups;
  • Participate in ITU World Radiocommunication Conferences and Conference Preparatory Meetings; and
  • Participate in and contribute to regional coordination bodies, in particular the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL).
  
  Represent the interests of the United States’ scientific community within the national telecommunications regulatory structure:
  • Represent the National Science Foundation at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee and its subcommittees;
  • Serve as expert advisor and technical consultant to any element of the NSF and to other governmental organizations on the use of the electromagnetic spectrum for scientific research, particularly relative to electromagnetic spectrum management policy; and
  • Represent NSF's Electromagnetic Spectrum Management Unit at conferences, workshops, outreach events, and within NSF itself, to explain the value of the radio spectrum for scientific and engineering research.
  Provide spectrum support for NSF-funded projects and facilities:
  • Prepare applications for NTIA spectrum certification of NSF-supported radio systems;
  • Obtain NTIA frequency authorizations for NSF-supported radio systems;
  • Interact with NSF facility personnel and NSF-funded PIs to maintain a two-way dialog on current spectrum issues impacting NSF investments; and
  • Negotiate and execute coordination agreements with third parties on behalf of NSF-funded facilities and projects.
  Duties related to managing the EARS program may include:
  • Maintain a healthy balance of support for all the needs of the research and education enterprise either through program, division; directorate, Foundation, or interagency activities;
  • Manage program resources so as to provide optimal appropriate scientific judgment to insure integrity and consistency in the grant/declination process without conflict of interests, and with balance among appropriate sub-fields and institutions, and participation of all qualified scientists. Incorporate cross-directorate responsibilities into program administration;
  • Manage an effective, timely merit review process, with attention to increasing the size and quality of the reviewer pools and insuring participation by women, minorities and disabled scientists; and
  • Plan the budget for the EARS program, considering past, present and future fiscal years; allocate resources within that budget so as to distribute scarce resources among the most compelling scientific proposals, and manage post-award evaluation.
    
• SEE COMPLETE JOB LISTING INFORMATION