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SUPERVISORY DISTINGUISHED ENGINEER

Naval Sea Systems Command

Port Hueneme, CAFull-time$198–210K/yrPosted today

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At a glance

Compensation
$198–210K/yr
Location
Port Hueneme, CA
Schedule
Full-time
Work Authorization
Not specified

Olive lists jobs from US employers, including remote roles you can work from the United States.

Requirements

Credentials this posting asks for.

Professional Engineering Registration Or Licensure, requiredFundamentals Of Engineering Exam Or Equivalent, required

Job overview

The Deputy Technical Director of Naval Surface Warfare Center serves as the preeminent technical leader and strategic authority for emerging and legacy surface warfare and combat-system technologies. The role provides executive leadership and strategic advice, directs research and development portfolios, and oversees technical and administrative leadership. Applicants must demonstrate the stated technical qualifications and meet the professional engineering education requirements or an accepted alternative.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Combat Systems Research, requiredWeapon Systems Development, requiredTest and Evaluation, requiredAcquisition Policy, requiredProject Management, requiredEngineering Criteria, requiredAnalytical Tools, requiredTechnical Governance, requiredDecision-Making, requiredWarfare Center Operations, requiredTechnical Authority, requiredTechnical Coordination, required

Qualifications

Bachelor's or Higher Engineering Degree, requiredEngineering Degree or Accepted Alternative, requiredProfessional Engineering Registration or Licensure, requiredFundamentals of Engineering Exam or Equivalent, required60 Semester Hours Engineering Sciences, requiredRelated Curriculum and One Year Engineering Experience, requiredMaster's or PhD, nice to haveSignificant Research or Development Experience, nice to haveNational or International Reputation, nice to have

Full job description

Summary

You will serve as Deputy Technical Director of NAVAL SURFACE WARFARE CENTER. You will serve as the preeminent technical leader and strategic authority in the identification, development, transition, in-service engineering, and comprehensive product support of emerging and legacy technologies for surface warfare and combat systems.

Duties

  • You will provide executive leadership and senior technical and strategic advice to command, NAVSEA, Navy, and Department of War leaders on research priorities, technology investment, fleet readiness, and complex engineering issues.
  • You will lead the identification, development, transition, in-service engineering, and lifecycle support of emerging and legacy surface warfare and naval combat-system technologies.
  • You will direct and integrate the organization's Sci and Tech and R-and-D portfolio, including innovation and experimentation, technology transition, systems engineering, test and evaluation and integrated product support activities.
  • You will exercise executive administrative and technical supervision of senior leaders and staff while building partnerships with government, industry, academia, and stakeholders to accelerate capability delivery to the Fleet.

Qualifications

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution. Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion, or national origin. To meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position, your resume must show that you possess the Technical Qualifications (TQ) related to this position - NOT TO EXCEED 2 PAGES. Resumes over the 2-page limit will be disqualified. Your resume should include examples of experience, education, and accomplishments applicable to the qualification(s). If your resume does not reflect demonstrated evidence of these qualifications, you may not receive consideration for the position. TECHNICAL QUALIFICATIONS (TQs): Your resume should demonstrate accomplishments that would satisfy the technical qualifications: TQ#1: Demonstrated technical expertise in combat and weapon systems research, development, test, and evaluation; acquisition policy; and project management. Ability to develop and consistently apply sound engineering criteria, analytical tools, methods, and data to support technical governance and decision-making. TQ#2: Demonstrated knowledge of the roles, responsibilities, and interrelationships of Warfare Centers, System Commands, NAVSEA-affiliated Portfolio Acquisition Executive Offices, and the Fleet, including NSWC PHD's mission, organization, and technical-authority responsibilities. Ability to apply that knowledge to coordinate technical efforts and achieve enterprise mission outcomes. Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=GS-PROF AND https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/files/all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (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.

Education

Applicants must meet the following positive education qualifications requirements of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualifications Standards Manual: For Professional Engineering Series: A. Degree: Engineering. Successful completion of a bachelor's or higher engineering degree from an accredited college or university. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. -or- B. Combination of education and experience -- college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following: (I) Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT), or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions; or (II) Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico; or (III) Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A; or (IV) Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor's degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all inclusive.) An advanced degree of Master's or Ph.D. in one of the educational fields listed above is highly desirable. How You Will Be Evaluated

Once the application process is complete, a review of your resume and supporting documentation will be conducted. If you meet minimum qualifications, your Application Package will be further reviewed to determine if you possess the Technical Qualifications (TQ) listed above. TQs must be thoroughly addressed within your two (2) page resume. Separate narratives will not be accepted or reviewed. Highly Qualified applicants may undergo one or more interviews and may be referred to the selecting official for further consideration. Additional documentation may be required in the interview/assessment process. The technical panel will review results and make recommendations on final selections to the approving authorities. This recruitment will utilize the following technical assessment tools: Structured Resume Review and Structured Interview. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation. If after reviewing your resume and supporting documentation, a determination is made that you inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may be found ineligible/not qualified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment. All qualifications requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement. Other Information

Senior Scientific Technical Manager (SSTM) positions are positions which exceed the ND-05 (GS-15 equivalent). SSTMs provide a continuity of technical leadership and oversight that is needed to ensure long term stewardship of an organization's technical capabilities. Typically, applicants for SSTM positions are expected to have a graduate degree, significant research or development experience, and a national or international reputation in his/her field and are recognized throughout the applicable community as a renowned expert. SSTM positions are in the competitive service. This position is not covered by the Department of War Priority Placement Program. Additional vacancies may be filled by this announcement. A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if the selectee fails to meet the pre-employment requirements, including failure to report to any of the scheduled appointments. Federal annuitant information: The selection of an annuitant is subject to the Department of War and Department of the Navy policy on the employment of annuitants. Policy information may be found at: http://www.secnav.navy.mil/donhr/Documents/CivilianJobs/FedCivAnnuitants.pdf There are three key documents that contain important information about your rights and obligations. Please read and retain these documents: Noncriminal Justice Applicant's Privacy Rights, for those who undergo an FBI fingerprint-based criminal history record check for personnel vetting, which includes Rap Back, FD-258 Privacy Act Statement - FBI (this is the same statement used when your fingerprints are submitted as part of your background investigation), and SEAD-3-Reporting-U.pdf (dni.gov), (applicable to those who hold a sensitive position or have eligibility for access to classified information)" Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy Statement: http://www.eeoc.gov/federal/index.cfm Employment Information Resources - Resource Center: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to Males born after 12-31-1959 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service (see https://www.sss.gov/RegVer/wfRegistration.aspx)

How this job compares

Set against the 7,095 open Engineering jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 10, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$198–210K/yr
  • California median$134–200K/yr611 salary ranges
  • US median$113–175K/yr3,624 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $204K, is 20% above the California median midpoint ($170K) — in the middle half of Engineering salary ranges in California.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 917 open Engineering jobs in California and 7,095 across the US. 3% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in California
Experience
Engineering postings that state a minimum ask for 5 years of experience at the median; the middle half ask for 3 to 10 years (4,879 postings).
Education
3,593 of the 7,095 open Engineering jobs (51%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 10, 2026. Pay medians are the middle values of the low ends and of the high ends of postings that list both ends of a range in the same cadence (a yearly salary or an hourly rate); a range's midpoint is halfway between its ends. Pay and experience figures resting on fewer than 20 postings are left out.

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