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DISTINGUISHED ENGINEER, USW RAPID PAYLOAD PLATFORM INTEGRATION

Naval Sea Systems Command

Naval Base Newport, RIFull-time$193–210K/yrPosted today

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At a glance

Compensation
$193–210K/yr
Location
Naval Base Newport, RI
Schedule
Full-time
Work Authorization
Not specified

Olive focuses on jobs in the United States, including remote roles you can work from there.

Requirements

Credentials this posting asks for.

Professional Engineering Registration Or Licensure, requiredFundamentals Of Engineering Examination, required

Job overview

The Distinguished Engineer for Undersea Warfare Rapid Payload Platform Integration provides strategic direction and technical leadership for integrating payloads into current and future submarine classes and the Navy’s Hybrid Fleet platforms. The role oversees transition of mission-critical capabilities from research and development to operational use, leads complex national-level programs, and resolves engineering challenges while managing technical risk and ensuring platform safety.

Skills & qualifications

RequiredNice to have

Skills

Technical Leadership, requiredPayload Integration, requiredPlatform Design, requiredHydrodynamics, requiredSystems Engineering, requiredResearch and Development, requiredTest and Evaluation, requiredTechnical Risk Management, requiredStructural Acoustics, requiredCombat Systems, requiredLaunch Kinetics, required

Qualifications

Bachelor's or Higher Engineering Degree, requiredEngineering Degree or Qualifying Alternative, requiredProfessional Engineering Registration or Licensure, requiredFundamentals of Engineering Examination, required60 Semester Hours Engineering Sciences, requiredRelated Curriculum and One Year Engineering Experience, requiredMaster's or Ph.D. In Listed Fields, nice to haveGraduate Degree, nice to haveSignificant Research or Development Experience, nice to haveNational or International Reputation, nice to have

Full job description

Summary

You will serve as Distinguished Engineer for Undersea Warfare (USW) Rapid Payload Platform Integration of NAVUNSEAWARCENDIV NEWPORT RI. You will provide authoritative strategic direction and leadership for the rapid integration of payloads into all current and future submarine classes, as well as the Department of the Navy's Hybrid Fleet platforms.

Duties

  • You will oversee the transition of mission-critical USW capabilities from Research and Development to sustained operational use.
  • You will serve as the Navy's principal technical authority for rapid payload integration into undersea platforms.
  • You will lead and shape the technical direction for highly complex, national-level research, development, test, and evaluation programs focused on undersea warfare (USW) payload integration.
  • You will direct and coordinate massive, multi-faceted programmatic architectures that bridge the gap between rapid technological innovation and sustained operational deployment.
  • You will serve as the ultimate technical authority for resolving engineering disputes, establishing rigorous systems engineering processes, and validating the technical baseline for rapid payload integration across the warfare center and partners.
  • You will resolve unprecedented engineering challenges in hydrodynamics, structural acoustics, combat systems, and launch kinetics, managing extreme technical risk to ensure rapid capability delivery and absolute platform safety.

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. National Technical Authority for USW Payload Platform Integration: Ability to provide authoritative national-level technical leadership for undersea warfare (USW) rapid payload integration by setting enterprise direction for submarine payload systems, platform design, and hydrodynamics, ensuring seamless systems engineering and integration methodology across all current and future submarine classes, as well as the Navy's Hybrid Fleet platforms. TQ#2. Delivery and Transition of Complex USW Payload Integration Initiatives: Ability to plan, lead, and technically supervise large-scale, cross-disciplinary payload integration research, development, and test activities, and to transition those capabilities into sustained operational use by guiding multidisciplinary teams, representing the Navy in allied, interagency, and industry technical forums, advising Senior Executive Service (SES) members and Flag Officers, and managing technical risk in a high-security, mission-critical environment. 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 Defense 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 7,100 open Engineering jobs on Olive Jobs, counted November 13, 2026.

Pay
  • This posting$193–210K/yr
  • US median$110–173K/yr3,698 salary ranges

This range's midpoint, $201K, is 39% above the US median midpoint ($145K) — in the top quarter of Engineering salary ranges across the US.

Openings
Olive Jobs lists 32 open Engineering jobs in Rhode Island and 7,100 across the US. 3% of them nationwide are listed as remote or flexible.
Hiring the most in Rhode Island
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 (4,823 postings).
Education
3,507 of the 7,100 open Engineering jobs (49%) ask for a bachelor's degree or higher.

Counted across the open, public US postings on Olive Jobs on November 13, 2026. Figures based on too few postings are left out.

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