Wildland Firefighting Manager Branch Chief Equipment Development - Direct Hire Authority

Summary

This position will be filled at the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), duty location Boise, ID, servicing USWFS. Incumbent serves as Branch Chief for Equipment Development providing national leadership, technical direction, and program direction for the development and safety of wildland fire equipment used in interagency fire management operations. For additional questions about this position, or duty location, please contact Dennis Strange at [email protected].

Duties

Direct national wildland fire equipment development programs, including fire engines, tenders, heavy equipment, command and support vehicles, IHC vehicles, helitack equipment, and specialized fire equipment, from concept through deployment. Provide technical and administrative direction to subordinate staff and supervisors and coordinate the integration of multiple concurrent national equipment development programs. Exercise expert engineering, safety, and risk-management authority over equipment designs, specifications, testing protocols, inspections, investigations, recalls, corrective actions, and post-deployment evaluations. Direct research, development, and innovation initiatives involving vehicle design, materials, suppression systems, telematics, and mission-specific configurations, integrating validated technologies into standardized national equipment programs. Coordinate with interagency fire management organizations, Fleet and Equipment Management functions, technical committees, and working groups to ensure equipment interoperability and alignment with national standards. Develop and implement national policies, technical standards, specifications, and guidance for equipment design, testing, procurement, and modification while supporting Federal acquisition requirements. Provide technical leadership for equipment development budgets, cost estimates, funding priorities, contracts, cooperative agreements, and interagency agreements supporting equipment research, development, and production. Evaluate national equipment program effectiveness through inspection data, operational feedback, safety analyses, and post-incident reviews and use findings to support strategic planning, senior leadership decisions, and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your 2 page resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time or part-time, hours must be included). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience. Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. You may only submit one resume. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed. If an applicant's resume is incomplete or does not support the requirements for minimum qualifications or specialized experience a rating of "ineligible" or "not qualified" will be applied and no consideration for employment will be granted. Prior primary wildland fire experience must be clearly documented in your resume. Note: an IQCS Master Record or equivalent document will not be used to determine or calculate prior primary wildland fire experience eligibility for this requirement. Basic Qualification Requirements: Candidates must possess Primary/Rigorous wildland firefighting experience, gained through fire line work in containment, control, suppression or use of wildland fire. You must clearly demonstrate this experience in your resume, including the months, days, and hours per week at which the work was performed to be considered. Applicants must have documented prior primary firefighting experience, with substantial service defined as either: At least one full fire season working in a primary wildland firefighting role (e.g., Engine Crew, Fire Effects Crew, Prescribed Fire/Fuels Crew, Hand Crew, Helitack Crew, Hotshot Crew, Smokejumper, Wildland Fire Modules or Fire Suppression Crews, etc.) with a federal, state, tribal, local, or private-sector organization. -OR- At least 14 days of on-the-ground fireline experience (cumulative or consecutive). Prior primary wildland fire experience must be clearly documented in your resume. Note: an IQCS Master Record or equivalent document will not be used to determine or calculate prior primary wildland fire experience eligibility for this requirement.; AND In addition to the requirements described above, the following additional experience is required: For the GW-14 level: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS/GW-13 level, or higher in the Federal service, or equivalent. Examples of specialized experience include: Directed state/regional or national wildland fire or fleet programs and subordinate supervisors, allocating significant resources and resolving complex technical, operational, safety, acquisition, and workforce issues across concurrent program segments. Exercised engineering authority for equipment design, testing, standards compliance, risk management, recalls, corrective actions, contracts, budgets, and interagency agreements while advising senior officials and coordinating with Federal, State, Tribal, and local partners. Evaluated supervisors and subordinate personnel, approved workforce expenses and training needs, recommended personnel actions and awards, and ensured equitable performance standards and accountability across program activities. Led national modernization initiatives integrating emerging technologies, fleet requirements, operational feedback, safety analyses, and lifecycle management into standardized equipment programs. Eliminated program barriers, strengthened interagency interoperability, improved equipment safety and reliability, and maintained employee safety and health while executing national program objectives. This is a secondary-administrative firefighter position under the special retirement provisions of 5 U.S. C. 8336 (c) (CSRS) and 5 U. S. C. 8412 (d) (FERS). PLEASE NOTE: Applicants may meet qualification requirements but may not be eligible for special retirement coverage. If such an applicant is selected, they will be placed in the regular retirement system. FERS TRANSITION REQUIREMENT: To be eligible for Secondary retirement coverage under FERS, an employee must: 1) transfer directly (without a break in service exceeding 3 days) from a primary position to a secondary position, AND 2) complete 3 years of service in a primary rigorous position including any such service during which no FERS deductions were withheld, AND 3) must be continuously employed in a secondary position(s) since moving from a primary rigorous position, except for any break in employment from a secondary position that began with involuntary separation (not for cause). It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure this office has enough information to determine your special retirement status to ensure you do not lose benefits (normally through submission of your work history or other documentation that demonstrates work history of approved covered positions). You must let this office know if you are in a Primary coverage position. This is a secondary-administrative firefighter position under the special retirement provisions of 5 U.S. C. 8336 (c