The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is seeking a range of technical pros. The skills needed are broad: electronics, computer and aerospace engineers top the list, but there are openings for many other kinds of engineering specialists too.
Tania Dawson, program administrator for NAVAIR's professional recruiting office, notes that "One hundred percent of our advertising efforts are diversity-targeted."
NAVAIR is a corporate sponsor for the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). It is also working to bring more people with disabilities into its workforce, Dawson says.
NAVAIR has facilities at eight locations, and is organized into five business units. The aircraft division has sites at Patuxent River, MD and Lakehurst, NJ; the weapons division is in China Lake and Point Mugu, CA.
Three depots for aircraft rework and maintenance are located at North Island, CA, Cherry Point, NC and Jacksonville, FL, and the NAVAIR training systems division is in Orlando, FL. There are two sites outside the U.S., one in Japan and one in Italy.
The mission of all of them is to provide efficient weapons and other combat and readiness systems to the Navy and Marine Corps.
Of NAVAIR's 38,000-plus employees, about 25,000 are in the civil service, more than 2,300 are military and about 7,500 are contractors. Employees must be U.S. citizens and be eligible for a security clearance. Naturalized citizens are welcome as long as they are willing to renounce any dual citizenships they hold and can pass an extensive background investigation, Dawson says.
Both highly experienced and "journey-level" professionals, those who have completed the NAVAIR rotation program or have a few years of experience, are recruited through the staffing departments at each NAVAIR division, Dawson says. The same offices recruit entry-level employees. "More than half the job fairs we attend each year are at diverse schools," Dawson notes.
Most engineers and scientists come in through NAVAIR's entry-level engineer and scientist development program. New participants are assigned sponsors and work out a training plan. They spend two to four years rotating through developmental assignments at various sites and departments, explains Elise White, affirmative employment program manager.
"We call these 'career ladder' positions," she says. Participants work under the government employment grade system: they enter at GS-5, 7 or 9, depending on their degrees, GPAs and experience, then move up until they reach GS-12, when they are considered "journey-level" engineers and graduate from the program.
Participants enter the program at all ages. Some join NAVAIR right after college graduation. Others may be changing fields, or may have attended college after military service. "Quite a few new hires learned about us from other program participants," White notes.
NAVAIR supports its diverse employees through special emphasis programs, the federal government's version of the networking groups that are common in private industry. Programs are offered at each NAVAIR location, White says.
Most NAVAIR sites are deeply involved with their communities, White reports. The training systems division in Orlando, FL, for instance, is a member of the Minority Engineering program at the University of Central Florida.
The depot at North Island, CA partners with San Diego's Seaworld in a school science enrichment program. The aircraft division works with the national Hispanic American Association. The weapons division joins the Ventura County chapter of SHPE in an annual engineering symposium.
Engineers at several NAVAIR sites participate in FIRST (www.usfirst.org), a national robotics competition for high school students. They mentor students and provide advice and guidance. Some NAVAIR staffers serve as judges at school science fairs in their neighborhoods, and provide tutoring and mentoring for students from the early grades through high school.
To help employees balance their work and home lives NAVAIR offers telework, flex schedules and help with childcare and eldercare. Most sites are located at facilities that have child development centers and day camps within easy reach.
"Our employees tell us that NAVAIR is a great place to work," White says proudly. "The environment is stimulating, the work is challenging, and what we do plays an important part in the safety of our country."
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Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR)
jobs.navair.navy.mil
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Headquarters: |
Patuxent River, MD |
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Employees: |
38,304 |
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Business: |
Provides technical support for cost-effective readiness and weapons systems to the Navy and Marine Corps |
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