Contract Administrator

How important is a Contract Administrator? The work is so fundamental to DCMA that the Agency places Contract Administrators all over the country, and around the world. When you think about it, what you do is even part of our name, Defense Contract Management Agency.

The work is all about the contract. Basically, you will make sure everything in the contract gets done, and everything that gets done is in the contract. With each new assignment, you'll help move the contract along to closure. You'll work with engineers and quality assurance pros, sometimes out on the factory floor, to make sure the work is being done right. You'll also interact with our finance pros to ensure that billing and payments are in line with the agreement.

One day you might be working on bulletproof vests, and the next it could be satellites or the rockets that put them into orbit.

To be eligible for the position of contract administrator, you do need a college degree. That degree can come from any field, from finance to engineering, provided you have at least 24 semester hours in any combination of the following fields: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing or organization and management.

Obviously, you need to be highly detail oriented to manage contracts and communication skills as it's your job to make sure that everyone is fully informed and doing their part.

How to Apply: visit us at USAjobs.gov today!

Cost/Price Analyst

The Defense Contract Management Agency oversees the procurement of everything America needs for its defense. As a DCMA Cost/Price Analyst, your job is to evaluate the cost of these procurements--which makes your task as important as it is complex.

Agency Cost/Price Analysts evaluate Defense contract proposals and provide recommendations as to the reasonableness of the costs associated with each element of the contract. What kinds of costs? You'll be looking at costs for the actual production process--materials procurement and assembly line costs, for example. You will also look at labor costs, and other contractor overhead. The fact is, every aspect of a contractor's proposal is reviewed, analyzed, and evaluated all to ensure that tax dollars are not being wasted. It doesn't stop there either. Once a contract is approved, DCMA monitors the contract's cost control systems and practices.

It's a challenging job, but an incredibly rewarding one. By making sure that costs are contained within the bounds of a contract, you're playing a vital role in keeping our troops equipped and prepared and no one has to tell you how important that is.

To be eligible for Cost/Price Analyst you do need a college degree, but that degree can come from any field, from finance to engineering, provided you have at least 24 semester hours in any combination of the following fields: accounting, business, finance, law, contracts, purchasing, economics, industrial management, marketing or organization and management. You'll also need excellent organizational skills, good communication skills and analytical prowess.

How to Apply: visit us at USAjobs.gov today!

Engineer

Want to learn about life as an engineer with the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA)? Great!

As an engineer at DCMA, you'll be working with the very latest in technologies related to defense systems, weapons, and advanced warfighting equipment. If this sounds exciting, it is--you'll be in the thick of producing everything America's military needs.

About the only thing you won't be doing is designing things. While the product design work is done by Defense contractors, your contribution is essential, serving as DoD's eyes and ears during the entire procurement process. From initial design to final production, you'll use your engineering skills to make sure the government gets what it pays for.

Our men and women in uniform rely on us for delivery of quality state-of-the-art products. In vital situations, the most important factor is performance. That's why, at DCMA, we focus on excellence from start to finish--reviewing designs for feasibility, monitoring prototypes, participating in every stage of production and testing. Through it all, we work closely with our DCMA Contract Specialists to ensure the work is done in accordance with the terms of the contractual agreement.

With projects underway all over the United States and around the world, there are plenty of opportunities for travel and even relocation. And because DCMA is committed to continuing education, career growth and advancement are a big part of the picture.

In most cases, an engineering degree from an ABET accredited college or university is required; for more specific information on educational requirements, please carefully review our vacancy announcements. You will need excellent verbal and written communication skills as you will be interfacing with customers and reporting on contract progress on a regular basis through briefings and/or written reports.

Every day, you will apply your engineering knowledge to programs that benefit the brave men and women who defend our country. It's a fantastic feeling!

How to Apply: visit us at USAjobs.gov today!

Industrial Specialist

Industrial Operations is all about processes--about how things get done. At DCMA, we're into process and system optimization. In other words, we try to make them more efficient, so that things work better, are produced faster, and cost less.

In the commercial world, your skills might help you with anything from supply chain management to faster takeout. At DCMA, the stakes are a little higher; the Agency is responsible for procuring a wide range of items for the Department of Defense and other federal agencies--satellites, missiles, communication systems, helicopters, fighter jets and more. Procuring these products involve a complex set of tasks. From the development of the first prototype, to the moment when a finished product rolls off the production line, our job is to ensure that the process works as efficiently as possible.

One way we tackle this through regular interaction with the production and management team at a contractor's site. We review production processes and look for ways to make things better--and if we find areas that need improvement, we make appropriate recommendations.

At DCMA, you'll work with technologies rarely seen in the private sector. You won't be designing a slimmer hairdryer; you'll be helping to ensure a stronger national defense. Many of our team members have a background or education in Industrial Management, but we also hire individuals from other specialties. The Department of Defense utilizes a virtually limitless variety of state-of-the-art technology, so we need to maintain an elite team with all kinds of specialized expertise.

How to Apply: visit us at USAjobs.gov today!

Information Technology Specialist

If you're into IT, this is where you want to be. If it's run by a computer, and our military uses it, almost certainly DCMA was involved in the development and approval of the software.

As an IT Specialist at DCMA, you'll work at the cutting edge of your field. You'll be involved with the successful design, development, testing, and implementation of state-of-the-art software systems for Defense, non-Defense, and foreign government customers. You may even find yourself working on highly classified material.

We're talking serious software--everything from satellite control, to weapons systems, to logistics. You'll provide technical surveillance of contractor systems and software controls, as well as verify and validate software metrics.

There's a lot on the line here. Your advice and opinions will be valued to the point where you may be asked to share them with major decision makers.

As with any IT careers, it will be critical that you keep your skills up-to-date, and DCMA will do its part to make sure you have access to all the continuing education you need--special training seminars, Government and industry-wide conferences where you will stay at the forefront of your field. A big part of your job satisfaction will come from working with the best of the best to serve, our men and women in uniform.

How to Apply: visit us at USAjobs.gov today!

Quality Assurance Specialist

America's war fighters aren't much concerned with whether something was delivered on schedule or on budget. What they DO want to know is that it will do exactly what it's supposed to do...each and every time.

That makes you the most important person in the world to our war fighters.

As a Quality Assurance Specialist, it's your job to make sure that the thousands of items the Department of Defense requests are of the same uncompromising quality as the dedicated men and women who use them.

You'll monitor just about everything America needs for its national security--aircraft carriers, attack helicopters, field gear, satellites, software. It's no exaggeration to say the military couldn't survive for a day without the equipment you monitor for quality.

You may work out of an office, or on the production floor at a large contractor site. You'll get on-the-job training, a personal mentor, and lots of continuing education.

QA Specialists have backgrounds in many different fields, including electronics, engineering, hardware, software, and more. QA has a place for every kind of discipline. You must be able to interpret complex contracts and other legal documents, as well as detailed performance standards.

At DCMA, we get it all. In Quality Assurance, we get it right.

How to Apply: visit us at USAjobs.gov today!