Duties
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is seeking motivated and highly talented individuals for exciting positions at various locations throughout the United States.
The Physical Science series includes positions that involve professional work in physical science, engineering, and mathematics and may include work in a combination of physical science fields.
As a Physical Scientist, you will perform the following duties:
- Assists in providing long-term stewardship of, and access to, earth science data and products, ensuring their quality and usefulness to the project and future customers.
- Assists higher level scientists or data managers in the development of new techniques and approaches to solve problems using advanced sciences.
- Acts as point of contact within the organization for international and national data providers that submit data, when needed, and verify quality.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
NOTE: Applicants must meet ALL application requirements, to include a complete online resume, by 11:59 p.m. EASTERN TIME (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
These positions will be filled under either the DOC Alternative Personnel System (CAPS) or the Federal GS pay plan and structure. Under CAPS, positions are classified by career, pay plan, and pay band. CAPS Band System is equivalent to the GS-4 through GS-12 levels.
Conditions of Employment
These positions will be filled under either the DOC Alternative Personnel System (CAPS) or the Federal GS pay plan and structure. Under CAPS, positions are classified by career, pay plan, and pay band. CAPS Band System is equivalent to the GS-4 through GS-12 levels.
To be eligible for consideration, applicants must:
- Have successfully completed an eligible NOAA undergraduate or graduate summer internship or fellowship. For a list of eligible programs, see here.
- Have earned an undergraduate or graduate degree after successful completion of the internship or fellowship.
- Be within the 2 year eligibility period post degree completion at the time of this announcement.
In addition to the above, incumbents must:
- Be a U.S. Citizen
- A one-year probationary period may be required
- Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov)
- Category Rating, Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to this Public Notice.
- A background investigation will be required for this position. Continued employment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.
- Payment of relocation expenses is not authorized.
Qualifications
You must meet both the Basic Requirement and the Specialized Experience to qualify for this series as described below.
Basic Requirement:
- Degree: Physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics. OR
- Combination of education and experience: Education equivalent to one of the majors shown above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
To qualify for any grade level under this series, the incumbent must meet qualifications standards for the grade level through specialized experience, education, or a combination of both.
Specialized Experience
Qualified Candidates must demonstrate at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government. Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations 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. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
OPM Qualification Standards for the GS-1301 series can be found at the following website: OPM Qualification Standard for Physical Scientist Series 1301
OPM Group Qualification Standards can be found at the following website: General Schedule Qualification Standards
Education
College Transcript: If you are qualifying based on education, submit a copy of your college transcript that lists college courses detailing each course by the number and department (i.e., Bio 101, Math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours and grade earned. You must submit evidence that any education completed in a foreign institution is equivalent to U.S. education standards with your resume. You may submit an unofficial copy of the transcript at the initial phase of the application process. If course content cannot be easily identified from the title of the course as listed on your transcript, you must submit an official course description from the college/university that reflects the content at the time the course was taken.
Note: Your college transcript is used to verify successful completion of degree, or college course work. An official college transcript will be required before you can report to duty. Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website. You MUST provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application.
Failure to provide such documentation by the closing date of the announcement will result in lost consideration. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated visit: OPM Foreign Education Evaluation.
Benefits
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
You will be evaluated for this direct hire repository based on how well you meet the qualifications above. We will review your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for the position.
Veteran's Preference does not apply to direct hire recruitment procedures.
Any selections made under this notice will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. Therefore, Current Federal employees would be given new appointments to the civil service and may have to serve a new probationary period under CFR 315.802 (b).
NOTE: A one year year probationary period will be required under the Direct Hire Authority unless you are a current Department of Commerce employee and are in the same line of work and with no more than a 30 day break in service.
Required Documents
If your application is missing information, you will not be contacted to correct your application. As such, please ensure your application is complete and contains all required information. To be included in this repository, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
- CCA Certificate of Eligibility Requirement: Please submit a copy of your CCA certificate of eligibility confirming you've successfully completed the program. The certificate must be signed by your CCA Program Manager and must have the dates and hours of your internship or fellowship. If you do not have a certificate, you can get one by contacting your program. Since 2020, eligible programs have provided certificates when students complete their internships. In February of 2024, NOAA updated the certificate; if you received a certificate between 2020 and January of 2024, it is still valid.
- Resume: Your resume must include; job title(s) (including job series and grade, if federal); description of duties or work performed; education; starting and ending dates (month and year); and hours worked per week and/or full-time or part-time. If identifying as part-time you must state the number of hours per week. (NOTE: A full-time work schedule requires most employees to work 33-40 hours during the work week. A part-time schedule requires an employee to work less than full-time, but for a specific number of hours (usually 16-32 hours per administrative work week) on a prearranged scheduled tour of duty.) Ensure your email address is one that will be active for at least the next year. You are highly encouraged to use USAJOBS Resume Builder to ensure all required information is included in your Resume. Please see this guidance: What to include in your resume
- Transcripts : You must submit any and all transcripts that may be used to qualify you for the position. Your most recent transcript must include a degree conferment date (if applicable). If submitting a copy of your diploma, a transcript must also be included. Transcripts may be official or unofficial.
Optional Documents
A cover letter is encouraged, but not required, and may be addressed to "NOAA hiring manager."
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the NACES website. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
Failure to provide all required documents through USAJobs by the deadline will result in being removed from consideration for this repository.
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from
schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
How to Apply
To be included in this repository, you must submit your application and provide supporting documentation by the closing date of this announcement. You will be evaluated initially to ensure you are eligible to use this direct hire authority. If you have eligibility, you will then be evaluated for potential positions based on how well you meet the qualifications above. We will review your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for the job series.
Next steps
- Your application will be placed into a pool of individuals for evaluation and referral to selecting officials for CCA hiring.
- You may be contacted by interested selecting officials and asked to interview.
- We will not be able to provide status updates other than the receipt of your application via an acknowledgement email from USAStaffingOffice@opm.gov.
- You may update your application at any time until the closing date.
By submitting your application, you are certifying the accuracy of the information contained in your application. If you make a false statement in any part of your application, you may not be hired; you may be terminated after you begin work; or, you may be fined or jailed. After making a tentative job offer, we will conduct a suitability/security background investigation.You will be required to submit official documentation prior to appointment. The agency will then verify the information provided on your application (i.e., degree, veterans' preference, disability, etc.).