Duties
The following are the duties of this position at the GS-11. If you are selected at a lower grade level, you will have the opportunity to learn to perform all these duties and will receive training to help you grow in this position.
As a General Physical Scientist, you will:
- Conduct analyses and test to confirm performance of developmental materials and security printing products to specifications.
- Use the full range of laboratory equipment available such as microscopes, spectrometers, and paper testing equipment, etc.
- Record data, prepare samples, perform routine analysis and measurements, and maintain the laboratory in good order.
- Maintain and calibrate all instrumentation used for testing in accordance with manufacturer's instructions and industry practices.
- Ensure the laboratory follows office safety, health practices, and security accountability.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
- A recruitment incentive may be offered.
- A one-year probationary period may be required.
- Public Trust - Background Investigation will be required.
- Complete a Declaration for Federal Employment to determine your suitability for Federal employment, at the time requested by the agency.
- Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
- If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System or are exempt from having to do so.
- Go through a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) process that requires two forms of identification from the Form I-9. Federal law requires verification of the identity and employment eligibility of all new hires in the U.S.
- Obtain and use a government-issued charge card for business-related travel.
- Submit to a drug test prior to your appointment and random drug testing while you occupy the position.
- Wear required safety clothing and/or equipment required by the position. This may include safety shoes, hard hats, hearing protection, gloves, masks, etc.
- Weekend work and overtime, if applicable, will be scheduled when needed based on production requirements as determined by Management.
Key Requirements:
- Click "Print Preview" to review the entire announcement before applying.
- Must be U.S. Citizen or U.S. National
Qualifications
This opportunity is also open to Status Candidates under Announcement 25-BEP-126347778. Please refer to that announcement for details on open period, eligibility, and how to apply.
You must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
Specialized experience for the GS-9 is one year (52 weeks) of experience at the GS-7 level or equivalent, that is directly related to the position as listed in this announcement and which has equipped the candidate with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Specialized experience is defined as:
- Experience accounting for an inventory of samples from receipt to final disposition in accordance with organizational policies and procedures; AND
- Writing reports that include analytical procedures, conditions, basic statistical analysis and results; AND
- Experience following standard procedures to receive samples, test samples of printed products, analyze data and report results; AND
- Experience maintaining laboratory areas, supplies, and equipment.
OR
You may qualify with 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree
OR
You may qualify on a combination of education and experience. To combine education and experience, the total percentage of experience at the required grade level compared to the requirement, as well as the percentage of completed education compared to the requirement must equal at least 100 percent. Only graduate level education in excess of the first 18 semester hours (27 quarter hours) may be combined to be considered for qualifying education.
Education
Individual Occupational Requirements for the Physical Scientist:
A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in 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
B. Combination of education and experience -- education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
The education generally must be from an accredited (or pre-accredited) college or university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. If you are qualifying based on foreign education, you must submit proof of creditability of education as evaluated by a credentialing agency. Refer to the OPM instructions.
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.
Your application includes your résumé, responses to the online questions, and required supporting documents. Please be sure that your résumé includes detailed information to support your qualifications for this position; failure to provide sufficient evidence in your résumé may result in a "not qualified" determination.
Rating: Your application will be evaluated in the following areas:
Analytical, Communication and Technical.
Category rating will be used to rank and select eligible candidates. If qualified, you will be assigned to one of three quality level categories; Gold (highest quality category), Silver (middle quality category), or Bronze (minimally qualified category), depending on your responses to the online questions, regarding your experience, education, and training related to this position.
A subject matter expert may be used in the evaluation. Your rating may be lowered if your responses to the online questions are not supported by the education and/or experience described in your application.
Veterans' preference is applied after applicants are assessed. Preference-eligibles will be listed at the top of their assigned category and considered before non-preference-eligibles in that category.
Referral: If you are among the top qualified candidates, your application may be referred to a selecting official for consideration. You may be required to participate in a selection interview. We will not reimburse costs related to the interview such as travel to and from the interview site.
If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee (eligible for the
Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP)) you must be assigned the middle category or better to be rated as "well qualified" to receive special selection priority.
Required Documents
To apply for this position, you must submit a complete Application Package which includes:
All applicants must submit a résumé showing work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment and duties performed. The experience may have been gained in either the public, private sector or volunteer service. One year of experience refers to full-time work; part-time work is considered on a prorated basis. All applicants are required to submit arésumé either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one of their own choosing. (Cover letters are optional.) We suggest that you preview the online questions, as you may need to customize your résumé to ensure that it supports your responses to these questions. Please view résumé tips.
All applicants must submit vacancy assessment question responses: All applicants are required to complete vacancy question responses by clicking the apply online button of this vacancy announcement.
VETERANS' PREFERENCE DOCUMENTATION: If you are claiming veteran's preference, please see applicant guide for required documentation. In order to be considered for veteran's preference, you must submit all required documentation as outlined in the applicant guide.
CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (CTAP) OR INTERAGENCY CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PLAN (ICTAP) DOCUMENTATION: If you are a displaced or surplus Federal employee, click CTAP/ICTAP for eligibility and a detailed list of required documents you must submit in order to be eligible.
EDUCATION DOCUMENTATION:For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for this position by substituting education or training for experience, submit a copy of your transcripts or a list of courses showing title, number of credits, grade, and date of completion.
How to Apply
You must complete this application process and submit any required documents by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, please contact us by noon ET on the announcement's closing date.
Are you unsure how to write your federal resume? We are here to help. The Treasury Recruitment Service regularly offers Writing Your Federal Resume training sessions, and other career-related information sessions, to assist you in your career search journey. To register for a session, click here to go to our Career Information Sessions webpage.
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis. Please contact us if you require this for any part of the application and hiring process.
- To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.
- Follow the prompts to select your résumé and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
- After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
- You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application.
If you wish to make changes/updates to your application and the vacancy is still open, you can click on the job announcement and "Update Application" to be taken back to your application.
For additional information on how to apply, please visit the Partnership for Public Service's
Go Government website.
No updates can be made once the announcement has closed.
For additional information on the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 or the ADA, please click on the links below:
The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act prohibits the Department of Treasury and its bureaus from requesting an applicant's criminal history record before that individual receives a conditional offer of employment. In accordance with
5 U.S. Code § 9202(c) and
5 C.F.R § 920.201 certain positions are exempt from the provisions of the Fair Chance to Compete Act. Applicants who believe they have been subjected to a violation of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, may submit a written complaint to the Department of Treasury by email at,
FairChanceAct@treasury.gov.
To learn more, please visit our page at: Treasury.gov/fairchanceact.
To preview the assessment questionnaire:
https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12634777
Next steps
To verify the status of your application both during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account at https://www.usajobs.gov. On the Home page, scroll down and locate your job application. Once the job has been located, click the "Track this application" link on the right under the application date. The page will refresh to display the Agency's Application Information page where you can scroll down and review any notifications the agency has sent you. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated.
For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/.
Please notify us if your contact information changes after the closing date of the announcement. Also, note that if you provide an email address that is inaccurate or if your mailbox is full or blocked (e.g., spam-blocker), you may not receive important communication that could affect your consideration for this position.