Duties
Duration of Appointment: This is a temporary excepted service position not-to-exceed 1 year but may be extended without further competition. Employment may not exceed 1,039 hours in a service year. All qualified applicants, with or without Federal status may apply and be considered. Appointment to this position, however, will not convey permanent status in the Federal service.
As a Physical Science Technician (Field Assistant) within the Southwest Region, some of your specific duties will include:
Northern California Seismic Network (Moffett Field, CA)
Seismic networks experience. Support and learn about operations in the seismic network team. The specifics of the summer experience depend on project needs and student interest, but possible tasks include: in-office instrumentation preparation, field work, or data management. Work with USGS field technicians to travel to locations around northern California and maintain seismic stations, including construction, installation/calibration, or upgrading of existing stations to better mitigate against wildfire threats. In office instrumentation work would involve prepping and testing equipment, learning how to operate the seismic hardware and peripheral equipment and associated software. Data management could include inputting or managing databases of seismic network information, monitoring earthquakes in real time, or trouble shooting real-time streaming systems.
Earthquake Geology (Moffett Field, CA)
Earthquake Geology in the Field and Office. A broad experience in many aspects of earthquake geology, remote sensing, and geologic mapping, assisting with both field work and data analysis related to earthquake geology. Field work typically involves hiking, moving equipment, and digging, with long days outdoors in beautiful places. You'll work on geological mapping, geochronology sampling, lidar and GPS data collection or paleoseismology. Office work may include GIS analysis, photogrammetry, or lidar data processing, depending on interest. No specific software knowledge is needed, but you must be able to work carefully, learn new software efficiently, and problem solve.
Southern California Seismic Network (Pasadena, CA)
Seismic networks experience. Support and learn about operations in the seismic network team. The specifics of the summer experience depend on project needs and student interest, but possible tasks include: in-office instrumentation preparation, field work, or data management. Work with USGS field technicians to travel to locations around southern California and maintain seismic stations, including construction, installation/calibration, or upgrading of existing stations to better mitigate against wildfire threats. In office instrumentation work would involve prepping and testing equipment, learning how to operate the seismic hardware and peripheral equipment and associated software. Data management could include inputting or managing databases of seismic network information, monitoring earthquakes in real time, or trouble shooting real-time streaming systems.
All locations may operate a government motor vehicle or boat as an incidental driver.
Physical Demands: Work is physically demanding and includes walking, bending, climbing, and lifting of equipment up to 100 pounds when in the field, sometimes during adverse conditions.
Work Environment: The work is performed in a laboratory or field environment. Field work involves moderate or sometimes extreme exposure to the discomforts of rain, cold/hot weather, and rapidly running or icy streams and rivers. Special safety precautions are required in many cases, and the employee may typically wear life jackets, special safety boots, waders, and special handling gear. If selected, you will be required to complete a pre-employment physical.
Required Documents
Required documents may be: (1) uploaded directly from your desktop; or (2) uploaded directly from your USAJOBS stored attachments.
Resume
--Resumes are required. You are highly encouraged to use USAJOBS Resume Builder to ensure all required information is included in your Resume. If you use your own resume, curriculum vitae, or other written form, then you must describe your job-related qualifications, including: beginning and ending dates for paid and non-paid work experience; hours worked per week; month and year of employment for each job title listed; annual salary; and description of job duties. Include name and address of employer; supervisor name and telephone number. Additional information on what to include can be found here.
Supporting documents
--Upload any supporting documents identified in the Key Requirements section or included below as it applies to your eligibility. Supporting documents may be: (1) uploaded directly from your desktop; or (2) uploaded directly from your USAJOBS stored attachments
--If this position requires specific educational course work to qualify, or you are qualifying based in whole or part on education, you are required to provide all unofficial transcripts (undergraduate, graduate, etc.), which includes semester hours earned and grade received, by the closing date of this announcement or you will be disqualified from further consideration. This proof may be faxed, document uploaded, or hand delivered to the servicing Human Resources Office (see "Required Documents" and/or "Contact Information"). Please ensure that all documentation is legible.
--If you are claiming veterans' preference you must provide a legible copy of your DD-214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, member 4 copy or any official documentation or statement from the Armed Forces that confirms your dates of service and that your separation, discharge, or release from active duty was under honorable conditions (i.e., Honorable or General Discharge). Note: If you have more than one DD-214 for multiple periods of active duty, submit a copy for each period of service.
--If you are currently on active military duty, you must provide documentation (e.g., campaign document, award citation, etc.), that verifies entitlement to veterans' preference and that your character of military service is honorable.
--If you are claiming 10-point veterans' preference, in addition to the documents specified above, you must also submit documentation that supports your claim, e.g., an official statement from the Department of Veterans Affairs (dated 1991 or later) or from a branch of the Armed Forces certifying the existence of a service-connected disability, or the award of the Purple Heart, etc. The overall rating must be identified on your certification letter or separation orders.
--Documentation must be received by the closing date shown in this vacancy announcement. If you fail to submit any of the required documentation, you will not be granted veterans' preference. Additional information on veterans' preference can be found in the VetGuide.
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
--Applications (resume and application questions) for this vacancy must be received on-line via USAJOBS BEFORE midnight Eastern Time (Washington, D.C. time) on the closing date of this announcement. If you fail to submit a complete online resume, you will not be considered for this position. Requests for extensions will not be granted. Most libraries, employment offices, and all USGS personnel offices can provide access to the Internet. If applying online poses a hardship for you, you must speak to someone in the Servicing Human Resources Office listed on this announcement PRIOR TO THE CLOSING DATE for assistance.
--Instructions for Applying Online for this Vacancy Announcement: 1)Click the blue "Apply Online" button. 2)If you are not a registered USAJOBS user, please create a new account and follow the instructions to complete your application process. If you are a registered user, login to access your existing USAJOBS profile. 3)As a registered user, select a stored resume and select one or more of your stored documents to attach to your application. 4)Check the "Certification" box and click the "Apply for this position now!" button located at the bottom of the screen. 5)Address the eligibility questions as well as the questionnaire containing questions and/or task statements that address the knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies for this vacancy. 6)Submit required documents. 7) If you experience technical difficulties during the online application process, please contact the USAJOBS helpdesk.
Next steps
--If you are rated as one of the most highly qualified candidates, you will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interview. We expect to make a selection within 30-45 days of the closing date of this announcement. You will be notified via email of the outcome. You can also go to "My Account" within USAJOBS to review your Application Status.