RESEARCH PHYSICIST Job in Naval Observatory, DC

Vacancy No. DE-12530147-24-LPW Department United States Fleet Forces Command
Salary $117,962.00 to $153,354.00 Grade 12 to 13
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 8/30/2024 Close Date 11/29/2024
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Naval Observatory, DC


Summary

This is a public notice flyer to notify interested applicants of anticipated vacancies. Applications will not be accepted through this flyer. Interested applicants must follow the directions in the "How to Apply" section of this flyer to be considered. There may or may not be actual vacancies filled from this flyer. Notice of Result letters will not be sent to applicants who respond to this flyer.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens

Duties

  • You will serve as a Research Physicist in the Precise Time (PT) Department, Clock Development Division of the U.S. Naval Observatory.
  • You will have expertise in experimental atomic, molecular or optical physics, or expertise in a similar field.
  • You will have expertise with diode lasers, narrow-linewidth lasers, and/or optical frequency combs.
  • You will have knowledge of atomic clocks and quantum physics.
  • You will have the ability to contribute to development of operational optical clocks.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Must be a US Citizen.
  • Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
  • Must participate in the direct deposit pay program.
  • New employees to the Department of the Navy will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov
  • Within the Department of Defense (DoD), the appointment of retired military members within 180 days immediately following retirement date to a civilian position is subject to the provisions of 5 United States Code 3326.
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
  • You will be required to obtain and maintain an interim and/or final security clearance prior to entrance on duty. Failure to obtain and maintain the required level of clearance may result in the withdrawal of a job offer or removal.
  • This is a Mission Essential position. You will be required to ensure organization or facility continuity of operations and/or completion of tasks that are considered essential to the mission designated by a local or command decision.
  • Successful completion of a pre-employment drug test (including marijuana) is required. A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if you fail to report to the drug test appointment or fail the test. You will be subject to random testing.
  • This is a bargaining unit position.
  • MSP/PPP applicants must currently hold the required security clearance.

Qualifications

In addition to the Basic Requirements for this position (see Education section), your resume must also demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-12 grade level or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

GS-13:
*Experience utilizing Frequency and Time Standards without technical supervision and conducting research into new types of frequency standards including their acquisition, construction, development, maintenance, and evaluation.
*Experience applying experimental atomic physics, laser, and optical technology, and high-precision measurements.
*Experience assisting with development, improvement, and implementation of procedures for the thorough processing of data used in the evaluation and operation of standards and their associated time scales.
*Experience applying professional knowledge of research on the physics and science that provide the foundation of atomic clocks, frequency standards and time keeping technology, and display familiarity with current progress in the field, nationally and internationally.

GS-12:
In addition to the Basic Requirements for this position (see Education section), your resume must also demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-11 grade level or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

*Experience conducting research into new types of frequency standards including their acquisition, construction, development, maintenance, and evaluation.
*Experience assisting with utilizing Frequency and Time Standards without technical supervision and conducting research into new types of frequency standards including their acquisition, construction, development, maintenance, and evaluation.
*Experience assisting with applying experimental atomic physics, laser, and optical technology, and high-precision measurements.
*Experience assisting with development, improvement, and implementation of procedures for the thorough processing of data used in the evaluation and operation of standards and their associated time scales.

Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1300/physics-series-1310/


https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=Group-Standards


Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (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.

Education

Applicants must meet the following positive education qualifications requirements of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualifications Standards Manual. Applicants must possess:

GS-13:

  1. Degree: physics; or related degree that included at least 24 semester hours in physics.

    or

  2. Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major in physics totaling at least 24 semester hours, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
GS-12:

  1. Degree: physics; or related degree that included at least 24 semester hours in physics.

    or

  2. Combination of education and experience -- courses equivalent to a major in physics totaling at least 24 semester hours, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
In either A or B above, the courses must have included a fundamental course in general physics and, in addition, courses in any two of the following: electricity and magnetism, heat, light, mechanics, modern physics, and sound.

SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE:
Applicants may substitute the following education for the required experience, provided it demonstrates the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of the position:

GS-12:
Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree

If you are using education to meet all or part of the qualification requirements, you must submit a copy of your transcripts or an itemized list of college courses which includes equivalent information from the transcript (course title, semester/quarter hours, and grade/degree earned) in your resume. IF CLAIMING EDUCATION, FAILURE TO SUBMIT TRANSCRIPTS/ITEMIZED LIST WILL RESULT IN AN INELIGIBLE RATING.

Additional information

This announcement uses the Certain Personnel of the DoD direct hire authority to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service.

This position is covered by the Department of Defense Priority Placement Program.

Several vacancies may be filled.

A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if the selectee fails to meet the pre-employment requirements, including failure to report to any of the scheduled appointments.

Federal annuitant information: The selection of an annuitant is subject to the Department of Defense and Department of the Navy policy on the employment of annuitants. Policy information may be found at: http://www.secnav.navy.mil/donhr/Documents/CivilianJobs/FedCivAnnuitants.pdf.

Veteran's preference does not apply when selecting individuals under this specific hiring authority. However, if you claim veteran's preference, you will be required to submit supporting documentation with your application as described in the Required Documents section below.

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.

Review our 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.

In order to qualify for this position, your resume must provide sufficient experience and/or education, knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are being considered. Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities as they relate to this position. Therefore, we encourage you to be clear and specific when describing your experience.

As vacancies occur, the Human Resources Office will review your resume to ensure you meet the hiring eligibility and qualification requirements listed in this flyer. You will be rated based on the information provided in your resume, along with your supporting documentation.

If selected, you may be required to provide additional supporting documentation.

If after reviewing your resume and supporting documentation, a determination is made that you inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may be found ineligible/not qualified.

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

All qualification requirements must be met before being considered for any vacancies.

Required Documents

A complete resume is required. Your resume must show relevant experience, job title, duties and accomplishments. Your resume must show complete information for each job entry to support minimum qualifications. The following information should be provided in your resume, but it is acceptable to provide elsewhere in your application package: employer's name, starting and end dates (Mo/Yr), hours per week, and pay plan, series and grade level (e.g. GS-0201-09) for relevant federal experience. TIP: A good way to ensure you include all essential information is to use the Resume Builder in USAJOBS to create your resume.

Are you claiming membership in any professional organizations, or possession of a license, certificate or credentials? Check the Conditions of Employment section above to see if any are required. If you claim membership, license, certification, or credentials, you must submit a copy of said document in your application package.

Are you using education as a substitute for some or all of the experience requirement? Is there a basic education requirement for this position? Check the Education section above to see what is allowed and what is required. Any claims you make in your resume or assessment questionnaire regarding education or degrees MUST be supported by submitting with your application official or unofficial transcripts or a list of courses, grades earned, completion dates, and quarter and semester hours earned issued from your school. While unofficial transcripts are acceptable for initial application, an official transcript will ultimately be required if you are selected for the position. You may submit a copy your degree(s) if specific coursework does not have to be verified.

Are you a veteran claiming 5-point veterans' preference or claiming sole survivorship preference? You must submit a copy of your latest DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (any copy that shows all dates of service, as well as character of service [Honorable, General, etc.] is acceptable) OR a VA letter that shows dates of service or service connected disability AND character of service. If you have more than one DD-214 for multiple periods of active duty service, submit a copy for each period of service. If you were issued a DD-215 to amend aforementioned information on the DD-214 you must submit that too. If you are not sure of your preference eligibility, visit the Department of Labor's website: Veterans' Preference Advisor

Are you a disabled veteran or claiming 10-point veterans' preference?
If you are eligible to claim 10 point veterans preference you must submit a DD-214 Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty as described above for 5-point preference.

You must also provide the applicable supporting documentation of your disability (e.g. disability letter from the VA) as described on Standard Form-15 (SF-15). http://www.opm.gov/forms/pdf_fill/SF15.pdf.

Are you an active duty service member? Active Duty Service Members are required to submit a statement of service printed on command letterhead and signed by the command. The statement of service must provide the branch of service, rate/rank, all dates of service, the expected date of discharge and anticipated character of service (Honorable, General, etc.).

Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents contain personal information such as SSN and DOB and some documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove said personal information before you submit your application. You must provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected.

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

Interested Applicants must submit resumes/application packages to:

NAVOBSY_NOBS_N1-DL@navy.mil

Facsimile applications will not be considered.

All resumes/applications must be received no later than the close date of this flyer.

It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that all information in their resume and documents, are received, legible, and accurate. HR will not modify answers/documents submitted by an applicant.

Failure to submit a complete application package will result in an ineligible rating and loss of consideration.

Agency contact information

Jennifer Granado
Address
NAVOBSERV
3450 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20392-5420
US
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

Qualified applicants will be referred to the hiring manager. The selecting official may choose to conduct interviews.

Our evaluation will be based on the information you provide. You should expect that we will verify performance, suitability, and security information and take that information into account in making employment offers.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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