Requirements
Conditions of employment
- Appointment may be subject to a suitability or fitness determination, as determined by a completed background investigation.
- This position requires the incumbent be able to obtain and maintain a determination of eligibility for a Top Secret/SCI security clearance or access for the duration of employment.
- This position requires pre-employment financial disclosure and annually thereafter in accordance with DoD Directive 5500-7-R.
- Detection of the presence of drugs is warranted. This position is subject to a pre-employment screening, and random testing thereafter, to include testing based on reasonable suspicion and testing due to direct involvement with an on-duty accident.
- Appointment to this position is subject to a one-year probationary period unless the appointee has previously met the requirements as described in 5 CFR Part 315.
- Appointment requires a one-year supervisory probationary period unless previously completed.
Qualifications
Who May Apply: US Citizens
In order to qualify, you must meet the education and/or experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document.
Basic Requirement:
To qualify for this position, you must meet the Basic Requirement for each job series in addition to required experience.
Geographer, 0150 series: Geography Series 0150 (opm.gov)
Biologist, 0401 series: Biology Series 0401 (opm.gov)
Ecologist, 0408 series: Ecology Series 0408 (opm.gov)
Engineer, 0801, 0808, 0810, 0819, 0830, 0850 series: all-professional-engineering-positions-0800.pdf (opm.gov)
Physical Scientist, 1301 series: General Physical Science Series, 1301 (opm.gov)
Geophysicist, 1313 series: Geophysics Series, 1313 (opm.gov)
Hydrologist, 1315 series: Hydrology Series, 1315 (opm.gov)
Chemist, 1320 series: Chemistry Series, 1320 (opm.gov)
Geologist, 1350 series: Geology Series, 1350 (opm.gov)
In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the below experience:
Specialized Experience: To qualify for DB-05 (GS-15) grade level or equivalency, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the DB-04 (GS-14) level in Federal service which includes: 1) Providing leadership and accepting responsibility for employees under current supervision; 2) Ensuring business processes are compliant within established regulation; 3) Establishing goals and priorities of technical program development to optimize client support; 4) Developing funding requirements and budget estimates of research and projects; and 5) Executing multidisciplinary research and development programs through peer reviewed publications and/or presentations.
This position is covered by the Science and Technology Laboratory Personnel Management Demonstration Project at the DB-05 (equivalent to GS-15). In accordance with the Federal Register Vol. 63, No. 57, dated March 25, 1998, an employee of the Laboratory Demonstration project must have a current average performance score of 2.5 or above in order to be selected for promotion. All applicants currently employed under a Laboratory Demonstration Project must include their most recent performance appraisal score as part of their electronic resume. If you are a Lab Demo employee submitting your resume for the first time, or if you have previously submitted your resume without your most recent score, you must submit your resume now with the following statement to be included in the section on your training: Current Performance Rating 2.5.
This announcement MAY be used to fill like vacancies six months from the closing date.
All qualification requirements, including time after competitive appointment, must be met within 30 days of the job opportunity announcement closing date.
Education
FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/
Additional information
- Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.
- You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship.
- One year trial/probationary period may be required.
- Direct Deposit of Pay is required.
- This position requires you to submit a Public Financial Disclosure Report (OGE 278) or a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE450) upon entry, and annually thereafter.
- Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees.
- If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet.
- This is a(n) Engineer and Scientist Career Field position.
- Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
- Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement.
- Permanent Change of Station (PCS) allowances may be authorized, subject to the provisions of the Joint Travel Regulations and an agency determination that a PCS move is in the Government Interest.
- When you perform a Civilian Permanent Change of Station (PCS) with the government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) considers the majority of your entitlements to be taxable. Visit https://www.dfas.mil/civilianemployees/civrelo/Civilian-Moving-Expenses-Tax-Deduction.htm for more information.
- Relocation/Recruitment incentives may be authorized.
- Eligible for situational telework only, including emergency and OPM prescribed "Unscheduled Telework".
- This position is Exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act.
- Nepotism: Under the provisions of 5 USC 3110, an individual may not be appointed into a position if the position is under the supervisory chain of command of a relative.
Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.
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.
Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.
If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position.
Veterans and Military Spouses will be considered along with all other candidates.
Required Documents
The documents you are required to submit vary based on whether or not you are eligible for preference in federal employment. A complete description of preference categories and the associated required documents is in the Applicant Checklist for Public Announcements.
As described above, your complete application includes your resume, your responses to the online questionnaire, and documents which prove your eligibility to apply. If you fail to provide these documents, you will be marked as having an incomplete application package and you will not be considered any further.
1. Your resume:
- Your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration.
- For each relevant work experience, make sure you include the employer's name, job title, start and end dates (include month and year), for qualifications purposes, the number of hours worked per week, and a brief description that show you can perform the tasks at the required level listed in the job announcement. If your resume does not contain this information, your application may be marked as incomplete, and you may not receive consideration for this position.
- Use plain language. Avoid using acronyms and terms that are not easily understood. The hiring agency will not make assumptions about what's in your resume.
- If your resume includes a photograph or other inappropriate material or content, it will not be used to make eligibility and qualification determinations, and you may not be considered for this vacancy.
- For additional information, to include formatting tips, see: What to include in your resume.
2. Other supporting documents:
- Cover Letter, optional
- Most recent Performance Appraisal, if applicable
- This position has an individual occupational requirement and/or allows for substitution of education for experience. If you meet this requirement based on education you MUST submit a copy of your transcript with your application package or you will be rated ineligible. See: Transcripts and Licenses
NOTE: Documents submitted as part of the application package, to include supplemental documents, may be shared beyond the Human Resources Office. Some supplemental documents such as military orders and marriage certificates may contain personal information for someone other than you. You may sanitize these documents to remove another person's personal information before you submit your application. You may be asked to provide an un-sanitized version of the documents if you are selected to confirm your eligibility.
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.