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Computer Scientist, GS-1550-12/13 (MAP)

Department of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Monster Government Solutions (MGS) will be performing scheduled maintenance on Saturday, April 17th from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. ET. You may not be able to complete the application process during this time.

This position is located in the National Weather Service (NWS), Office of Water Prediction (OWP), National Water Center (NWC), Analysis and Prediction Division (APD) with three vacancies in Tuscaloosa, AL.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
03/31/2021 to 04/21/2021
Salary
$77,488 to - $119,787 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 12 - 13
Location
Tuscaloosa, AL
3 vacancies
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Up to 10% of domestic travel may be required.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Payment of relocation expenses is authorized.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13 - If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you may be non-competitively promoted if you perform successfully and if recommended by management.
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Announcement number
NWS-2021-0068
Control number
596854200

Duties

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As a Computer Scientist, you will perform the following duties:

  • Lead and support the software design, architecture, and software development of products used by the National Weather Service Hydrology Program, which provides national hydrologic forecasting, warnings, and decision support services.
  • Lead the development of design and technical documentation, software specifications, software testing activities, and team efforts in refining software, hardware and interface detail, the definition of performance criteria for subsystems, and related software products.
  • Provide input for the development of programmatic needs with management, produce written guidance for plans and strategies for implementing software development initiatives, and participate in the community development of next-generation water forecasting tools.
  • Work closely with hydrologic science and engineering domain specialists to implement water prediction algorithms; evaluate and recommend appropriate technologies for operationalizing computational water prediction scientific software codes in a massively parallel distributed memory computing architecture environment.
  • Support the planning and coordination of open source software development projects, which require innovation and originality and provide authoritative information and advice within the area of assignment.

These duties are described at the full performance level of the GS-13 grade; the duties at the GS-12 are developmental leading to the GS-13 level.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National to apply.
  • Required to pass a background investigation and fingerprint check.
  • Must be suitable for Federal employment.
  • Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov).
  • Time-in-grade/band must be met by closing date of announcement.

This position requires a Public Trust (Moderate Risk) Security Clearance.

* A one year probationary period may be required.

* Payment of relocation expenses is authorized.

* This position is in the bargaining unit.

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.

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.

Qualifications

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards.  This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This position requires applicants to meet a Basic Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of specialized experience in order to be found minimally qualified. You MUST meet one of the following basic education requirements:

EDUCATION:   

A. Degree: Bachelor’s degree in computer science or bachelor's degree with 30 semester hours in a combination of mathematics, statistics, and computer science. At least 15 of the 30 semester hours must have included any combination of statistics and mathematics that included differential and integral calculus. All academic degrees and course work must be from accredited or pre-accredited institutions.

AND

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in 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.

To qualify at the GS-12:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicant must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following:

  • Performing software maintenance and modification; and
  • Assisting in software design and architecture.

To qualify at the GS-13:

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicant must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following:

  • Modifying software products for high performance computing systems;
  • Coordinating software design and architecture modifications; and
  • Assisting in open source software development projects.

Education

Substitution of education for specialized experience is not applicable to this vacancy. 

Additional information

Well-qualified for CTAP and ICTAP eligibility includes those candidates who have been determined to exceed minimum qualifications for the position by attaining at least a rating of 85, but otherwise may or may not be among the highly or best-qualified candidates.  Information about CTAP and ICTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management’s Career Transition Resources website at: http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

CTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents:

  1. A copy of your specific RIF notice; notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate; a Certificate of Expected Separation (CES); or certification that you are in a surplus organization or occupation (this could be a position abolishment letter, a notice eligibility for discontinued service retirement, or similar notice).
  2. A copy of your SF-50 “Notification of Personnel Action”, noting current position, grade level, and duty location;
  3. A copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and
  4. Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.

ICTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents:                   

  1. A copy of your RIF separation notice; notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate; notice of disability annuity termination; certification from your former agency that it cannot place you after your recovery from a compensable injury; or certification from the National Guard Bureau or Military Department that you are eligible for disability retirement;
  2. A copy of your SF-50 “Notification of Personnel Action” documenting your RIF separation, noting your positions, grade level, and duty location, and/or Agency certification of inability to place you through RPL, etc;
  3. A copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and
  4. Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.

NOAA participates in e-Verify.  E-Verify is an Internet based system operated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in partnership with the Social Security Administration (SSA) that enables participating employers to electronically verify the employment eligibility of their newly hired employees.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job 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.  If you meet the minimum qualifications stated in the vacancy announcement, we will compare your resume, optional cover letter and supporting documentation to your responses on the scored occupational questionnaire (True/False, Yes/No, Multiple Choice questions).  However, your resume or optional cover letter must support your responses to the scored occupational questionnaire, or your score may be lowered.  The best-qualified candidates will be identified for referral to the hiring manager and may be invited for an interview.

The scored occupational questionnaire will evaluate you on the following competencies; please do not provide a separate written response:

GS-12 ONLY: 

  • Ability to design, develop, and implement assigned software projects.

GS-13 ONLY: 

  • Ability to support the analysis, design, and development of mission-critical software applications.
  • Ability to improve software quality, effectively measure software development risk, and present recommendations for adopting new methods.
  • Ability to coordinate open-source software development projects.

ALL GRADES: 

  • Knowledge of software engineering principles, methods, and techniques, including computer theory, algorithms, database design, data structures, programming concepts, modeling, and simulation technology.
  • Ability to advise management on needed system software changes.
  • Ability to modify and adapt precedent system software approaches.

Due weight shall be given to performance appraisals and awards in accordance with 5 CFR 335.103(b)(3), during the interview/selection process conducted by the hiring manager. If referred, all relevant documents including performance appraisals and awards submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the hiring official for review.


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