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Life Scientist/Environmental Engineer/Physical Scientist

Environmental Protection Agency
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is in Region 9, Office of the Regional Administrator, Air & Radiation Division, Permits & Rules Branch, Air Permits Section, San Francisco, CA.  If selected, you must work at the location stated in this announcement. Salary will be based on the grade level for which you are selected.  About Region 9: Region 9 Website

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
07/29/2021 to 08/04/2021
Salary
$53,286 to - $84,732 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 07 - 09
Location
San Francisco, CA
many vacancies
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be required to travel less than 25% each month.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Recent graduates - This is a one-year developmental program which may lead to a term or permanent appointment.
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
12
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
CI-R9-OT-2021-0012
Control number
609007300

This job is open to

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The public

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Recent graduates

Individuals who have graduated from an accredited educational institute or certificate program within the last 2 years or 6 years for Veterans.

Clarification from the agency

Recent Graduates who have completed a qualifying degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution or technical education program within the preceding 2 years of the announcement closing date OR current students who will complete a qualifying degree/certificate within 9 months of the announcement closing date. Veterans unable to apply within 2 years of receiving their degree due to military service obligation may apply up to 6 years after degree/certification.

Duties

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At the entry level of this position, you will:

  • Gain working knowledge of permitting activities such as assisting in the preparation or review of permits (issuance, reissuance, and modification) for treatment, storage and disposal facilities or resources.

  • Assist senior permit specialist provide technical support to state, local or tribal agencies regarding well-defined technical and scientific criteria and methods; pollution control requirements; and impacts of pollutants.

  • Assist senior permit specialist resolve issues related to permit requirements and participate in the defense of permits against legal challenges with Office of Regional Counsel (ORC).

  • Respond to basic, conventional permit inquiries.

When entering a Federal job at a grade level lower than the highest promotion potential level, you may be promoted to more complex duties and work more independently, as your career progresses.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • If you are selected, a pre-employment background check is required.
  • If you are selected, a written participant agreement must be signed.
  • You must meet all Recent Grad. program requirements by the closing date.
  • Position has education requirements--see Qualifications/Education section.
  • You must submit a resume and required documents--see How to Apply section.
  • EPA and non-EPA applicants must submit transcripts/course listings.
  • You must be a U.S. citizen.

If you are still completing coursework, offer of employment will be contingent upon completion of degree/certificate program. Proof showing confer date within nine months of the announcement closing date will be required before entry on duty.

If you are selected, the entire period served under the Recent Graduates program will be a trial period.

This position is designated as Moderate Risk and requires a background investigation. Unless an appropriate background investigation is already on record with the Office of Personnel Management, you must undergo a background investigation. All conditions of the pre-employment security process must be met before an official letter of employment can be issued with a report for duty date.

Qualifications

In addition to the educational requirements, we are looking for at least one year of specialized experience related to this position as described below:

To qualify for the GS-07 level, you need to have at least one year of full-time experience equivalent to the GS-05 level defined as analyzing, interpreting and/or evaluating scientific or engineering data and communicating the results in writing
- OR 1 full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement (Superior Academic Achievement Definition) degree in the academic discipline as described below
- OR an equivalent combination of education and experience.

To qualify for the GS-09 level, you need to have at least one year of full-time experience equivalent to the GS-07 level defined as assisting with the planning and/or investigation of scientific projects related to environmental protection; or performing data analysis on scientific investigations/projects
- OR master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in the academic discipline as described below
- OR an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Your answers to the online assessment will be used to evaluate your competencies in the following areas:  

  • Knowledge of professional environmental engineering/physical science and/or life science concepts, principles, and practices to provide technical assistance for the preparation of permits (issuance, reissuance, and modification) for treatment, storage and disposal facilities or sources;
  • Knowledge of pollution-control technology or models;
  • Ability to learn techniques for identifying and resolving pollutant discharge problems;
  • Ability to read, understand, and apply environmental permit regulations and agency policies;
  • Skill in oral communication to provide technical/scientific information related to permitting activities; and
  • Skill in written communication to prepare documents and reports.

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.

If you have part-time work experience, read this: EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures.

Education

In addition to the eligibility requirements for the Recent Graduates program, this position has specific educational requirements in order to qualify as described below:

A bachelor’s or higher degree from an accredited or pre-accredited college or university in

0401 - General Natural Resources Management and Biological Sciences Series:
A. Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. -OR-
B. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.


0800 - Engineering Series:
A. Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor’s degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics. -OR-
B. Combination of education and experience -- college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:
1. Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT)1, or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.
2. Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)2 examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
3. Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A.
4. Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in
lieu of a bachelor’s degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)


1301 - General Physical Science Series:
A. Degree: 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.

For information about accreditation requirements, visit EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures.

Additional information

This position is in the bargaining unit.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values at EPA. Our excellence can only be fully realized by staff who share our commitment to these values. Successful candidates are committed to advancing equity and inclusion in the Agency’s workplace and mission. We encourage applications from candidates with a variety of personal experiences, values, and worldviews that arise from differences of culture and circumstance.

EPA 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. For additional information: EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures.

This is a Recent Graduates position in the Pathways program. This program provides individuals who have completed a qualifying associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, professional, doctorate, vocational, or technical degree or certificate with an entry-level developmental experience with the potential to lead to a career in the Federal government after successfully completing the program. More information about the Recent Graduates program can be found at USAJOBS Information Sheet.

Upon completion of the developmental program, you may be noncompetitively converted to a term or permanent position without further competition.

ATTENTION VETERANS: If you are a veteran (as defined in 5 USC 2108) who due to military service obligations was precluded from applying to the Recent Graduates program during any portion of the two-year eligibility period (described in the “This job is open to - Clarification from the agency” section above), you have a full two-year period of eligibility upon your release/discharge from active duty. In no event, however, may your eligibility period extend beyond six years from the date on which you completed the requirements for a qualifying degree or qualifying career or technical education program.

If you are selected, travel, transportation, and relocation expenses will not be paid by EPA. Any travel, transportation, and relocation expenses associated with reporting to work in this position will be your responsibility.

Except in special circumstances, those new to the federal government will be hired at the starting salary (step 1) of the applicable grade range listed above.

This position has portable work. If selected for this position, you may be authorized to telework after meeting eligibility requirements if approved by the supervisor/manager. Telework is available based on agency policy and/or applicable collective bargaining agreement which may not allow for full-time telework. NOTE: The agency is currently utilizing maximum telework flexibilities due to COVID. Once normal operations resume, you will be required to report to the location stated in this announcement.

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 and required documents to ensure you meet the basic qualification requirements. Your resume must address the knowledge, skills, and abilities listed in the Qualifications section. If you meet basic qualification requirements, your application will be further evaluated based on your answers to the online assessment. Your responses to the online assessment will be used to measure the degree to which your background matches the requirements for the position. You are being evaluated under the category rating method which means, if you are determined to be qualified, you will be placed into the ‘Best Qualified’, ‘Well Qualified’, or ‘Qualified’ category. NOTE:  Preference eligible veterans must be selected, or decline further consideration, before applicants who are ineligible for veterans’ preference can be selected (to learn more, visit Veterans' Preference).

We will compare your resume and supporting documentation to your responses on the assessment questionnaire. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. We will evaluate your qualifications and eligibility and notify you if you meet minimum qualification requirements. If you are referred for consideration, you may be subject to additional assessments.

NOTE: We do not require a separate statement responding to the competencies, also referred to as Knowledges, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). However, your resume should clearly show possession of these competencies.


To preview questions please click here.

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