Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

Life Scientist/Environmental Engineer/Physical Scientist

Environmental Protection Agency
EPA
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is in Region 9, Superfund & Emergency Management Division. 

If selected, you must work at the location stated in this announcement.

About Region 9: Region 9 Website

Overview

Help
Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
08/03/2021 to 08/16/2021
Salary
$78,861 to - $146,120 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 13
Location
Many vacancies in the following location:
San Francisco, CA
Many vacancies
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
50% or less - You may be required to travel 25% or greater of each month
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Announcement number
CI-R9-DE-2021-0005
Control number
609284600

This job is open to

Help

Clarification from the agency

U.S. Citizens

Duties

Help

At the entry level of this position, you will:

  • Determine appropriate cleanup actions, methods and tools for toxic and hazardous waste sites
  • Direct contractual work efforts in cases where EPA must assume the cleanup duties to assure that federal funds are properly expended and that contractors are utilized effectively and efficiently
  • Monitor responsible party effort during remedial cleanups to assure compliance with all requirements of applicable regulations
  • Participate in or monitor enforcement activities
  • Perform community relations activities within a public forum

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.

You will spend 25% of your work time on contracts, grants/cooperative agreements, and/or interagency agreements.

One or more positions may be filled.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • If you are selected, a pre-employment background check is required.
  • You must be a U.S. citizen.
  • EPA and non-EPA applicants must submit transcripts/course listings.
  • You must submit a resume and required documents--see How to Apply section.

If you are selected, you may be required to complete a one-year probationary period.

If you are selected, you will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure form within 30 days of your first day of employment and annually thereafter.

Participation in the medical monitoring program is required.

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-11 level, you need to have at least one year of full-time experience equivalent to the GS-09 level defined as:  Monitoring cleanup efforts at sites that involve toxic and hazardous waste - OR Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in the academic discipline as described above.

- OR Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; or 3 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.

To qualify for the GS-12 level, you need to have at least one year of full-time experience equivalent to the GS-11 level defined as:  Monitoring cleanup efforts for complex site situations that involve toxic and hazardous waste.

To qualify for the GS-13 level, you need to have at least one year of full-time experience equivalent to the GS-12 level defined as:  Directing and monitoring cleanup efforts for complex site situations that involve toxic and hazardous waste; and leading negotiation sessions with potentially responsible party (PRP) concerning all aspects of remedial cleanups.

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

  • Knowledge of environmental laws, regulations, and statutes.
  • Skill in evaluating hazardous waste site cleanup techniques and technologies
  • Skill in contract management
  • Knowledge of enforcement case development
  • Skill in written communication
  • Ability to conduct hazardous waste site characterization studies
  • Ability to establish goals and assess progress toward their achievement
  • Skill in oral communication

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

You need a degree or combination of education and experience as described below to qualify for this position.

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.

Are you a Displaced Federal Employee?  If so, please read the Required Documents section and visit the EPA website for additional information: EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.