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Electronics Technician (Marine Instrumentation)

Department of the Interior
Geological Survey
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
This job announcement has closed

Summary

What General Information Do I Need To Know?

This is a term appointment not to exceed 13 months with possible extensions up to a total of 4 years without further competition. Appointment to this position will not convey permanent status in the Federal service.

Salary:

  • GS-09: $59,498 (Step 1) to $77,346 (Step 10)
  • GS-10: $65,521 (Step 1) to $85,182 (Step 10)
  • GS-11: $71,987 (Step 1) to $93,588 (Step 10)
NOTE: First time hires to the Federal Government are typically hired at the Step 01.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
02/10/2021 to 03/03/2021
Salary
$59,498 to - $93,588 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9 - 11
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Woods Hole, MA
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel on average 2 nights per month for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Term - 13 months
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
USGS-RES-21-11020518-DE-DG
Control number
591829200

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Duties

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As a Electronics Technician (Marine Instrumentation) within the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, some of your specific duties will include:

  • Works collaboratively with Project Chief/Primary Investigator, other team members and researchers both at-sea and in the laboratory, in operating, maintaining, repairing, and when needed redesigning geophysical and sampling equipment. Conducts extensive tests and repairs as needed prior to, and during, field operations. Works with team members, ship's crew, outside vendors and collaborators in mobilizing research vessels. Mobilization includes transporting, installing, modifying as necessary any deck equipment required to accomplish the research program.
  • Inspects equipment in the laboratory and/or aboard the research vessel. Operates and maintains geophysical and sampling equipment while onboard research vessels. Day-to-day responsibilities include operating, troubleshooting, repairing, retrieving and deploying a wide range of instruments. Works collaboratively with other team members to ensure high standards for data quality are maintained. Adjusts, repairs, or replaces defective or improperly functioning circuitry and electronic components. Develops testing and evaluation specifications and procedures for circuitry and systems designed in-house. Tracks and/or makes recommendations regarding replacement schedules and routine maintenance requirements.
  • Participates in the operation, maintenance, and calibration of all electronic systems, equipment and instruments, including, but not limited to the following systems: sides can-sonar, sub-bottom profiling, swath bathymetry (multibeam and/or interferometry), single-beam bathymetry, optical ocean-bottom imaging, GPS/RTK-GPS navigation, and digital data acquisition, networking, and logging systems. Trouble shoots and repairs complex malfunctioning equipment in the field and laboratory.
  • Perform complex multi-phased instrumentation development work to meet the needs of the Project Lead/Primary Investigator. Checks equipment under test conditions to ensure proper functionality and accuracy of equipment in collecting data, and effectiveness in meeting the needs of the study. Collaborates with vendors/manufacturers regarding prototype design and testing. This includes conducting assessments of and making recommendations on the trade-offs involved in equipment development, such as cost vs. time to buy or construct unique circuitry, instrumentation or components.
  • Performs/conducts a variety of tasks in support of test operations in the laboratory and in shipboard settings. Assist the Project Lead/Primary Investigator in coordinating and developing techniques necessary to design, test, evaluate and install major marine electronics and geophysical survey systems on research platforms such as ships, small boats, aircraft, portable vans and trailers, etc. Operates geophysical research equipment and instruments to acquire and store data. Stands watch aboard ship, maintaining field logs, noting changes in systems operation and/or environmental conditions that affect data quality.
Physical Requirements & Work Environment: Work occurs in both laboratory settings and on board either small or large vessels. Incumbent must be physically able to work on ships or small boats in potentially extreme weather conditions. Ability to lift and carry equipment up to 20 kilograms. Work takes place in both laboratory environment and, during data collection trips, aboard small or large vessels. Laboratory work involves lifting and moving equipment up to 20 kilograms without assistance, standing for long periods of time, and may involve noisy, drafty, and wet conditions. Vessel work may take place in a wide range of weather conditions and require special safety precautions.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

Key Requirements:

  1. Applicants must be U.S. Citizens.
  2. Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
  3. Selectee may be subject to serving a one-year probationary period.
  4. More requirements are listed under Qualifications and Other Information.
  5. Selectee must provide a valid state driver's license & safe driving record.
  6. Selectee subject to successful completion of a pre-employment medical exam.
Are There Any Special Requirements For This Position.
  • Driver's License/Driving Record - You will be required to operate a government-owned or -leased vehicle in the performance of your official duties. Applicants for this position must meet the following requirements: (1) possess a valid State license, and (2) possess a safe driving record. If selected, you will be required to provide proof of a valid State license & a copy of your driving record.
  • Because this position requires travel for official business, the selectee will be required to apply for a charge card within 30 calendar days of appointment. Individuals who have delinquent account balances from a previous Government charge card will be required to satisfy their existing obligation before a new card can be issued.
  • A background investigation will be required for this position. Continued employment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.
  • Throughout the recruitment and hiring process we will be communicating with you via email; therefore, it is imperative that the email address you provide when applying for this vacancy remains active. Should your email address change, please notify the point of contact identified in the vacancy announcement as soon as possible so that we can update our system.

Qualifications

For GS-09:

Applicants must meet one of the following to qualify for the GS-09 level:

Possess one year of appropriate professional experience that is equivalent to at least the GS-08 level in the Federal service. Examples of such experience may include planning own work and assuring that it met established technical requirements as documented in manufacturers' handbooks and reporting to scientists or officials who use the equipment in their work.

**OR Possess 2-years of progressively higher level graduate education (36 semester hours, 54 semester hours) leading to a master's or equivalent degree in electrical engineering, electronics engineering, or engineering technology or other directly related field of study if it provided the knowledge, skill and abilities necessary to do the work of the this position.

**OR Possess a combination of successfully completed graduate level education, as described above, and professional experience, as described above.

For GS-10:

Applicants must meet the following to qualify for the GS-10 level:

Possess one year of appropriate professional experience that is equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal service. Examples of such experience may include install, maintain, operate, and test electronic equipment which is specially designed, constructed, or modified to fill a specific function; work with subsystems that are complex because of miniature size, density of circuitry, lack of available documentation, etc., work on equipment in remote spots, high towers or in cramped quarters without time for trial & error approached or bulky test equipment.

**OR Possess 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in electrical engineering, electronics engineering, or engineering technology or other directly related field of study if it provided the knowledge, skill and abilities necessary to do the work of the this position.

**OR Possess a combination of successfully completed graduate level education, as described above, and professional experience, as described above.

For GS-11:

Applicants must meet one of the following to qualify for the GS-11 level:

Possess one year of appropriate professional experience that is equivalent to at least the GS-10 level in the Federal service. Examples of such experience may include selecting or recommending approaches to solving unique design problems, developing new components or circuits in units or devices with very critical tolerances or performance characteristics, and conferring with scientists to gain understanding of the objectives desired.

**OR Possess 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in electrical engineering, electronics engineering, or engineering technology or other directly related field of study if it provided the knowledge, skill and abilities necessary to do the work of the this position.

**OR Possess a combination of successfully completed graduate level education, as described above, and professional experience, as described above.

You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements for the position by the closing date of the announcement.

Education

  • 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.
  • Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the above requirements. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.usgs.gov/about/organization/science-support/human-capital/how-foreign-education-evaluated-federal-jobs .

Additional information

Other Information:

  • Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.
  • Under Executive Order 11935, only United States citizens and nationals (residents of American Samoa and Swains Island) may compete for civil service jobs. Agencies are permitted to hire non-citizens only in very limited circumstances where there are no qualified citizens available for the position.
  • USGS employees are subject to Title 43, USC Section 31(a) and may not: (a) have any personal, private, direct or indirect interest in lands or mineral wealth of lands under survey; (b) have any substantial personal, private, direct or indirect interests in any private mining or mineral enterprise doing business with the United States; or (c) execute surveys or examinations for private parties or corporations.
  • The application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a). The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361.
  • DOI uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify.
  • THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.
Agency Benefits:

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

--Vacancy Related Questions: As part of the online application process, you will need to respond to a series of questions designed to assess your possession of the following knowledge skills, abilities and/or competencies: Scientific Knowledge, Leadership & Supervision, Interpersonal Communication, : General abilities and knowledge, Teamwork, Safety/Occupational Health Knowledge, Scientific Instrumentation, Information Management, Collect Scientific Data.

--Basis of Rating: Category rating will be used in the ranking and selection process for this position. The quality categories are Best Qualified and Qualified. You will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education, and training relevant to the duties of the position. If you are eligible, your on-line responses to the application questions will determine your placement in the appropriate quality category described above. Your responses must be substantiated by your resume. If you do not respond to the application questions you may be rated ineligible. Veterans' preference rules for category rating will be applied.

--NOTE: If it is determined that you have rated yourself higher than is supported in your description of experience and/or education as described in your resume/application, or that your resume or application is incomplete, you may be rated ineligible, not qualified, or your score may be lowered.

To preview the announcement questionnaire, click here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/11020518

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