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This is a Direct Hire Public Notice. Please read this Public Notice in its entirety prior to submitting your application for consideration.
This position is located within the Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC), Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering (RACE) Division with one vacancy located in Seattle, WA.
Learn more about this agency05/09/2022 to 06/01/2022
$73,098 - $113,902 per year
ZP 3
1 vacancy in the following location:
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Occasional travel - Up to 25% foreign and domestic travel.
No
Permanent
Full-time
Competitive
4 - 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.
No
No
NMFS-AKC-2022-0035
652157700
Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.
U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.
All qualified United States Citizens or Nationals; CTAP/ICTAP eligibles.
As a Research Physical Scientist, you will perform the following duties:
• Design and conduct applied research using active acoustics with a focus on improving assessments of marine organisms and characterization of the marine environment.
• Conduct at-sea and on-land research to improve the application and implementation of broadband and narrowband echosounders in NOAA fisheries surveys.
• Explore the potential of instruments such as Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs), imaging, multibeam, and sidescan sonars and/or or sub-bottom profilers for use in fisheries surveys.
• Evaluate scientific data necessary to contribute to the programs objectives and responsibilities.
• Review research results and reports to determine whether results are valid, can be integrated into established survey or data approaches, or can be developed into new approaches or areas of research.
• Communicate scientific research results utilizing scientific reports, technical documentation, peer-reviewed articles and oral presentations.
• Conduct and support MACE acoustic-trawl surveys in the North Pacific.
Due to COVID-19, the agency is currently in an expanded telework posture. NOAA received notice of reintegration to occur on April 25, 2022. As employees are permitted to return to the office, you will need to follow management’s guidelines on the expectation of reporting to the duty station listed on this announcement. You may be eligible to request to telework depending upon the terms of the agency’s telework policy.
This position will be filled under the DOC Alternative Personnel System (CAPS). This system replaced the Federal GS pay plan and structure. Under CAPS, positions are classified by career, pay plan, and pay band. The ZP-03 is equivalent to the GS-11/12. The full performance level of the position is ZP-04 or GS-13/14.
Category Rating, Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to this Public Notice.
* A three year probationary period may be required.
* Payment of relocation expenses incentives is not authorized.
* This position is in the bargaining unit.
NOTE:
*This Job Opportunity Announcement may be used to fill other Research Physical Scientist, ZP-1301-3 positions throughout NOAA. The position must be alike (e.g. within the same geographic locations, same grade/band and requires the same qualifications and specialized experience as indicated in this vacancy announcement).
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.
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.
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.
To qualify for the 1301 series:
BASIC REQUIREMENTS:
This position requires applicants to meet a Basic Education Requirement in addition to at least on year of specialized experience in order to be found minimally qualified. You MUST meet one of the following basic education requirements:
• Degree:
A major in physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included:
At least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics.
OR
• Combination of education and experience: education equivalent to one of the majors shown in above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
To Qualify at the ZP-3 or GS-11/12 level:
SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicants must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-2 or GS-09 in the Federal Service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following:
• Collection and analysis of data from fisheries echosounders, Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs), imaging sonars, multibeam sonars, sidescan sonars, or sub-bottom profilers;
• Development and application of backscattering or species classification models applicable to remote sensing of marine organisms;
• Proficiency in the use of programming languages including Matlab, Python, and/or R for data- and signal-processing
OR
EDUCATION: 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.
OR
COMBINATION: A combination of related graduate education and specialized experience as described above.
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
WORK ENVIRONMENT: The incumbent serves as science crew member on government-owned or chartered fishing vessels for up to 90 days per year at sea (dates and periods of times as sea may vary). Deployments will be at various times of the year for individual trips spanning up to 30 days each.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS: Sea duty will necessarily involve operations in remote areas of the North Pacific Ocean with daily duties that are conducted in a demanding physical maritime environment that involve fisheries or oceanographic sampling operations exposed to weather, over long, odd hours, lifting and moving heavy equipment or biological samples (up to 50 pounds) several times a day, on an unsteady deck, depending on sea state
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.
CTAP and ICTAP candidates will be eligible if it is determined that they have met the minimum qualifications for the position. Information about CTAP and ICTAP eligibility is on the Office of Personnel Management’s Career Transition Resources website at: Employee Guide to Career Transition
CTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents:
ICTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents:
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.
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.
Veteran’s Preference does not apply to direct hire recruitment procedures.
Any selections made under this notice will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. Therefore, Current Federal employees would be given new appointments to the civil service and may have to serve a new probationary period under CFR 315.802 (b).
NOTE: A one year probationary period will be required under the Direct Hire Authority unless you are a current Department of Commerce employee and are in the same line of work and with no more than a 30 day break in service.
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.
Your complete application, including required documents, must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
To apply on-line, you must complete and submit an application by accessing the USAJOBS website at http://www.usajobs.gov. To begin, click the Apply Online button near the bottom of this screen and follow the prompts to register into your USAJOBS account, answer the questions, and submit all required documents.
To return to your saved application, log in to your USAJOBS account at http://www.usajobs.gov and click on "Application Status." Click on the position title, and then select Apply Online to continue.
If you have problems completing your on-line application, including problems submitting your supporting documents, please contact the Help Desk by e-mail at mgshelp@monster.com or by phone at (866) 656-6831. The help desk is available Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET
For instructions on submitting your application in an alternate format, please contact the number listed in this vacancy announcement.
You will be notified of your application status through USAJOBS at four points during the hiring process, as applicable. You can check the status of your application by accessing the USAJOBS website at http://www.usajobs.gov and clicking on “Track Your Online Application.” The four points of notification are:
The Federal hiring process is setup to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/652157700. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
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