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Physical Scientist (Air Quality Monitoring Specialist) - Direct Hire Authority

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Washington Office Sevice Area
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in Natural Resources Stewardship and Science, Air Resources Division (ARD) and serves as the national expert on all facets of air quality monitoring networks and provides technical oversite and coordination of the ARD optical, scene monitoring and smoke monitoring networks.

Open to the first 125 applicants or until 07/01/2024 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration.

Overview

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Hiring complete
Open & closing dates
06/18/2024 to 06/21/2024
This job will close when we have received 125 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$103,409 to - $167,336 per year

Salary does not include locality pay. For specific wage information, reference the OPM Salaries and Wages link in the Additional Information section.

Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Anywhere in the U.S. (remote job)
Remote job
Yes
Telework eligible
Not applicable, this is a remote position.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
WO-1614-NRSS-24-12441643-DE
Control number
795869200

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Applications will be accepted from any U.S. Citizen. DIRECT HIRING AUTHORITY will be used to fill this position.

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Duties

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The major duties of the Physical Scientist position include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Provide technical oversight and coordination and serve as Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) of ARD visibility and smoke monitoring networks.
  • Participate in special studies and collaborative research projects aimed at protecting natural resources in national parks.
  • Analyze air quality data from NPS networks and special studies and communicate findings through scientific presentations and publications.
  • Contribute to quality assurance activities for all ARD monitoring networks to ensure credibility of ARD monitoring data.
  • Communicate research and monitoring findings within NPS and with partners to support the goals of NRSS, ARD and individual parks.




Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required.
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males.
  • Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • If you are a new employee or supervisor in the Federal government, you will be required to complete a one-year probationary period.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 2 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.
  • You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-07/01/2024-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount qualified specialized experience.

To qualify for the Physical Scientist position at the GS-13 grade, you must meet the following requirements by the closing date of this announcement:

Basic Requirements:
Physical Scientist Series, 1301 (You must include transcripts):

  • 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
  • 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.
-AND-

EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). This experience must include all of: (1) Lead projects related to the analysis and interpretation of air quality data. (2) Serve as technical expert in air quality monitoring, including quality assurance/ quality control procedures. (3) Provide oversight to contractors or research staff related to air quality monitoring and/or air quality research. (4) Provide expert technical advice on the feasibility of using new instrumentation for measuring air quality parameters. You must include your resume with hours worked per week annotated.

You must include months, years and hours per week worked to receive credit for your work and/or volunteer experience. One year of specialized experience is equivalent to 12 months at 40 hours per week. Part-time hours are prorated. You will not receive any credit for experience that does not indicate exact hours per week or is listed as "varies". Experience listed as full-time will be credited at 40 hours per week.

Volunteer Experience: 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

To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

There is no substitution of education for experience at the grade level(s) of this announcement.

Additional information

This is a fully remote position.

This notice is being issued to recruit personnel to occupations for which a severe shortage of candidates exists and/or a critical hiring need has been identified. To assist in filling these positions, OPM has granted agencies "Direct Hire Authority".

The actual salary will be based on the geographic location of the individual(s) selected for this position. Click here for the OPM Salaries and Wage to calculate locality pay.

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.


Physical Demands: The work may require some physical exertion such as long periods of standing; walking over rough, uneven, or rocky surfaces; or occasional lifting of moderately heavy items such as scientific instrumentation or apparatus.

Working Conditions: The work is conducted primarily in an office setting, but may require travel to review contractor operations, assist in the selection of monitoring sites, inspect monitoring sites, or participate in field studies.

How you will be evaluated

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

Applicants will be evaluated based on how well they meet the qualification requirements.

Upon receipt of the completed application package, a review of your application will be made to ensure basic qualification requirements are met.

This vacancy will be filled through OPM's Direct Hire Authority. Veterans Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applicants do not apply to positions filled under this Authority. All qualified applicants, as determined by the SHRO, will be referred for consideration. While managers and supervisors are not required to conduct interviews, it is highly recommended that they do so in order to assess the competencies of each applicant.

If an applicant's resume is incomplete or does not support the requirements for minimum qualifications or specialized experience a rating of "ineligible" or "not qualified" will be applied.

If a determination is made that an applicant has inflated qualifications or experience on the resume, consideration for the position will be denied, as per OPM regulations.

Your resume will be reviewed for the following competencies:

  • Attention to Detail
  • Communication
  • Project Management
  • Research
  • Teamwork

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