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Meteorologist

Department of Commerce
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Weather Service (NWS), National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in the National Weather Service (NWS), National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), Storm Prediction Center (SPC) with one vacancy in Norman, OK.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
09/11/2025 to 09/24/2025
Salary
$105,383 to - $137,000 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Norman, OK
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Occasional travel may be required, up to 10%.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time - The position requires working rotating shifts in a 24 x 7 environment, including holidays and weekends.
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
NWS-25-12795804-DHA
Control number
845659700

Videos

Duties

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As a Meteorologist, you will perform the following duties:

  • Serve as an expert forecaster, working forecast shifts and independently prepare and issue Fire Weather Outlooks.
  • Provide fire weather advice and guidance to critical decision makers during high impact weather situations.
  • Serve as an Incident Meteorologist (IMET), providing on-site or remote Impact-Based Decision Support Services (IDSS) to emergency managers, emergency response officials, and federal, state and regional decision makers.


Learn more about NWS and its mission here: https://www.noaa.gov/www.noaa.gov/regional-collaboration-network/regional-videos.


CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:

  • Must be able to evaluate techniques and meteorological models, perform investigations and write results, represent the NWS in a professional manner, interact with customers and partners including through social media, and participate in media interviews and provides forecasts and weather briefings to electronic and newsprint media.
  • Must be able to provide decision support services, scheduled or unscheduled.
  • During periods of threatening weather or rapidly changing weather conditions, the increase in workload requires periods of acute mental alertness and produces considerable mental stress. Adverse weather conditions may require the incumbent to work hours longer than the usual shift.
  • As part of the Incident Meteorologist (IMET) certification, the meteorologist may travel to a remote site that serves as the "Incident Command" for first responders fighting a fire. This can require travel on short (less than 24 hours) notice to occasionally very remote locations, sometimes even sleeping in a rental car if hotels are not readily available. *There is a pool of available IMETs from which to draw, if an employee person is unable to travel to a particular fire.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

Key Requirements:

  • Applicants must be U.S. Citizens.
  • This position requires a Moderate Risk Security Clearance.
  • Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
  • More requirements are listed under Qualifications and Additional Information.
  • Must be registered for Selective Service, if applicable (www.sss.gov)
  • Qualification requirements must be met by closing date of the announcement.

Additional Considerations:

  • One year probationary period may be required.
  • Payment of relocation expenses (PCS) may be authorized.
  • This position is not in the bargaining unit.
  • Background investigation will be required. Continued employment is subject to applicant's successful completion of security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.

*Note: A one year probationary period will be required under the Direct Hire Authority unless you are a current Department of Commerce (including NOAA) employee and are in the same line of work and with no more than a 30 day break in service.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, for those required to serve a 1-year probationary period, we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

  • Your performance and conduct;
  • Needs and interests of the agency;
  • Whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
  • Whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of then Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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

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.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This position has a positive Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of Specialized Experience in order to be found minimally qualified. Transcripts must be submitted with your application package. You MUST meet the following requirements:

To qualify for the 1340 series:
EDUCATION:

A. Degree: Meteorology, Atmospheric Science, or other natural science major that included:
1. At least 24 semester (36 quarter) hours of credit in meteorology/atmospheric science including a minimum of:

  • Six semester hours of atmospheric dynamics and thermodynamics;*
  • Six semester hours of analysis and prediction of weather systems (synoptic/mesoscale);
  • Three semester hours of physical meteorology; and
  • Two semester hours of remote sensing of the atmosphere and/or instrumentation.

2. Six semester hours of physics, with at least one course that includes laboratory sessions.*
3. Three semester hours of ordinary differential equations.*
4. At least nine semester hours of course work appropriate for a physical science major in any combination of three or more of the following: physical hydrology, statistics, chemistry, physical oceanography, physical climatology, radiative transfer, aeronomy, advanced thermodynamics, advanced electricity and magnetism, light and optics, and computer science.

* There is a prerequisite or corequisite of calculus for course work in atmospheric dynamics and thermodynamics, physics, and differential equations. Calculus courses must be appropriate for a physical science major.

OR

B. Combination of education and experience: course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

-AND-

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.

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.

To qualify at the GS-13 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 GS-12 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following:

  • Developing or preparing fire weather forecasts or warnings during high impact weather situations; and
  • Preparing and delivering forecasts and weather briefings to electronic, news print or broadcast media

Education

Substitution of education for specialized experience is not applicable to this vacancy.

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: OPM Foreign Education Evaluation.

Additional information

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).

ICTAP and CTAP Candidates: Eligible for selection priority if it is determined that the applicant is well qualified. Information about ICTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at: Employee Guide to Career Transition.

ICTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents:

  1. Copy of your RIF separation notice; notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate; notice of disability annuity termination; certification from your former agency that it cannot place you after your recovery from a compensable injury; or certification from the National Guard Bureau or Military Department that you are eligible for disability retirement;
  2. Copy of your SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action" documenting your RIF separation, noting your positions, grade level, and duty location, and/or Agency certification of inability to place you through RPL, etc;
  3. Copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and
  4. Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.

CTAP applicants MUST submit the following documents:

  1. Copy of your specific RIF notice; notice of proposed removal for failure to relocate; a Certificate of Expected Separation (CES); or certification that you are in a surplus organization or occupation (this could be a position abolishment letter, a notice eligibility for discontinued service retirement, or similar notice).
  2. Copy of your SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action", noting current position, grade level, and duty location;
  3. Copy of your latest performance appraisal including your rating; and
  4. Any documentation from your agency that shows your current promotion potential.

NOAA participates in e-Verify, 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.

The Federal Government is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Candidates will not be hired based on their race, sex, color, religion, or national origin.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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 supporting documentation to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications for the position. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents).

Additionally, applicants will also be evaluated using Structured Resume Reviews conducted by a panel of Subject Matter Experts. The reviews are in a Pass/Fail format and are conducted to ensure that the applicant meets the Specialized Experience required for the position and grade level.

Veteran's Preference does not apply to direct hire recruitment procedures.

If referred, all relevant documents submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the hiring official for review.

To preview the announcement questionnaire, click here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12795804

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