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

SUPERVISORY OCEANOGRAPHER

Department of the Navy
United States Fleet Forces Command

Summary

You will serve as a SUPERVISORY OCEANOGRAPHER in the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command of the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC), Stennis Space Center, MS.

Overview

Help
Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
02/20/2026 to 02/25/2026
Salary
$106,437 to - $138,370 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Stennis Space Center, MS
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—This position is eligible for ad-hoc/situational telework at the discretion of management.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—Relocation incentives as described in 5 USC 5753 may be authorized in accordance with applicable regulations. PCS is not authorized.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Top Secret
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Special-Sensitive (SS)/High Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
ST-12891523-26-EIF
Control number
858237200

Duties

Help
  • You will serve as a senior staff specialist for one or more major product areas, including tactical oceanographic forecasting in support of Navy missions and ocean model validation and verification.
  • You will be responsible for initiating, planning, coordinating, and overseeing the transfer of new and emerging scientific technologies and techniques from the research community to operations.
  • You will manage the implementation and execution of ocean models, the preparation of ocean forecasts and other oceanographic products, and dissemination of these products.
  • You will coordinate validation and verification of global and regional oceanographic numerical analysis and forecast products across all network enclaves through qualitative and quantitative comparison to all relevant observations.
  • You will monitor progress of all projects, investigate delays, identify causes, and recommend corrective action to ensure deadlines are met.
  • You will manage and review replies for requests for oceanographic products and analysis received from Fleet customers, Naval METOC components, government agencies, research and scientific organizations, private industry, and foreign governments.
  • You will brief high-ranking personnel, including senior Agency and DoD decision makers, on FNMOC's numerical modeling and ocean forecasting systems and products.
  • You will participate in inter-agency working groups or committees to provide expert technical perspectives and create long-range inter-agency plans with significant consequences for participating agencies.
  • You will provide direct administrative and technical supervision to multiple Professional Physical Scientists and Oceanographers in grades GS-13 and below.
  • You will establish employee performance criteria utilizing and adhering to organizational methods, processes, timelines, reviewing performance plans, employee ratings and recognition.
  • You will resolve employee disputes, work problems, complaints and administer minor disciplinary actions such as warnings and reprimands and recommend disciplinary actions for more serious cases to higher supervisory levels.
  • You will assist in preparing the Department budget, ensuring the most cost-effective expenditure of the budget and prepare all task resource changes that involve the Division and provide impact statements

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • Must be a US Citizen.
  • Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
  • Must participate in the direct deposit pay program.
  • New employees to the Department of the Navy will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov
  • Generally, current federal employees applying for GS jobs must serve at least one year at the next lower grade level. This requirement is called time-in-grade. Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
  • Within the Department of Defense (DoD), the appointment of retired military members within 180 days immediately following retirement date to a civilian position is subject to the provisions of 5 United States Code 3326.
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
  • You will be required to obtain and maintain an interim and/or final security clearance prior to entrance on duty. Failure to obtain and maintain the required level of clearance may result in the withdrawal of a job offer or removal.
  • This position may require travel from normal duty station to CONUS and OCONUS and may include remote or isolated sites. You must be able to travel on military and commercial aircraft for extended periods of time

Qualifications

In addition to the Basic Requirements for this position, your resume must also demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-12 grade level or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following:

  • Experience in and possess professional knowledge of physical science with emphasis in oceanography to define, initiate, and provide guidance for major projects in these fields.
  • Experience in and have expert understanding of the subjects to review the work produced for technical soundness and conformance to accepted standards of content and format.
  • Experience in and have mastery of the theories, methods, and techniques of professional physical science or oceanography sufficient to serve as a staff specialist working to improve forecast guidance and the performance of tactical decision aids for one or more of the major product areas.
  • Experience in and possess comprehensive knowledge of statistical methods and standard techniques for evaluating METOC numerical analysis and forecast products.
  • Experience in and possess working knowledge of management skills such as leadership, interpersonal skills, customer service, decision-making, flexibility, organizational awareness, team building, problem solving and performance evaluation sufficient to ensure the effective working of a team.
  • Experience in and possess knowledge of project management practices sufficient to ensure the successful completion of all stages of a project, including initiating, planning, executing, controlling and closing the project.
  • Experience in and possess broad understanding of environmental processes relevant to military missions; and the ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.

Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website:
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/#url=List-by-Occupational-Series

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1300/oceanography-series-1360/

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (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.

Education

Applicants must meet the following positive education qualifications requirements of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualifications Standards Manual: Applicants must possess:

Individual Occupational Requirements

Basic Requirements:

  1. Degree: major study of at least 24 semester hours in oceanography or a related discipline such as physics, meteorology, geophysics, mathematics, chemistry, engineering, geology, or biology, plus 20 additional semester hours in any combination of oceanography, physics, geophysics, chemistry, mathematics, meteorology, computer science, and engineering sciences.

    or

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

Applicants who qualify on the basis of major study in biology or geology must have had at least 6 semester hours in the major directly concerned with marine science or 6 semester hours in oceanography; applicants who qualify on the basis of other physical sciences or engineering must have had differential and integral calculus and at least 6 semester hours in physics.

Additional information

This position is covered by the Department of Defense Priority Placement Program.

Additional vacancies may be filled by this announcement.

A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if the selectee fails to meet the pre-employment requirements, including failure to report to any of the scheduled appointments.

During the application process you will have the ability to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions in the local commuting area. Depending on the hiring organization and the position being filled, job requirements (e.g., security clearance, travel, drug testing, financial disclosure filing, bargaining unit status, etc.) may vary. Other hiring managers filling similar positions may offer relocation expense reimbursement and/or may offer recruitment incentives for new employees, depending on funding availability and in accordance with policy. If you opt-in and are referred on a certificate, your resume will be available to other hiring managers for 180-days from the date the job announcement closes. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Federal annuitant information: The selection of an annuitant is subject to the Department of Defense and Department of the Navy policy on the employment of annuitants. Policy information may be found at: http://www.secnav.navy.mil/donhr/Documents/CivilianJobs/FedCivAnnuitants.pdf

PPP applicants will be placed at the FPL, if determined Well Qualified (WQ). To receive priority consideration, the FPL must be the same grade level or equivalent of the retained grade or the grade held immediately prior to separation.

ICTAP Applicants: To be considered well-qualified and exercise selection priority as an ICTAP candidate, displaced Federal employees must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a rating in the highly qualified category (score 85) or higher. ICTAP candidates must provide copies of all of the following documentation at the time of application: 1) agency notice; 2) most recent performance appraisal; and 3) most recent SF-50 or notification of personnel action that includes position, grade level, and duty location. Applicants who do not provide this documentation will not receive consideration as an ICTAP candidate. For more information about ICTAP eligibility please review the following link: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/federal-employees/career-transition/

Military Spouse Preference applicants will be placed at the highest grade for which they have applied and are determined Best Qualified (BQ). A BQ military spouse possesses knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies comparable to others who meet the competitive referral criteria for the specific position.

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.

In order to qualify for this position, your resume must provide sufficient experience and/or education, knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of the specific position for which you are being considered. Your resume is the key means we have for evaluating your skills, knowledge, and abilities as they relate to this position. Therefore, we encourage you to be clear and specific when describing your experience.

When the application process is complete, we will review your resume to ensure you meet the hiring eligibility and qualification requirements listed in this announcement. You will be rated based on the information provided in your resume and application package, along with your supporting documentation to determine your ability to demonstrate the following competencies:

This recruitment will utilize the following technical assessment tools: Structured Resume Review and Structured Interview.

You should list any relevant performance appraisals and incentive awards in your resume as that information may be taken into consideration during the selection process. If selected, you may be required to provide supporting documentation.

If after reviewing your resume and supporting documentation, a determination is made that you inflated your qualifications and/or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities or you may be found ineligible/not qualified.

Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

All eligibility, qualifications, and time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

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.