Clarification from the agency

This announcement is open to United States Citizens; U.S. Nationals; and Career transition eligibles (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL).

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Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

• Perform data collection and analysis of water and wastewater sampling
• Conduct laboratory operations
• Maintain laboratory functions
• Prepare data results for inclusion in bacteriological and special reports for regulatory agencies and utilities
  personnel

Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Direct Deposit participation required.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit www.dhs.gov/EVerify/.

• Must have and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment.

• GS-08 - Must be able to obtain and maintain laboratory accreditations ELAP Grade I Laboratory Certification to comply with ELAP (Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program) through State of California within 12 months of EOD.
• GS-09 - Must have ELAP Grade I Laboratory Certification License OR Hold valid wastewater treatment operator license appropriate to the nature and size of the facility. ELAP Grade I Lab Certification OR valid wastewater treatment operator license must be obtained within 12 months of EOD.
• You must be at least 18 years of age or older to operate government vehicles.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-Year Probationary Period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated.

*Additional Requirements located under qualifications*

Qualifications

Qualifications:

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-09/04/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications:

To qualify for this position at the GS-08 grade level:

• Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience includes work that involved identifying, preventing, or eliminating health hazards in one or more areas of environmental sanitation. Such experience must have provided a practical knowledge of environmental health hazards, survey techniques, and control and eradication methods, and may have been gained in work such as biological technician, medical technician, pest control technician, quality control positions with dairy or food service industries, or environmental health worker. Examples include: assisting with wastewater discharge permits and potable water monitoring in a laboratory, performing water sampling and consolidate data for analysis, maintaining laboratory operations and infrastructure within the laboratory, assisting in training staff in laboratory operations, assisting higher graded employee(s) in planning special projects related to laboratory requirements. You must include hours per week worked.

To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level:

• Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-08 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience includes work that involved identifying, preventing, or eliminating health hazards in one or more areas of environmental sanitation. Such experience must have provided a practical knowledge of environmental health hazards, survey techniques, and control and eradication methods, and may have been gained in work such as biological technician, medical technician, pest control technician, quality control positions with dairy or food service industries, or environmental health worker. Examples of specialized experience include conducting wastewater discharge permits and potable water monitoring in an operational laboratory, data collection and analysis of water and wastewater sampling, maintaining laboratory operations and infrastructure within the laboratory, train staff in laboratory operations, assisting in planning special projects related to laboratory requirements. You must include hours per week worked. -OR-
• Education: Successful completion of at least two years of graduate study (36 semester hours or 54 quarter hours) concentrated in a field that is directly related to the work of this position such as health, agricultural, biological, physical sciences. or other directly related subject matter. You must include transcripts. -OR-
• Combination of education and experience. To combine education and experience, first take the amount of education beyond the first graduate year and divide by 27. Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week and transcripts.

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.

Requirements Continued...

This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the 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 the Federal service.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated.

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.

How you will be evaluated

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

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g. resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of any additional assessment(s) required for this position.

Your resume must not exceed 2 pages. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed.

Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. These procedures place candidates with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Veterans with a service-connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher. Under Category Rating, candidates will be rated and ranked into the following categories:

• Best Qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position

• Well Qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in most of the requirements of the job

• Qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in some, but not all of the requirements of the job.

You will be assessed in the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• (Project Management) Special Projects
• Teaching Others
• Technical Competence
• (Environmental Engineering) Laboratory Operations
• (Data Management) Data Collection and Analysis of Water and Wastewater Sampling

If fewer than three eligible and available candidates per vacancy result, the agency will expand the group of candidates in accordance with the pre-announced supplement strategy and 5 CFR 332.402(f).

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of additional assessment(s), including a Structured Resume Review. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

Current or former displaced Federal employees who are surplus, displaced, or involuntarily separated have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be well-qualified, score at least 85 (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements), and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry.