Physical Scientist

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-12/30/2024-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 for each federal position listed as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of qualifying experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, 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. SELECTIVE FACTOR: This position performs Vertical Caving. Applicants must have demonstrated experience safely and efficiently traveling in the vertical environment negotiating Alpine Single Rope Technique (SRT) rigging components including rebelays, redirects, and traverses. Your resume must describe your vertical rope experience. Candidates who do not meet this requirement by close of this announcement will receive no further consideration for this position. - AND - Meet the Basic Requirements for General Physical Science Series, 1301: A. You must have a degree in 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. You must include a copy of your transcripts. -OR- B. You must have a combination of education and experience. Education equivalent to one of the majors shown above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education. You must include a copy of your transcripts. -AND- Meet the Qualification Standards for the grade(s) you are applying to: To qualify for this position at the GS-07 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the federal service. Specialized experience is experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position to be filled. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include, but are not limited to, the following: 1) Researches technical reports; 2) Assists in preparation of graphs, charts and tables, and drafts reports; 3) Takes measurements and collects information; 4) Applies basic formulas to routine calculations, plotting and checking numerical data and completes routine analyses; and/or 5) Facilitates resource protection, mitigation, restoration activities. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of one (1) year (18 semester hours) of graduate-level education in a related field. The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. You must include a copy of your transcripts. -OR- Successful completion of a combination of related graduate level education and specialized experience as described above. For example, six months of the specialized experience as described above (50% of experience), and at least one semester (9 semester hours) of college graduate study in a directly related field from an accredited institution (50% of education), meet 100% of the qualification requirements. You must include a copy of your transcripts. -OR- Superior Academic Achievement (SAA) with a bachelor's degree in a field that is qualifying for this position and one of the following: graduated in the upper third of the college graduating class; OR have a 3.0 GPA or higher out of a possible 4.0 as recorded on official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education or courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or had 3.5 GPA or higher out of a possible 4.0 on the average of all required courses completed in the major or courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum (GPA will be rounded to one decimal place, i.e., 2.95 rounds to 3.0 and 2.94 rounds to 2.9); OR member of a national honor society (excluding freshman honor society). You must include a copy of your transcripts. To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the federal service. Specialized experience is experience that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position to be filled. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include, but are not limited to, the following: 1) Collects field data contributing to a basic natural resources inventory or monitoring program; 2) Performs a variety of technical tasks, such as selecting samples, interpolating missing data, uncovering clear discrepancies, solving minor problems and performing scientific analyses; 3) Drafts workplans and implementation strategies; and/or 4) Investigates cultural sites, natural resources, historic scenes, and subjects to identify, protect or interpret them. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of two (2) years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree in a related field. The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. (Two years of graduate education is 36 semester hours.) You must include a copy of your transcripts. -OR- Successful completion of a combination of graduate level education and specialized experience that together meets the requirements of the position. Only graduate education in excess of 18 semester hours may be used to qualify applicants for this grade level. For example, 6 months of the specialized experience (50% of experience), and 27 semester hours of directly-related graduate level college study in an accredited institution (50% of education), meet 100% of the qualification requirements. You must include a copy of your 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.