Physical Scientist

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 10/27/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized 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 periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

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. Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: Basic Educational Requirements: In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following: A.

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 B. 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.

Specialized Experience: To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sector).

Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience performing environmental monitoring; implementing monitoring plans and models to collect representative samples from environmental systems; evaluating environmental studies and providing assessment of potential impacts of chemical constituents on biota, public health, or agriculture; preparing program and project-specific sampling and analysis plans; developing reports, preparing correspondence, and performing data management activities of environmental data.

OR three years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree, or Ph.D., or equivalent doctoral degree; your education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. For this position, this is defined as a degree in physical science, engineering, mathematics or a similarly related major. OR Combination of Education and Experience.

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.

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Plans, coordinates and conducts technical activities for field sampling investigations in accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), United States Geological Survey (USGS), and/or Bureau of Reclamation protocols to determine the extent of contamination in ground water, surface water, vegetation, soil, sediment, and air at specified areas.

Coordinates with other branch staff members on the collection and incorporation of appropriate field splits and other quality assurance/quality control measures described in program plans to ensure the quality of the data produced. Coordinates within agency as well as with external partners as needed to support the mission.

Evaluates and interprets the results of environmental studies to determine their validity and scientific significance; reports on findings to ensure effective program execution and demonstrate compliance with requirements of State or Federal Executive Orders. Develops recommendations to assist project and program managers with the design or update of comprehensive monitoring plans.

Prepares program and project-specific documentation and reports, correspondence, status reports, and general information regarding activities.