Physical Scientist

Location and Vacancies

This position is located in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), Office of Satellite Products and Operations (OSPO), with one vacancy in Fairbanks, AK;
Suitland, MD;
College Park, MD;
Asheville, NC; or Boulder, CO.

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook. The handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website: https://(Use the "Apply for this Job" box below)..

This position has a positive Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of Specialized Experience to be minimally qualified. Transcripts must be submitted with your application package.

Education :

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.

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:

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 through National Service programs such as Peace Corps, Ameri Corps, and other organizations (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. All qualifying experience, including volunteer experience, will be credited.

In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicants must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-3 or GS-12 in the Federal service. Specialized experience must include all of the following:

• Performing administrative and support functions such as budget formulation or project management of employee performance;
• Conducting or validating maintenance, repair, or refresh of satellite ground station equipment;
• Utilizing testing equipment to monitor, analyze, and troubleshoot Radio Frequency (RF) or fiber optic signal paths between receiving and transmitting equipment.