Summary

This announcement is issued under the Direct Hire Authority (DHA) to recruit for positions for which there is a critical hiring need. Selectee(s) will receive a career or career-conditional appointment in the competitive service and may be required to serve a one year probationary period.

The official title of this position isPhysical Scientist GS-1301-11/12.

Duties

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Typical work assignments at the full performance level include, but are not limited to:

• Analyzing and defining data requirements for NRMC mission needs.
• Developing and maintaining data specifications, standards, policies, and procedures to support consistent use of critical infrastructure (CI) data.
• Conducting data analysis on complex CI risk topics (e.g., environmental impacts, natural disasters, cascading consequences) using appropriate quantitative methods to identify trends, relationships, and risk drivers across CI sectors.
• Evaluating data quality and fitness-for-use by determining accuracy requirements, validating sources, and assessing impacts of incomplete/poor-quality data on statistical interpretation and analytic conclusions.
• Developing reproducible analytic workflows and code to ingest, transform, and analyze structured/unstructured data (e.g., using R/Python/Structured Query Language (SQL); file investigation/output preprocessing such as normalization/imputation/dimensionality reduction).
• Incorporating appropriate geographic information system (GIS) technology into analytic workflow to provide comprehensive and scientifically sound answers to inquiries from stakeholders.
• Using automatic methods of data collection, analysis or illustration. Inputting data into digital form and using computer applications for data analysis, manipulation, and presentation.
• Preparing technical reports/papers and representing the program in reviews, conferences, and working groups.
• Coordinating with other government entities and external partners as technical authority/spokesperson when assigned.
• Providing actionable recommendations and decision support to leadership and stakeholders by translating analytic findings into operationally relevant options, assumptions, limitations, and impacts to CI resilience and risk reduction.
• Serving as a project officer/technical team member for assigned analytic initiatives: plan work, coordinate with partners/contractors, track milestones, and contribute to improvements in methods and procedures.

Requirements

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Qualifications

Do NOT copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational assessment questionnaire from this announcement into your resume as that will not be considered a demonstration of your qualifications for this position. Your resume must describe your work and experience, in your own words.

To be considered minimally qualified for this position, you must demonstrate that you have the required education and experience for the respective grade level in which you are applying.

Applicants must demonstrate that they meet the Basic Requirements AND Minimum Qualification requirements as listed below.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

A. Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) from an accredited institution that included a major field of study in physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours or 36 quarter hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics. (Note: You must attach a copy of your transcripts.

OR

B. Combination of education and experience: Combination of education and experience with education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours or 36 quarter hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

IN ADDITION TO MEETING THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS ABOVE, YOU MUST ALSO MEET THE FOLLOWING MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

You qualify at the GS-11 grade level, if you have:

EXPERIENCE: At least one (1) year of specialized experience at the GS-09 grade level (or equivalent) performing all the following duties:

1. Analyzing and defining data requirements/specifications and developing or updating data standards, policies, and procedures to support mission analytics;
2. Conducting independent quantitative analysis of large or complex datasets using statistical methods to produce defensible findings; AND
3. Writing and refining code-based workflows (e.g., R/Python/Structured Query Language (SQL); file ingestion/output; preprocessing steps such as imputation/normalization/transformation) to ensure analytic repeatability.

OR

EDUCATION:

A. Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree from an accredited institution that included a major field of study in physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours or 36 quarter hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics.

OR

B. Three (3) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree from an accredited institution that included major study in the field of study described in statement "A" above.

OR

C. LL.M. (Master of Laws) degree, if related

OR

COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: An equivalent combination of education and experience as described above may be used to substitute for the specialized experience requirement. Only graduate education in excess of the second year (determined by the institution) or 36 semester hours or 54 quarter hours (i.e., beyond the second year) is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement.

You qualify at the GS-12 grade level, if you have:

EXPERIENCE: At least one (1) year of specialized experience at the GS-11 grade level (or equivalent) performing all the following duties:

1. Serving as a technical lead analyst for complex, multidisciplinary critical infrastructure risk/consequence analyses where established criteria or data are incomplete, requiring judgment, originality, and methodological adaptation;
2. Designing and improving analytic methodologies and procedures (theoretical and practical), including establishing standards for data use, validation, and interpretation across teams or projects; AND
3. Leading development of advanced analytic products and decision support (e.g., integrated trend/cross-sector risk analyses) that directly inform program direction, stakeholder actions, or resource prioritization.

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.

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

For positions with an education requirement, or if you are qualifying for a position by substituting education or training for experience, you MUST submit a copy of your transcripts or equivalent. Unofficial transcripts will be accepted that includes your name, the name of the educational institution, course title(s), number of credits, grade, and date of completion. An official transcript will be required if you are selected.

Education must be from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Graduate Education: One academic year of graduate education is the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

Foreign Education: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the qualification requirements. You must show the education credentials have been evaluated by a private U.S. organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program. It is your responsibility to provide such evidence with your application. See Recognition of Foreign Qualifications for more information.

Additional information

• Other incentives may be authorized.
• If you receive a conditional offer of employment for this position, you will be required to complete an Optional Form 306, Declaration for Federal Employment, and to sign and certify the accuracy of all information in your application, prior to entry on duty. False statements on any part of the application may result in withdrawal of offer of employment, dismissal after beginning work, fine, or imprisonment.
• Additional vacancies may be filled with this announcement.
• A one-year probationary period may be required during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. We may 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. 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.
• If selected below the full performance level, you may be noncompetitively promoted to the next higher grade level after meeting all regulatory requirements, and upon the recommendation of management. Promotion is neither implied nor guaranteed.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

Current or Former Political Appointees: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office.

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.

Benefits

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