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This position is located in the United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, , Oklahoma and Central Plains Agricultural Research Center, Agroclimate & Hydraulic Engineering Research Unit in El Reno, Oklahoma.
In this position, you will be responsible for conducting research to develop technologies including support tools, computational models, and conservation structures to quantify, evaluate, and manage the effects of land use and conservation management practices.
Learn more about this agency10/21/2024 to 11/19/2024
$86,962 - $186,854 per year
GS 12 - 15
1 vacancy in the following location:
No
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
No
Permanent
Full-time
Competitive
15
Yes
No
ARS-D25Y-12579278-MDK
814865800
Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.
In addition to meeting the basic requirements, applicants must also meet additional qualification requirements as stated below
GS-12
Applicants must demonstrate at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service or possess a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or possess an equivalent combination of graduate level education and experience. Graduate education must be directly related to the work of the position and must have equipped applicants with the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. The specialized experience requirements for the GS-12 level of this position are: Participating in field research related to erosion processes, chemical (.e.g., pesticides and herbicides), nutrient, and sediment transport, and water quality; providing technical information and consultation pertinent to the project by presenting at professional society meetings within and outside the organization in the area of specialization; and authored recent peer-reviewed publications involving watershed research, field studies addressing water quality, soil quality, and geomorphic impacts on hydrologic processes.
GS-13
Applicants must demonstrate at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. The specialized experience requirements for the GS-13 level of this position are: Identifying, testing, and applying sophisticated and novel geochemical, isotopic, and other environmental tracers to track the transformation and transport of nutrients, chemicals, and sediments from the field to the stream to the reservoir; developing data collection methodologies utilizing field instrumentation including cloud-based technologies in the field to quantify the processes controlling surface and groundwater flow and their interactions; formulating conceptual and analytical models and decision support tools to predict hydrologic flow paths in plots; authoring recent peer-reviewed publications involving watershed research, field studies addressing water quality, soil quality, and geomorphic impacts on hydrologic processes, and forming and maintaining collaborations with a variety of stakeholders from other federal state, or local agencies, academia, non-government organizations, industry partners, both domestic and/or international.
GS-14
Applicants must demonstrate at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-13 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. The specialized experience requirements for the GS-14 level of this position are: Leading and conducting transdisciplinary field research in multiple complex projects that address productivity and sustainability at field to farm scales and environmental impacts of agricultural practices and systems at landscape to regional scales; designing and running field and laboratory experiments as it relates to soil erosion processes; sediment, chemical, or nutrient transport; water resources infrastructure including but not limited to dams, spillways, levees, channels, grade stabilization structures; computational and/or physical modeling; climate change; flood routing; hydrology; sedimentation; remote sensing; water quality; or monitoring, inspecting, and/or modeling open channel flow, conservation practices impact to sediment and nutrient transport; publishing research results involving watershed research, field studies addressing water quality, soil quality, and geomorphic impacts on hydrologic processes; and reporting results at professional meetings and in manuscripts presented for publication; managing a research program, including personnel, equipment and fiscal resources; and supervising employees, to include setting performance standards, monitoring performance and guiding subordinates.
GS-15
Applicants must demonstrate at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-14 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. The specialized experience requirements for the GS-15 level of this position are: Managing transdisciplinary field research in multiple complex projects that address productivity and sustainability at field to farm scales and environmental impacts of agricultural practices and systems; developing methods for controlling or managing water, erosion, sediment yield or other pollutants across field or watersheds; conducts erosion processes, chemical (.e.g., pesticides and herbicides), nutrient, and sediment transport, and water quality; leading production systems on water quality and water resources decision making; quantifying interactive effects of land use and management on hydrologic and agricultural responses; developing new or enhanced prediction models to evaluate water, erosion and sediment yield from fields, streams, or impoundments in agricultural watersheds; and authoring reviews for national and international scientific peers for implementing evolving technologies, addressing water quality, soil quality, or geomorphic impacts on hydrologic processes; and working with stakeholders, commodity groups, industry partners and university collaborators.
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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
To further support your qualifications, it is strongly recommended that you submit a one-page abstract of your MS thesis and/or Ph.D. dissertation. Failure to do so could result in loss of your consideration/referral. Also, please submit a list of names, addresses, and phone numbers of persons familiar with your stature, contributions, recognition; any honors or awards received; memberships in professional or honor societies; invitations to make presentations at scientific/technical meetings; scientific society office and committee assignments; presentations (other than invitation); and publications.
Applicants must be available to report for duty at the time a selection is made. Selections are typically made within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement.
Basic Requirements for Engineering Series GS0-0810-0890:
Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.
OR
Combination of education and experience -- college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:
Basic Requirements for Hydrology Series GS-1315
Degree: physical or natural science, or engineering that included at least 30 semester hours in any combination of courses in hydrology, the physical sciences, geophysics, chemistry, engineering science, soils, mathematics, aquatic biology, atmospheric science, meteorology, geology, oceanography, or the management or conservation of water resources. The course work must have included at least 6 semester hours in calculus (including both differential and integral calculus), and at least 6 semester hours in physics. Calculus and physics, as described above, are requirements for all grade levels.
OR
Combination of education and experience -- course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.
Evaluation of Experience: Acceptable experience must have included performance of scientific functions related to the study of water resources, based on and requiring a professional knowledge of related sciences and the consistent application of basic scientific principles to the solution of theoretical and practical hydrologic problems. The following is illustrative of acceptable experience: field or laboratory work that would require application of hydrologic theory and related sciences such as geology, geo-chemistry, geophysics, or civil engineering to making observations, taking samples, operating instruments, assembling data from source materials, analyzing and interpreting data, and reporting findings orally and in writing. In some cases, professional scientific experience that is not clearly water resource experience may be acceptable if such experience was preceded by appropriate education in hydrology or by professional hydrology experience.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
You will be evaluated in accordance with the category rating procedure as defined in the USDA Demonstration Project Plan. Applicants who meet the basic minimum qualification requirements established for the position will be placed in the Eligible category. Eligible applicants will be further evaluated against criteria for placement in the Quality category. This evaluation is based on the level of your experience, education, and/or training as determined by your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire. Applicants with veterans' preference are listed ahead of applicants who do not have veterans' preference within each category.
Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your score may be adjusted to more accurately reflect your abilities, or you may be found ineligible. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.
Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right.
To view the application form, visit:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12579278
The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.
Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.
Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement in order to be entered into the system prior to its closing.
This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this.
To begin, click "Apply" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents.
NOTE: Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded resumes must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable.
Your application will be reviewed to verify that you meet the eligibility and qualification requirements for the position prior to issuing referral lists to the selecting official. If further evaluation or interviews are required, you will be contacted. Log in to your USAJOBS account to check your application status.
You must choose to turn on email notifications in your USAJOBS profile if you want to receive important email notifications that may impact your applicant experience (e.g. If you start an application and do not submit it prior to the closing date, USAJOBS will send an email reminder that the closing date is approaching and your application is in an incomplete status).
Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement.
Under the Fair Chance Act, agencies are not allowed to request information about an applicant's criminal history until a conditional offer of employment has been made, except as allowed for access to classified information; assignment to national security duties or positions; acceptance or retention in the armed forces; or recruitment of a Federal law enforcement officer. An applicant may submit a complaint or any other information related to an organization's alleged noncompliance with the Fair Chance Act. The complaint must be submitted within 30 calendar days of the date of the alleged noncompliance. To make a Fair Chance Act inquiry or complaint, send an email with the appropriate information to rachel.amroliwalla@usda.gov, subject line: Fair Chance Act.
The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
This job originated on www.usajobs.gov. For the full announcement and to apply, visit www.usajobs.gov/job/814865800. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
Learn more about
Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific in-house research agency. Our job is finding solutions to agricultural problems that affect Americans every day from field to table. What we do matters in science and the world. For more information about Agricultural Research Service, go to https://www.ars.usda.gov/.
