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Volpe is seeking entry-level or intermediate level Physical Scientists to work within a division in the Policy Planning and Environment Technical Center. As a Physical Scientist you will be working with professional team members conducting field and laboratory studies of transportation-related analyses in support of legislative mandates. Work involves originating new/improved applications and strategies for scientific concepts, theories and principles.
04/21/2022 to 05/02/2022
$50,089 - $97,430 per year
GS 07 - 11
2 vacancies in the following locations:
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Occasional travel - Position may require some travel.
No
Permanent
Full-time - Full Time
Competitive
12
No
No
OST.RVOLPE-2022-0031
649986500
U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.
Current or former competitive service federal employees.
Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.
Individuals eligible under a special authority not listed above, but defined in the federal hiring regulations.
Family members of a federal employee or uniformed service member who is or was, working overseas.
Open to current and former Federal employees with competitive status, VEOA Applicants, AND All U.S. Citizens.
As a Physical Scientist, you will:
The ideal candidate will assist or work on a wide range of projects involving environmental compliance; environmental assessments and impact studies, which may include development and analyses of alternatives to proposed federal actions; environmental regulatory development and compliance evaluations; and analyses for environmental sustainability (including facilities), transportation resilience to environmental disruptions (also including facilities), and emerging transportation technology’s potential impact on the environment.
PLEASE NOTE
: Two vacancies will be filled from this announcement from either Washington, DC or Cambridge, MA which will be determined by the manager. The difference in the salary is determined by the locality pay in the duty location. Salaries for all areas are available on the OPM website at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/2022/general-schedule/Salary will be adjusted in accordance with the locality pay for the specific area.
CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT:
To meet the minimum qualifications for this position, you must (1) meet the Mandatory Education Requirement for the series, (2) provide a copy of your transcripts or other applicable documentation for verification, AND (3) meet the specialized experience requirements for each grade. Please review the following information before proceeding with the application process:
(1) All applicants must meet the education requirements under A or B to qualify for applying to a General Physical Science series 1301:
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.
(2) Upload the appropriate document(s) to your application for verification purposes. (Refer to 'Required Documents' section for additional guidance)
Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within six months of the closing date of this announcement. If selected, the final transcript must be received before your start date. Other applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
(3) Specialized Experience:
To determine which grade(s) you are eligible for review the following grade specific details. You will be asked questions as part of your application but make sure to verify how you meet this experience in your resume or you may be deemed ineligible.
For the GS-07:
On Experience, you must have at least one year of experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-06 grade level, which included:
Or on Education, you must have completion of 1 full academic year of graduate level education in an accredited college or university; or Eligibility under Superior Academic Achievement Provision and completion of a bachelor’s degree.
**Superior Academic Achievement**- In the upper one-third of graduating class; OR a GPA of 3.0 or higher out of 4.0, as recorded on official transcript, or based on courses completed during final 2 years of curriculum; OR a GPA of 3.5 or higher out of 4.0, based on average of required courses completed in major or required courses in major completed during the final 2 years of curriculum.
You can also have a combination of graduate education and experience. This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts, provided with your application.
For the GS-09:
On Experience, you must have at least one year of experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-07 grade level, which included:
Or on Education, you must have:
You can also have a combination of graduate education and experience. This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts, provided with your application.
For the GS-11:
On Experience, you must have at least one year of experience, equal or equivalent to the GS-09 grade level, which included:
Or on Education, you must have
You can also have a combination of graduate education and experience. This must be fully supported by your resume and transcripts, provided with your application.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES (KSAs): Your qualifications will be evaluated on the basis of your level of knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies in the following areas:
For all types of consideration, 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.
For additional information about applying to Federal positions, please click on the following link: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-policies/#url=e4
Students enrolled in a qualifying degree program can apply if the anticipated graduation date is within six months of closing date of the announcement. Graduation transcript must be received before start date.
Other applicants must meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement.
PLEASE NOTE:
COVID VACCINATION: If selected, you will be required to provide information regarding your COVID-19 vaccination status for the purposes of implementing workplace safety protocols, such as protocols related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.
This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if similar vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/ application does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level.
To compete with U.S. Citizens: If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be placed in one of two categories: Qualified and Well Qualified which is based upon your responses to the vacancy questions. Within these categories, applicants eligible for veteran's preference that have provided supporting documents will receive selection priority over non-veterans. The top rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position.
To compete with other competitive status government employees: If you meet the qualification requirements, your application will be scored based upon your responses to the vacancy questions. The top rated applications will be reviewed for the quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. If referred, all relevant documents including performance appraisals and awards submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the hiring official for review.
Eligible Federal employees also seeking consideration for noncompetitive reassignment for this position, must indicate interest in the assessment. In eligibility question 14: select Yes/Other/Former Incumbency of a Position brought into the Competitive Service. Noncompetitive federal candidates must have competitive status on a SF-50, meet minimum qualifications, have served at the same grade or higher, and held or exceeded the promotion potential of this position.
All applicants: Your application will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education and training relevant to the position. The answers you select in the on-line process must be substantiated in your application package. If upon review, it is determined that your described work history, competencies, and/or supporting documents do not support your answer choices, your application may be updated on your behalf or you may not be referred to the selecting official. Please ensure that your work history provides enough details to support your answers. The Automated Staffing Office is ultimately responsible for determining your final rating.
RESUME - All applicants must provide a resume created within USA Jobs Resume Builder, that shows relevant experience, education and support the required specialized experience. Formatted resumes can by uploaded later in the application process.
TRANSCRIPTS are REQUIRED if there is a stated education requirement for the series OR if you are substituting education for experience. The transcripts need not be official, but must show that you meet the stated education requirements, including specific major or class requirements.
PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS/INCENTIVE AWARDS: If applicable, performance appraisals and/or Incentive award documentation may be submitted and forwarded to the selecting official in consideration of your application. To receive credit, submit a recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable (do not submit a performance plan) and/or incentive award documentation dated within the last 18 months (i.e. performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increases, etc.).
VETERANS: Your last DD214 (member 4 copy), Certificate of Release or Discharge From Active Duty, that shows the type of discharge and all dates of active duty is required to verify your eligibility.
FEDERAL APPLICANTS: You must submit SF-50(s) that verify your highest competitive grade, full performance level, and eligibility as a federal applicant. DO NOT submit an award SF-50 as these often do not verify grade or eligibility. For consideration for a promotion, Box 4 of the SF-50 must show a date that is at least 52 weeks prior to the job announcement closing. We recommend submitting your last promotion SF-50 or within-grade increase SF-50. Pay adjustment raise SF-50s for the current year will not support the 52 weeks’ time-in-grade requirements. https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/service/SF-50/
NON COMPETITIVE APPLICANTS: If requesting concurrent consideration for Non-competitive (NC) appointment eligibility, you must provide the appropriate SPECIAL APPOINTING AUTHORITY DOCUMENTS, such as PCS orders (military spouse) describing move & marriage certificate; letter from VA or DD214 describing 100% disability of spouse; letter from State Vocational Office certifying disability (schedule A), etc. For more information, visit military spouse NC appointments or Persons with Disabilities NC appointments.
DISPLACED EMPLOYEES: If requesting consideration under the Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or Interagency CTAP program (ICTAP), you must meet the well qualified standards for this vacancy (meeting minimum requirements for position and scoring at least an 85) and provide all of the following documents:
Displaced employees may be eligible for ICTAP or CTAP priority consideration. For more information, please review the OPM Employee's Guide to Career Transition.
Failure to submit any of the required documents by the closing date of the vacancy will result in your removal from consideration for this position. Please review your application prior to final submission and ensure you have submitted all appropriate documents. Uploading documents to USA Jobs does NOT ensure inclusion with your application to our system. You must verify that the documents are in the system with your application prior to final submission.
Education must be accredited by an accrediting 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.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
You must submit a complete application package (including resume, vacancy questions and supporting documents) no later than 11:59 (EST) on the closing date of the announcement.
If you are having difficulty applying online, please contact the DOT Automated Staffing Office via email at: Transjobs@dot.gov
You may check your application status by logging into USAJobs.com. (Select "My USAJOBS" and click "Applications"). Within two weeks of the closing date, a Human Resources Specialist will evaluate your application. Ratings will be determined based on the documents and information received by the closing date. Qualified candidates will be assigned a category, not including points that may be assigned for veterans' preference. If the vacancy is advertised under status, your application will be scored on a scale between 70 - 100. The most highly qualified candidates are then referred to the hiring manager for further consideration. If the vacancy was advertised under category rating, then the appropriate veteran's preference will be applied. If you are selected for an interview, the hiring agency will contact you directly. Once the position is filled, we will notify all applicants of their final status.
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/649986500. Only resumes submitted according to the instructions on the job announcement listed at www.usajobs.gov will be considered.
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