This position is located in the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC), with one vacancy in San Diego, CA, and the Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center with one vacancy in Honolulu, HI. This is a term appointment not to exceed 13 months with possible extensions up to a total of 10 years without further competition. Appointment to this position will not convey permanent status in the Federal service.

Duties

As a Research Oceanographer, you will perform the following duties: Contribute to the projects and activities of the interdisciplinary Ecosystem Science Division conducting research and long-term monitoring of oceanographic and climate conditions influencing populations of organisms comprising the living marine natural resources within ecosystems across the Pacific Ocean. Configure, run and analyze output from active or passive acoustic data collection efforts. Plan, coordinate, and investigate physical biological processes. Conduct research using remote sensing data, in situ measurements, and theoretical analyses to effectively target fishery and oceanographic linkages. Design surveys and advise on the development and deployment of marine sensors and autonomous vehicles. Apply statistical and conceptual models to understand complex relationships between populations, communities, and ecosystems with environmental and human drivers. Utilize quantitative and statistical techniques and approaches to robustly characterize the influence of oceanographic conditions on population and stock structure, fish recruitment, and fisheries productivity. Process active or passive acoustic data into science products in support of fishery and ecosystem management. Support climate assessments in large marine ecosystems. Write research proposals and contribute to and publish findings to peer-reviewed scientific journals. Present oceanographic research at scientific conferences, and participate in working groups and committees that provide advice to managers, stakeholders, members of the public, or other individuals and groups. Serve as an advisor on the assigned research work and aid personnel within the office participating in studies. Provide required technical judgments on various intangible and complex issues. Advise researchers on scientific work that is being carried out, on established procedures or methods, or on other programs that may cross into the research.

Requirements

Qualifications

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy. BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This position has a positive Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of Specialized Experience OR substitution of education for experience OR combination (if applicable) in order to be found minimally qualified. Transcripts must be submitted with your application package. You MUST meet the following requirements: EDUCATION: Degree: major study of at least 24 semester hours in oceanography or a related discipline such as physics, meteorology, geophysics, mathematics, chemistry, engineering, geology, or biology, plus 20 additional semester hours in any combination of oceanography, physics, geophysics, chemistry, mathematics, meteorology, computer science, and engineering sciences. OR Combination of education and experience: course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Applicants who qualify on the basis of major study in biology or geology must have had at least 6 semester hours in the major directly concerned with marine science or 6 semester hours in oceanography; applicants who qualify on the basis of other physical sciences or engineering must have had differential and integral calculus and at least 6 semester hours in physics. 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 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. To qualify at the ZP-3 or GS-11 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicants must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZP-2 or GS-09 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Assisting with the collection or review of oceanographic related environmental data or fisheries related data; and Participating in compiling reports on oceanographic related environmental data or fisheries data. OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: Master's or equivalent graduate degree. OR COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of education and experience as described above. Note: Only education in excess of one year is qualifying for combination of education and experience CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT: This position requires the operation of a Federal motor vehicle.

Education

College Transcript: Submit a copy of your college transcript that lists college courses detailing each course by the number and department (i.e., bio 101, math 210, etc.), course title, number of credit hours and grade earned. You must submit evidence that any education completed in a foreign institution is equivalent to U.S. education standards with your resume. You may submit an unofficial copy of the transcript at the initial phase of the application process. If course content cannot be easily identified from the title of the course as listed on your transcript, you must submit an official course description from the college/university that reflects the content at the time the course was taken.

Note: Your college transcript is used to verify successful completion of degree, or college course work. An official college transcript will be required before you can report to duty.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education: Education completed in foreign colleges or universities must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part in foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree. A listing of these accredited organizations can be found on the Department of Education's website. You MUST provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course by course listing along with your application. Failure to provide such documentation by the closing date of the announcement will result in lost consideration. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: OPM Foreign Education Evaluation

Contacts

• Address NOAA Office of Human Capital Services (OHCS) 1315 East West Hwy SSMC4 Silver Spring, MD 20910 US
• Name: Applicant Inquiries
• Email: [email protected]