This position is in the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Field Organization, Plains Area (PA), Agroclimate and Hydraulic Engineering Unit located in El Reno, OK. In this position, you will serve as a support scientist in the field of hydrology, coordinating the research on climate downscaling of storm intensification under climate change and providing hydrological, mathematical, scientific and computer programming and modeling expertise to support the ongoing CRIS project.

Duties

Designs, develops, tests, and implements custom computer programs or scripts for problem-specific processing of hydrologic, erosion, and climatic data using appropriate mathematical and numerical methods and commercial software. Plans and develops tasks and approaches for data collection, quality control, and analyses to meet research objectives. Improves and utilizes an existing weather generator tool (called SYNTOR) for downscaling storm intensification under climate change. Independently evaluates, executes, and improves a wheat-growth and cattle-grazing model. Analyzes hydrologic and climatic data using statistical procedures. Provides safety management, supervision, advice, monitoring, waste disposal, and reporting in the workplace, and engages staff in programs that ensure safe practices in the workplace including employee safety training. Documents procedures and findings of data analysis. Conducts literature reviews, writes experimental procedures, and carries out preliminary data analysis. Prepares and reviews scientific reports and co-authors peer-reviewed journal articles.

Requirements

• You must be a US Citizen or US National.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Successful completion of one year probationary period, unless previously served.
• Direct Deposit: Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/
• Safety/Radiological Safety Collateral Duties.
• Special Physical Requirements/Demands.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. Time in grade: Current federal employees applying for a promotion opportunity must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirement of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. Basic Requirements 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:Courses equivalent to a major, as shown 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. Applicants with related experience in hydrology gained through earlier Federal Government employment might have gained that experience in one or more occupational series. Such series include Soil Conservation, GS-457; Forestry, GS-460; Soil Science, GS-470; Civil Engineering, GS-810; Chemistry, GS-1320; Meteorology, GS-1340; and Geology, GS-1350. Comparable non-Federal experience may be given similar credit. AND In addition to the basic requirements above, all applicants must also meet the following minimum qualification requirements: Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience must be described for each grade level advertised. The specialized experience requirements for this position are: Qualifying experience for GS-12 includes one year of specialized experience comparable to GS-11 which is directly related to the work of this position and which has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. For this position, specialized experience is experience ensuring safe practices in the workplace through safety management programs; developing computer programs or scripts for processing of hydrologic, erosion, or climatic data; and evaluating the impacts of soil and water conservation measures. 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.

Education

Please see above for education qualification requirement information.

Contacts

• Address Agricultural Research Service 2150 Centre Avenue Building D, Suite 300 Fort Collins, CO 80526 US
• Name: Jared Foret
• Phone: 7032599390
• Email: [email protected]