The incumbent will serve as a Research Civil Engineer (Hydraulics)/Agricultural Engineer/Hydrologist in the National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory in West Lafayette, IN. Research will elucidate the interactions among surface and sub-surface hydrology, soil erosion, sediment transport, and soil physical processes which will ultimately contribute quantitatively to hydraulic measurements and modeling efforts to assess soil quality, water availability and quality, sustainability, and resiliency.

Duties

Utilize hydrologic and hydraulic analyses with natural or simulated rainfall experiments to quantify the detachment, transport, and deposition of soil particles. Utilize splash, rill, interrill, and/or gully erosion of soil surface processes at multiple spatial and temporal scales as a function of climate, soil, and management (including drainage and/or irrigation). Quantify the impact of soil and water conservation measures on erosion, transport, and sedimentation processes on soil quality, agricultural productivity, and ecosystem services at the plot, field, and small watershed scale. Provide input and collaborate on modeling efforts of soil erosion, transport, and deposition through water/wind erosion processes and those cause by tillage or harvesting operations on agricultural production, resiliency, and ecosystem services.

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.
• 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 E-Verify at https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• Successful completion of a three year probationary period.
• A valid US Driver's License is required to drive to and from fields.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. Basic Qualification Requirements for Engineering Series, 0810 and 0890: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/0800/civil-engineering-series-0810/ A. 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 B. 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: 1. Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (El), Engineer in Training (EIT), or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions. 2. Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. 3. Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A. 4. Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor's degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.) For more information about EI and EIT registration requirements, please visit the National Society of Professional Engineers website at: http://www.nspe.org. The FE examination is not administered by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. For more information, please visit: http://www.nspe.org/Licensure/HowtoGetLicensed/index.html. Basic Qualification Requirements for Hydrology Series, 1315: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1300/hydrology-series-1315/ A. 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 B. 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. 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.

Additional Requirements:
In additional to meeting the basic requirements for one of the series described above, applicants must also meet additional qualification requirements as stated below.

GS-12: Applicants must demonstrate at least one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service OR possess a Ph.D. (e.g. Engineering, Soil Sciences, or Hydrology) 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.

GS-13: Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience (defined below) equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level in the Federal Service.

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 at the GS-12 level are:

• Conducting research related to the impact of hydraulic OR hydrologic processes on soil erosion and water quality; AND
• Publishing research results in peer-reviewed scientific journals; AND
• Presenting research findings at scientific conferences or academic meetings, either in person or virtually.

The specialized experience requirements for this position at the GS-13 level are:

• Conducting independent research related to the impact of hydraulic OR hydrologic processes on soil erosion and water quality; AND
• Publishing research results in peer-reviewed scientific journals; AND
• Presenting research findings at scientific conferences or academic meetings, either in person or virtually; AND
• Experience supervising staff to accomplish research objectives.

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.

Contacts

• Address Agricultural Research Service 5601 Sunnyside Ave Beltsville, MD 20705 US
• Name: Christina Olshawsky
• Phone: (970) 305-6708
• Email: [email protected]