This position is located within the Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) with one vacancy located in Newport, OR.

Duties

As a Physical Science Technician, you will perform the following duties: Prepare and calibrate deep-ocean hydrophone recording systems and deploy and recover oceanographic moorings in a variety of coastal, deep and polar ocean environments. Inventory, maintain, organize, stage and load underwater passive acoustic recording equipment for ocean-based field programs. Set up, modify and adapt existing underwater passive acoustic recording equipment to meet the specialized needs of studies. Perform periodic checks and tests of this equipment to assure proper function and/or to diagnose any malfunction detected. Adjust and/or initiate necessary work for repairs. Perform design tasks, assemble prototype systems, test such systems for applicability and reliability, improve on system design as required, and perform final evaluation of systems and test results. Maintain, operate and test one or more systems or pieces of underwater passive acoustic recording equipment in the development of tools plans. Design and fabricate items utilizing a variety of laboratory and/or shop equipment. Initiate procurement as necessary for parts, tools or additional equipment. Coordinate shipping and customs processing requirements for shipment of oceanographic instruments and hardware, including hazmat items, to international ports. Prepare written lab or data reports and contribute to formal reports on special investigations and studies. Assist senior team members in preparation of exhibits, poster presentations and scientific documents.

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 EDUCATION: There is no positive education requirement for this position. 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 ZT-3 or GS-09 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: One full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZT-2 or GS-08 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Testing, installing, calibrating, and maintaining underwater sound recording equipment or instrumentation; and Contributing to the design and programming of computer applications and software used in the development of underwater sound recording equipment or instrumentation. -OR- SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: Two full years of graduate education or a master's degree with major study in an appropriate field of physical science. -OR- COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of education and experience as described above. Note: Only graduate education in excess of one year is qualifying for combination.

Education

Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the above requirements. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: OPM Foreign Education Evaluation

College Transcript: If you are qualifying based on education, 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.

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]