This position is located in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), Physical Sciences Laboratory (PSL), with one vacancy in Boulder, CO.

Duties

As an Electronics Engineer/Mechanical Engineer, you will perform the following duties: Apply developmental level knowledge of the theories, principles, and methods of Electronics or Mechanical Engineering to perform routine tasks associated with conceptualizing/improving technology, equipment, instrumentation, or systems utilized to improve the observations, understanding and predictions of the coupled atmosphere-land processes influencing weather and water extremes, and their related impacts. Use clear and well-established methods and techniques to assist higher graded engineers/scientists with the development or execution of the planning, researching, testing and deployment of new or modified equipment, instrumentation, instrument control software, or data algorithms for the Physical Sciences Laboratory (PSL). Apply judgment in selecting standard practices and data to be applied to specific problems where precedents are applicable. Under close supervision, provide guidance and instruction to customers and PSL staff. Applicants must have completed, within the previous two-years, a qualifying associate's, bachelor's, master's, professional, doctorate, vocational or technical degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution.

Requirements

Qualifications

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENT: This position has physical requirements. Physical requirements could include climbing a 10 meter (33 foot) tower and ability to lift 50 lbs. CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT: This position requires the operation of a Federal motor vehicle. Must be able to obtain and maintain a valid state driver's license to operate government vehicles and commercial rental vehicles (including cars, pickup trucks, and larger rental trucks, such as U-Haul and Ryder). Work is performed in an office or laboratory setting, but often can also involve travel to remote field work locations, as well as activities onboard seagoing research vessels, for the deployment of instruments. Qualification Requirements 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 requires applicants to meet a Basic Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of specialized experience or a substitution of education for experience in order to be found minimally qualified. You MUST meet one of the following basic education requirements: To qualify for the 0855 and 0830 series: EDUCATION: 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: Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), 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. Written Test -- 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. 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. 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.) Note: An applicant who meets the basic requirements as specified in A or B above, except as noted under B.1., may qualify for positions in any branch of engineering unless selective factors indicate otherwise. AND 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-2 or GS-07 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-1 or GS-05 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Assisting in conducting research to improve meteorological equipment, instrumentation, or systems. OR Substitution of Education: One year of graduate-level education. OR SUPERIOR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: As demonstrated by a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with one of the following. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your application clearly states how you meet the provision below: A grade point average (GPA) of 2.9 or higher based on a 4.0 scale for all completed undergraduate courses, or those completed in the last 2 full years of undergraduate study; A GPA of 3.5 or higher based on a 4.0 scale for required courses completed in a major field of study, or those courses completed in a major field of study during the last two years of undergraduate study; Class standing of upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision of the college; Membership in a national Scholastic Honor Society certified by the Association of College honor Societies, excluding freshman honor societies. OR COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of graduate-level education and experience, as described above, may be used to qualify for this position.

Education

College Transcript: Applicants must submit a copy of their college transcript that lists college courses, course title, and number of credit hours. If you have a future graduation date, you must provide a letter from the school registrars' office that includes the name of the student/applicant, the name of the school, and verification of your anticipated graduation date. The transcripts or letter must indicate that the degree has been conferred. You may submit an unofficial copy of the transcript at the initial phase of the application process, but an official certified copy must be received before you can report to duty.

Qualifying Education Institution: Any of the following educational institutions or curricula that have been accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/

This position requires proof of higher education, you must submit an unofficial transcript or a letter from your college or university with your graduation date. NOTE: Students who anticipate graduating within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement may apply with submitted unofficial transcripts and enrollment verification.

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.

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]