Interdisciplinary Physical Scientist/Geographer

at  US Geological Survey

ARE THERE ANY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THIS POSITION?

• If selected you may be asked to provide information regarding your COVID-19 vaccination status for the purposes of implementing workplace safety protocols, such as those related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.
• Driver’s License/Driving Record - You will be required to operate a government-owned or -leased vehicle in the performance of your official duties. Applicants for this position must meet the following requirements: (1) possess a valid State license, and (2) possess a safe driving record. If selected, you will be required to provide proof of a valid State license & a copy of your driving record.
• Pre-Employment Medical - Taking and passing a pre-employment medical examination at Federal expense is required due to the physical demands of this job.
• Because this position requires travel for official business, the selectee will be required to apply for a charge card within 30 calendar days of appointment. Individuals who have delinquent account balances from a previous Government charge card will be required to satisfy their existing obligation before a new card can be issued.
• A background investigation will be required for this position. Continued employment will be subject to the applicant’s successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.
• Throughout the recruitment and hiring process we will be communicating with you via email; therefore, it is imperative that the email address you provide when applying for this vacancy remains active. Should your email address change, please notify the point of contact identified in the vacancy announcement as soon as possible so that we can update our system.
• If you are a Federal employee applying for a promotion (under merit promotion procedures) you must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT 0150: APPLICANTS MUST MEET A OR B BELOW TO SATISFY THE BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT FOR GEOGRAPHER, ALL GRADE LEVELS.

• Degree in geography; or related physical or social science such as geology, meteorology, economics, statistics, sociology, anthropology, political science, history, cartography, computer science, urban studies, or planning that included at least 24 semester hours in geography or related fields.
• A combination of education and experience- courses equivalent to a major in geography, or a related field that included at least 24 semesters hours in geography or related fields, as shown in “A” above, plus appropriate experience and/or additional education. The education or combined education and experience must be comparable in type, scope and thoroughness to that acquired through successful completion of a 4-year course of study as described in “A” above.
  BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT 1301: Applicants must meet A or B below to satisfy the basic education requirement for Physical Scientist, all grade levels.
  A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor’s or higher degree in physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours or the equivalent in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics.
  **OR
  B. A combination of education and experience-education equivalent to one of the majors shown in “A” above (24 semester hours or the equivalent in physical science, engineering, or mathematics) that included at least 24 semester hours or the equivalent in physical science and/or related engineering science as described above, plus appropriate experience and/or additional education for a total of 4 years. The education or combined education and experience must be comparable in type, scope and thoroughness to that acquired through successful completion of a 4-year course of study as described in “A” above.
  GS-13 In addition to the basic education requirement as stated above, applicants must meet the following to qualify for the GS-13 level: One year of appropriate professional experience that is in or directly related to the duties of the position to be filled is qualifying if it is equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal service, and if it equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position.
  Examples of such experience should include data acquisition, handling, processing, and analysis to characterize Earth surface features and to integrate remote sensing with other data for the monitoring, inventory, modeling, mapping, and analysis of land use problems related to climate change, including draught and floods; conducted training on the principles and applications of remote sensing for early warning and food security monitoring and instructed project-sponsored workshops and courses for users from other Federal and foreign government agencies, and from academic and international organizations; clearly document, through the publication of professional articles and by personal oral presentations, the results of research and applications project studies. The complexity of this work typically required extensive modification and adaptation of standard procedures, methods, and techniques, and the development of totally new methods and techniques to address novel or obscure problems for which guidelines or precedents were not substantially applicable. At this level, scientists have wide latitude for the exercise of independent judgment to perform scientific work of marked difficulty and responsibility.
  You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements for the position by the closing date of the announcement.

EDUCATION

• 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.
• 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: https://www.usgs.gov/about/organization/science-support/human-capital/how-foreign-education-evaluated-federal-jobs .

IF YOU ARE RELYING ON YOUR EDUCATION TO MEET QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

• How to Apply

IF YOU ARE RELYING ON YOUR EDUCATION TO MEET QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
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AS A FEWS NET HYDROGEOGRAPHER WITHIN THE EARTH RESOURCES OBSERVATION SCIENCE CENTER, SOME OF YOUR SPECIFIC DUTIES WILL INCLUDE:

• Lead USGS FEWS-NET Federal and contract scientists in the investigation and application of available flood information and modeling to inform the FEWS NET Early Warning Team and USAID on the potential impacts of flooding on food security throughout the FEWS NET regions of interest, including presence and nonpresence countries.
• Lead and direct FEWS-NET Federal and contract scientists in addressing the research, development, application, and analysis needs of USGS EROS in support of USAID FEWS NET mission and goals, especially in monitoring and predicting status of food security crises indicator variables.

• Lead the USGS FEWS-NET collaboration with the NASA LIS team in developing and improving routed streamflow capacity utilizing HyMAP2 routing algorithms.

• Lead and coordinate efforts of USGS FEWSNET Federal and contract scientists to expand, operationalize, and improve methods of intra- and inter-annual mapping of irrigated areas in Central Asia using eMODIS/eVIIRS and potentially Landsat-based NDVI, and provide quantitative and qualitative validation of the irrigated area estimates with respect to ground based irrigated area estimates, irrigated wheat production, other remotely-sensed data and information, and potentially ICIMOD-based analyses and products.

• Prepare and conduct capacity and institutional building training on early warning and food security project applications and products.

Physical Demands: Work in the office, offsite remote location, laboratory, or classroom is mostly sedentary and requires good vision and an ability to find methods of staying limber and relaxed. A moderate amount of domestic and foreign travel is required for project coordination, training workshops, and field investigations. These can involve driving, hiking, and extended periods of time in developing countries and associated hardships that may be intrinsic to such environments.
Work Environment: Work is usually performed in an office, offsite location, classroom, or laboratory, and occasionally can involve visits to field locations in the U.S. and abroad in support of research and applications projects. Standard immunizations are required prior to foreign travel. Work involves everyday risks and discomforts typical of such places.