Research Engineer/Research Physical Scientist

Duties

• Evaluating the forest sector role in sustainable management of natural systems.
• Analyzing the role of forests and harvested wood products in mitigating climate change by storing carbon and offsetting emissions.
• Evaluating opportunities to use forest biomass in the West to mitigate fire risk.
• Conducting life cycle analysis of the environmental effects of wood and bioenergy products.
• Understanding the environmental impacts, particularly carbon emissions and offsets, of wood and paper product products production and use.
• Quantifying the environmental impacts and economic costs of wood building materials.
• Assessing the climate change impact associated with recovery and reuse of wood building materials.
• Participating in code and standard development.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service or exempt.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Successful completion of one-year probationary period, unless previously served.
• 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.

Qualifications

To qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.

This is a research scientist position and is classified under the scientist career plan. Research scientists have open-ended promotion potential. Research accomplishments and their impact on the duties and responsibilities of positions are evaluated periodically. The grade level is limited only by the individual's demonstrated ability to perform research of recognized importance to science and technology. Final grade level will be determined by a peer review panel. The purpose of the initial review panel is to determine the grade level upon entry into a position.

Candidates being considered for this research position should provide a list of publications for which you have been an author, co-author, or contributor. If providing curriculum vitae, please incorporate all resume requirements identified in the REQUIRED DOCUMENTS section of this announcement, or submit a supplemental resume which includes all information required in addition to the curriculum vitae.

Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts are required. Provide course descriptions to clarify content of coursework as necessary.

In addition to meeting the basic education requirement listed in the Education section, you must also possess experience or directly related education in the amounts listed below.

GS-11: One year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-9). Specialized experience at this level is defined as:

• Conducting the full cycle of scientific research with defined objectives, limited in scope to investigating specific phenomena or problems, or are segments of related investigations. Research at this level requires conventional techniques and involves applying existing theory or methods to areas previously investigated, but under different conditions, or involves adapting previous studies considering changes in theory or improved techniques and instrumentation and result in contributions that add to scientific and professional knowledge or support developing new or improved methods and techniques. This research must have been in one or more of the following areas: quantifying the environmental impacts and economic costs of wood building materials such as lumber, panels, and bioenergy/biofuels through the stages of planting, growing, manufacturing, construction, operational use, demolition, and disposal; research engineering or physical science related to embodied emissions, mitigating climate change by using biobased materials that store carbon and can offset emissions, evaluating opportunities to use biomass especially to mitigate fire risk, and conducting life-cycle analysis on the environmental impacts of biobased products.
• Disseminating research findings at conferences or scientific meetings and contributing to results published in peer-reviewed journals.
• Collaborating and building partnerships with researchers, resource managers, and other collaborators.

--OR--

Conferred master's degree that included scientific research in areas related to the work of the position which is life-cycle assessment techniques and methods and/or includes coursework in areas such as mass and energy balances, biomass analysis, environmental analysis, thermodynamics, unit process modeling

GS-12: One year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11). Specialized experience at this level is defined as:

• Conducting the full cycle of scientific research (including identifying research topics, defining study objectives, organizing and conducting the research, interpreting the results, and presenting the findings in the form of reports, demonstrations, manuscripts, and other appropriate technology transfer activities) in one or more of the following areas: quantifying the environmental impacts and economic costs of wood building materials such as lumber, panels, and bioenergy/biofuels through the stages of planting, growing, manufacturing, construction, operational use, demolition, and disposal; research engineering or physical science related to embodied emissions, mitigating climate change by using biobased materials that store carbon and can offset emissions, evaluating opportunities to use biomass especially to mitigate fire risk, and conducting life-cycle analysis on the environmental impacts of biobased products
• Forming, leading, and participating in research teams, regional, and/or national importance.

• Disseminating research findings at conferences or scientific meetings and publishing results in peer-reviewed journals.

--OR--

Conferred Ph.D. degree that included scientific research in areas related to the work of the position which is life-cycle assessment techniques and methods and/or includes coursework in areas such as mass and energy balances, biomass analysis, environmental analysis, thermodynamics, unit process modeling

GS-13: One year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-12). At the GS- 13 grade level, graduate level education alone is not qualifying. To qualify at this grade, you must possess the specialized experience listed below.
Specialized experience at this level is defined as:

• Conducting a diversity or body of research as a Principal Investigator or project member on multiple studies in Life-Cycle Assessment hat include the full cycle of scientific research (i.e. identifying research topics, defining study objectives, organizing and conducting the research, interpreting the results, and presenting the findings in the form of reports, demonstrations, manuscripts, and other appropriate technology transfer activities)as it pertains to: quantifying the environmental impacts and economic costs of wood building materials such as lumber, panels, and bioenergy/biofuels through the stages of planting, growing, manufacturing, construction, operational use, demolition, and disposal; research engineering or physical science related to embodied emissions, mitigating climate change by using biobased materials that store carbon and can offset emissions, evaluating opportunities to use biomass especially to mitigate fire risk, and conducting life-cycle analysis on the environmental impacts of biobased products.
• Developing and disseminating research findings in collaboration with resource managers and planners for presentation at conferences or scientific meetings and publishing results in peer-reviewed journals.

Education

Basic Education Requirement for all Engineering positions (0800)
Four year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree in engineering: The program must have (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--
Combination of education and experience: A college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying professional engineering, and (2) theoretical and practical understanding of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering as demonstrated by one of the following:
Professional registration/licensure - Current registration as a professional engineer by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico.
Written Test - Passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination, or a written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board.
Specified academic courses - Completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences that included the courses specified in the degree requirements.
Related curriculum - 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, and at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision.

Basic Education Requirements for all Physical Science positions (1301)
Degree: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics.
--OR--
Combination of education and experience: education equivalent to one of the majors shown in A above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional 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.

Additional information

This announcement will provide the Forest Service with a readily available source of applicants as vacancies occur. Multiple selections may be made from this announcement. Eligibility and qualifications of applicants will be verified starting two weeks after the open date of this announcement.

Location Information: One position will be filled in Madison, WI. One other position will be filled in Madison, WI; Washington, DC; or location negotiable after selection, but selectee will work out of a Forest Service office within Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maryland.
Final determination of the duty station(s) will be made by the selecting official at the time of the job offer.

Pay rates vary depending on location. The salary shown is for the Rest of the U.S. See OPM.gov for additional information on pay rates.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) : To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors.

Selections made under this authority will be processed as new appointments to the civil service. Current civil service employees will be given a new appointment.

If you are selected for a position with further promotion potential, you will be placed under a career development plan, and may be non-competitively promoted if you successfully complete the requirements and if recommended by management; however, promotion is not guaranteed.

This is a bargaining unit position and is represented by either NFFE, AFGE, or NAGE.

This position may be eligible for flexible work arrangements as determined by agency policy and any applicable collective bargaining agreements.

The Forest Service may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government, to attract highly qualified candidates. Additional information is available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/pay-and-leave-flexibilities-for-recruitment-and-retention/