Chemist

This is a Direct Hire Authority (DHA) solicitation utilizing the DHA for certain personnel of the DOD Workforce to recruit and appoint qualified candidates to positions in the competitive service NOTE: THIS IS AN OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT. REFERRAL TO BE ISSUED AT MANAGEMENT REQUEST. Who May Apply: US Citizens In order to qualify, you must meet the education and experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. Basic Requirement for Chemist: A. Degree: Bachelor’s degree (or higher degree) in the physical sciences, life sciences, or engineering that included 30 semester hours in chemistry, supplemented by course work in mathematics through differential and integral calculus, and at least 6 semester hours of physics. OR B. Combination of Education and Experience: Course work equivalent to a major in the physical sciences, life sciences, or engineering, including at least 30 semester hours in chemistry, supplemented by mathematics through differential and integral calculus, and at least 6 semester hours of physics, plus appropriate experience or additional education. In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below: Minimum Qualifications GS-07: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes a general understanding of physical chemistry, environmental data and understanding of databases and data manipulation techniques. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-05). OR Education: One full year of graduate level education in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: such as physical science, life science, or engineering. OR Superior Academic Achievement: Successful completion of all the requirements for a bachelor’s degree with Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A.). In order to be creditable under this provision, Superior Academic Achievement must have been gained in a curriculum that is qualifying for the position to be filled, such as that identified in Education above. Superior Academic Achievement is based on:(1) Class Standing – Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses; OR(2) Grade-Point Average (G.P.A.) – Applicants must have a grade-point average of either (a) 3.0or higher out of a possible 4.0 (“B” or better) as recorded on your official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 (“B+” or better)based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.; OR(3) Honor Society Membership – Applicants may be considered eligible based on membership in one of the approved national scholastic honor societies listed by the Association of College Honor Societies (https://www.achsnatl.org/).NOTE: Grade point averages will be rounded to one decimal point. For example, 2.95 will round to 3.0, and 2.94 will round to 2.9.NOTE: If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) was taken on a pass/fail or similar basis, your S.A.A. claim must be based on class standing or membership in an honor society and you must provide evidence of your class standing or honor society membership with your application. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 18. Add the two percentages. Minimum Qualifications GS-09: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes knowledge, skill, and experience in Corps of Engineers chemistry requirements and procedures. Assist in Preparation of Sampling and Analysis Plans (SAPs) for in-house investigations for routine projects for which similar SAPs have previously been developed. Experience and knowledge of groundwater sampling, soil sampling, air sampling techniques. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the next lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-07). OR Education: master’s or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work of the position. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) by 18. Add the two percentages. Minimum Qualifications GS-11: Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes Knowledge, skill, and experience in Corps of Engineers chemistry requirements and procedures. Preparation of Sampling and Analysis Plans (SAPs) for in-house investigations shall be primarily for routine projects for which similar SAPs have previously been developed, or for more complex projects under the guidance of a higher graded chemist. Experience and knowledge of groundwater sampling, soil sampling, air sampling techniques. This definition of specialized experience is typical of work performed at the second lower grade/level position in the federal service (GS-09). OR Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in a field which demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position, such as: physical sciences, life sciences, or engineering which includes 30 semester hours in chemistry, supplemented by course work in mathematics through differential and integral calculus, and at least 6 semester hours of physics. OR Combination of Education and Experience: A combination of education and experience may be used to qualify for this position as long as the computed percentage of the requirements is at least 100%. To compute the percentage of the requirements, divide your total months of experience by 12. Then divide the total number of completed graduate semester hours (or equivalent) beyond the second year (total graduate semester hours minus 36) by 18. Add the two percentages.
About the Position: Serves as a Technical Specialist for the Chemistry of Hazardous, Toxic and Radioactive Waste (HTRW) projects. Furnishes advice regarding site chemistry matters such as: sampling, testing, and analysis of on-site wastes including sampling techniques, quality assurance, and chemical aspects of hazardous waste site engineering plans, specifications and cleanups.