Geologist

Summary What General Information Do I Need to Know About This Position? Salary is dependent on the duty location. First time hires to the Federal Government are typically hired at the Step 01. Duty Location pay information: Anchorage, AK: $84,439 (Step 01) to $109,777 (Step 10) Golden, CO: 83,265 (Step 01) to $108,251 (Step 10) Open to current or former Federal employees: USGS-DEN-26-12923371-ST-CK Learn more about this agency Duties As a Geologist within the Geologic Hazards Science or the Volcano Science Center, some of your specific duties will include: Conduct landslide hazard assessments for multiple types of landslides including cascading landslide hazards, such as tsunami. Collect and analyze field data and remote sensing information about geologic features, systems, and processes that contribute to landslide hazards and risks. Evaluate the triggering conditions of landslides to support criteria for landslide forecasting or susceptibility products. Coordinate the collection of landslide data from USGS partners, including State Geological Surveys, the National Weather Service, U.S. Forest Service, and other Department of Interior bureaus. Communicate effectively with a wide audience. This includes supervisor, peers, scientists (both USGS and external colleagues), and support staff. Operate a government owned/leased vehicle as an incidental driver. Physical Demands: During emergency response periods, training of personnel on new equipment, or field work, the scientist may be expected to hike distances of several kilometers over uneven terrain while carrying equipment. Field work may require working in remote field sites with limited to no services. Field work may require the use of proper personal protective gear, working in dusty, hot, humid, and extreme cold environments, occasional off-road driving of 4-wheel drive vehicles, traveling to remote field sites in helicopters or small fixed wing planes, and/or boats. Lifting of equipment and objects weighing up to 20 kilograms may be necessary. Work Environment: Field work may involve encounters with dangerous fauna and flora, and other wilderness dangers. International field work may be conducted in culturally hostile areas. Geology position with duties that involve subsurface investigation require geologists to work near drill rigs and heavy equipment. Geology positions with duties that involve construction support require geologists to work near heavy equipment and construction hazards. Some work is carried out in proximity to explosives. Requirements Conditions of employment Key Requirements: Applicants must be U.S. Citizens. Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation. Selectee may be subject to serving a one-year probationary period. More requirements are listed under Qualifications and Other Information. Selectee must provide a valid state driver's license & safe driving record. Selectee subject to successful completion of a pre-employment medical exam. Are There Any Special Requirements for This Position? Taking and passing a pre-employment medical examination at Federal expense is required due to the physical demands of this job. 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 driver's 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. 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. Conditions of Employment for this Position: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated. REQUIREMENTS CONTINUED IN THE QUALIFICATIONS SECTION: Qualifications REQUIREMENTS CONTINUED: This probationaryperiod is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. This probationaryperiod is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider: - your performance and conduct; - the needs and interests of the agency; - whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and - whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary periodyour employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. QUALIFICATIONS: Experience: One year of work experience is twelve months working full-time (at least 35-40 hours per week). Part-time experience can be pro-rated (i.e., a year at 20 hours per week is credited as 6 months of experience). If your position consisted of mixed duties, experience credit is given for the percentage of time that you spent on qualifying duties (i.e., if you held a position for 2 years, full-time, consisting of 25% personnel work and 75% budget work, and then applied for a budget position you could calculate your experience as follows: 2 yrs = 24 months. 24 months x 75% [percentage of time spent on budget duties] = 18 months of qualifying experience.) Undergraduate Education: A year of undergraduate education is 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours or the equivalent of college study. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent was a prerequisite. Graduate Education: In the absence of specific graduate program information, a year of graduate education is 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours of graduate level college course work, or the number of credit hours the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT: Applicants must meet A or B below to satisfy the basic education requirement for Geologist, 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 geology. In addition to the geology course work included in the degree, it must also have included or been supplemented by 20 additional semester hours in any combination of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological science, structural, chemical, civil, mining or petroleum engineering, computer science, planetary geology, comparative planetology, geophysics, meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, physical geography, marine geology, and cartography; OR B. A combination of education and experience-course work as shown in "A" above (24 semester hours or the equivalent in geology plus 20 additional semester hours or the equivalent in any combination of courses as specified in "A" 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.(CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO COMBINE EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE) MINIMUM REQUIREMENT: In addition to the basic education requirement as stated above, applicants must meet one of the following to qualify for GS-11 grade level: One year of appropriate professional experience in geology that is equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal service. Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal service. This experience must be directly related to the duties of the position and have equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for successful performance. Experience for this position is defined as: Collecting and analyzing data to evaluate landslide hazards, including the use of computer programming to implement assessment procedures. Conducting field investigations and using remote sensing data to identify and monitor landslide activity. Applying and modifying numerical models and geospatial analysis methods to improve the understanding of landslide processes. Collaborating within multidisciplinary teams to facilitate landslides data collection. Communicating scientific information to both technical and general audiences in written and oral formats. OR Three years of progressively higher level graduate education (54 semester hours, 81 quarter hours or the equivalent) leading to a Ph.D. degree in geology or other directly related field of study or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in geology or other directly related field of study if it provided the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of the position to be filled; OR A combination of successfully completed graduate level education as described above that is beyond the second year of progressive graduate study and professional experience, as described above. (CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO COMBINE GRADUATE EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE) 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. Foreign 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:https://www.usgs.gov/human-capital/how-foreign-education-evaluated-federal-jobs Additional information Other Information: Duty location: It is anticipated that one position will be filled in the Geologic Hazards Science Center in Golden, CO, and one position will be filled in the Volcanic Science Center in Anchorage, AK. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies in the advertised office or other U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) offices in the local commuting area. Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position. Under Executive Order 11935, only United States citizens and nationals (residents of American Samoa and Swains Island) may compete for civil service jobs. Agencies are permitted to hire non-citizens only in very limited circumstances where there are no qualified citizens available for the position. USGS employees are subject to Title 43, USC Section 31(a) and may not: (a) have any personal, private, direct or indirect interest in lands or mineral wealth of lands under survey; (b) have any substantial personal, private, direct or indirect interests in any private mining or mineral enterprise doing business with the United States; or (c) execute surveys or examinations for private parties or corporations. The application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a). The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361. Department of Interior (DOI) uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify. As part of the application process, a series of four short essay questions will be included. Applicants must certify that their own words were used to answer the questions. Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the DOI who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s), including within the same metro/commuting area. Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration. Agency Benefits: USGS has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework in accordance with the DOI Telework policy and with supervisor approval. The official worksite for the selectee is the duty station identified in this vacancy announcement. The selectee will typically report to this duty location on a regular and recurring weekly basis. For additional information on our internal telework policy, please reference the Department of the Interior Telework Handbook at: https://www.doi.gov/telework/policies. Working for the U.S. Geological Survey offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays, health, life, dental, vision, and long-term care insurance, flexible spending accounts, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System. Expand Hide  additional information Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution. Benefits A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits. Review our benefits Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.