Organizational Location: This position is with the Department of Homeland Security, within U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Operations Support, Laboratories and Scientific Services, located in Houston, TX or Newark, NJ.
Basic Requirement: You must provide supporting documentation in your application to show you meet the basic requirement below. 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 listed above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience or additional education. AND Experience: You qualify for the GS-13 grade level if you possess 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, performing duties such as: Performing internal quality audits to evaluate laboratory compliance with provisions of the Quality Manual. Assisting with reviewing technical work to evaluate adequacy of test methods, reproducibility and conformance with policies and procedures. Preparing and providing routine training on instrumental and methodology derived from Internal Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) 17025 standards. NOTE: Your resume must explicitly indicate how you meet this requirement, otherwise you will be found ineligible. Please see the "Required Documents" section below for additional resume requirements. 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. You must: Meet all qualification requirements, including education if applicable to this position, subject to verification at any stage of the application process; and Meet all applicable Time in Grade requirements (current federal employees must have served 52 weeks at the next lower grade or equivalent grade band in the federal service) by 05/14/2025. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) must authorize employment offers made to current or former political appointees. If you are currently, or have been within the last 5 years, a political Schedule A, Schedule C, Non-career SES or Presidential Appointee employee in the Executive Branch, you must disclose this information to the Human Resources Office. Background Investigation: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is a federal law enforcement agency that requires all applicants to undergo a thorough background investigation prior to employment in order to promote the agency's core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity. During the screening and/or background investigation process, you will be asked questions regarding any felony criminal convictions or current felony charges, the use of illegal drugs (e.g., marijuana, cocaine, heroin, LSD, methamphetamines, ecstasy), and the use of non-prescribed controlled substances including any experimentation, possession, sale, receipt, manufacture, cultivation, production, transfer, shipping, trafficking, or distribution of controlled substances. For additional information on the preemployment process, review the following link: Applicant Resources | CBP Careers Residency: There is a residency requirement for all applicants not currently employed by CBP. Individuals are required to have physically resided in the United States or its protectorates (as declared under international law) for at least three of the last five years. If you do not meet the residency requirement and you have been physically located in a foreign location for more than two of the last five years, you may request an exception to determine if you are eligible for a residency waiver by meeting one or more of the following conditions: Working for the U.S. Government as a federal civilian or as a member of the military A dependent who was authorized to accompany a federal civilian or member of the military who was working for the U.S. government Participation in a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. affiliated college or university Working as a contractor, intern, consultant or volunteer supporting the U.S. government Probationary Period: All employees new to the federal government must serve a one year probationary period during the first year of his/her initial permanent federal appointment to determine fitness for continued employment. Current and former federal employees may be required to serve or complete a probationary period.
This position starts at a salary of $105,383.00 (GS-13, Step 1) to $137,000.00 (GS-13, Step 10). Salary: Salary listed reflects the rest of U.S. scale and, if applicable, will be adjusted to meet the locality pay or cost of living expenses of the duty location upon selection. While serving as a Physical Scientist (Quality Manager), your duties will include: Establishing and maintaining the laboratory's Quality System in the Quality Manual that defines policies for and commitment to good laboratory practice. Evaluating compliance with the laboratory quality system, including Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and records, through external and internal audits. Providing oversight and coordination of employee training for technical demonstration of competencies (DOC) and proficiency tests (PT) by evaluating responses, investigate and recommend course of action on deficiencies to supervisory managers. Serving as laboratory's representative as it relates to activities concerning quality related aspects of the system, including addressing customer inquiries and complaints. Maintaining current scientific and technological skill sets requisite to adequately managing the laboratory's quality system and quality assurance programs for compliance with ISO/IEC 17025 standards and related supplemental requirements for a forensic testing laboratory.