This position is part of the National Weather Service (NWS), National Centers for Environmental Protection (NCEP). NCEP delivers science-based environmental predictions. It produces reliable, timely, and accurate analyses, guidance, forecasts and warnings for the protection of lives and property and the enhancement of the national economy. NCEP is comprised of nine distinct centers and is the starting point for nearly all weather forecasts in the United States.
Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy. To qualify for the 1301 series: BASIC REQUIREMENTS: This position has a positive Education Requirement in addition to at least one year of Specialized Experience in order to be found minimally qualified. Transcripts must be submitted with your application package. You MUST meet the following requirements: A. 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 B. 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. -AND- SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. This experience need not have been in the federal government. 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. To qualify at the GS-13 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: In addition to meeting the Basic Requirements above, applicants must also possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 in the Federal service. Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Analyzing and evaluating observational data and numerical weather modeling systems and programs; Testing, implementing, or troubleshooting applications or software in a Linux environment; and Communicating and collaborating with forecasters or other scientists to transfer data, present findings, or provide recommendations.
As a Physical Scientist, you will perform the following duties: Serve on the dataflow team to support, implement, and troubleshoot operational exchanges of weather, climate, water, and observational data between major infrastructure components. Optimize and upgrade software across various computing platforms and develop project plans and schedules for testing and implementing changes on complex Linux systems. Apply advanced modeling and simulation techniques to resolve problems and utilize analytic and conceptual models to evaluate data management actions and predicted outcomes. Provide configuration management and standards for state-of-the-art applications and devise new approaches to solve complex technical problems. Collaborate with forecasters, scientists and software developers on the transfer and support of observational, satellite, and numerical weather prediction data within a High-Performance Computing (HPC) and Linux Virtual Machines (VM) environment. Serve as a subject matter expert in data management and report research and operational findings, results, and recommendations through briefings, professional papers, and technical reports.