Physical Scientist

You will serve as a Physical Scientist within the Department of the Interior, United States Geological Survey (USGS), Northeast Region, National Minerals Information Center in Reston, Virginia. Salary GS11: $85,447 per annum (Step 1) - $111,087 per annum (Step 10) GS12: $102,415 per annum (Step 1) - $133,142 per annum (Step 10) First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-11/06/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected. This position requires a special qualification that has been determined to be essential to perform the duties and will be used as a screen out element. If you do not provide evidence that you possess the following selective factor(s), you will be rated not qualified. Foreign Language Requirement: In addition to the standard qualifications listed above, conversational fluency in at least one or more of the following languages is required: Arabic Chinese German Hindi Indonesian Portuguese Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: Basic Educational Requirement AND/OR Specialized Experience for the series to which you are applying. Basic Educational Requirements: In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following: 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. You must submit transcripts. -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. You must include hours per week and transcripts. -AND- To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level: Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience which may include independent responsibility for a well-defined study or for a phase of a larger study that required the planning and carrying out of routine physical science work related to mineral industries, minerals investment, development, mining, production, processing consumption, and trade related to minerals of a country or countries. This work would have required the individual to select and make minor adaptations to procedures and accepted practices and handle unexpected conditions arising in the normal course of the work. At this level, physical scientists have the ability to independently perform moderately difficult and responsible scientific work. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- Education: Successful completion of at least Three years of progressively higher-level graduate education (54 semester hours, 81 quarter hours or the equivalent) leading to a Ph.D. degree in physical science or other directly related field of study or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in physical science 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. You must include transcripts. -OR- Combination of education and experience: To combine education and experience, first take the percentage of qualifying education required for the grade level. Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week and transcripts. To qualify for this position at the GS-12 grade level: Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience which may include planning and executing complex physical science studies, which usually involved intensive investigations into recognized phenomena concerning mineral industries; minerals investment, production, processing consumption, and trade related to minerals; and other aspects related to mineral development, mining, and industry of various countries. This work typically involved conventional methods and techniques though it required going beyond clear precedents, and required adapting methods to the problems at hand and interpreting findings in terms of their scientific significance. At this level, physical scientists have the ability to independently perform scientific work of considerable difficulty. You must include hours per week worked. Volunteer Experience: 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.