Physical Scientist.

Defense Logistics Agency; Fort Belvoir (VA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Defense Logistics Agency in Fort Belvoir, VA seeks a Physical Scientist to support Stockpile materials programs. Duties include identifying issues, reviewing studies, and performing analyses to align with strategic objectives.

The role involves providing acquisition guidance, participating in planning, and offering technical support across proposals and evaluations. Federal standards and security requirements apply, with ME status and potential shifts.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in physical science, engineering, or mathematics with 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science.
• Combination of education and experience meeting the 24 semester hours requirement plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Responsibilities

• Identify materials issues impacting Stockpile commodities and programs.
• Review studies, reports, and information on strategic and critical materials and Stockpile activities.
• Perform studies and research to determine current and future Stockpile requirements and assess material factors affecting the Agency mission.
• Provide advice, guidance, and recommendations on acquisition, upgrading, sale, and disposal strategies.
• Participate in strategic planning to formulate projects, programs, and policies from evaluations, recommendations, and risk assessments.
• Provide technical support to acquisition staff during proposal evaluation, negotiation, and post-award proceedings as a Contracting Officer’s Representative on materials-related contracts.
• Review sampling and laboratory chemical analysis for compliance with contract specifications and standards.

Skills

Assisting senior scientists

Materials science basics

Technical communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in physical science, engineering, or mathematics with 24 semester hours

Education/experience combination meeting 24 sem hrs requirement

Job description

• If selected at the GS11 or GS-12 level, duties will be performed in a developmental capacity.
• Identify materials issues impacting Stockpile commodities and programs.
• Review studies, reports, and other information concerning strategic and critical materials and Stockpile activities.
• Perform studies, investigations, and research to determine current and future Stockpile requirements. Provides assessments of the materials factors affecting the Agency mission.
• Provide advice, guidance, and recommendations on acquisition, upgrading, sale, and disposal strategies.
• Participate in strategic planning to formulate sound projects, programs, and policies for the Agency from program evaluations, study recommendations, and risk assessments.
• Provide technical support to acquisition staff during proposal evaluation, negotiation, and post-award proceedings as a Contracting Officer’s Representative on pertinent acquisition and other materials-related contracts.
• Review sampling and laboratory chemical analysis for compliance with contract specifications and standards.

Duties

• If selected at the GS11 or GS-12 level, duties will be performed in a developmental capacity.
• Identify materials issues impacting Stockpile commodities and programs.
• Review studies, reports, and other information concerning strategic and critical materials and Stockpile activities.
• Perform studies, investigations, and research to determine current and future Stockpile requirements. Provides assessments of the materials factors affecting the Agency mission.
• Provide advice, guidance, and recommendations on acquisition, upgrading, sale, and disposal strategies.
• Participate in strategic planning to formulate sound projects, programs, and policies for the Agency from program evaluations, study recommendations, and risk assessments.
• Provide technical support to acquisition staff during proposal evaluation, negotiation, and post-award proceedings as a Contracting Officer’s Representative on pertinent acquisition and other materials-related contracts.
• Review sampling and laboratory chemical analysis for compliance with contract specifications and standards.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• Must be a U.S. citizen
• Tour of Duty: Flexible (https://www.dla.mil/Careers/Join-Our-Team/Benefits/#Work)
• Security Requirements: Non-Critical Sensitive with Secret Access
• Appointment is subject to the completion of a favorable suitability or fitness determination, where reciprocity cannot be applied; unfavorably adjudicated background checks will be grounds for removal.
• Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): GS-11, GS-12 - Non-Exempt/GS-13 - Exempt
• Selective Service Requirement: Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered or exempt from Selective Service.
• Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
• Bargaining Unit Status: No
• Pre-Employment Physical: Not Required
• Selectees are required to have a REAL ID or other acceptable identification documents to access certain federal facilities. See https://www.tsa.gov/real-id for more information.
• This is a Mission Essential (ME) position. The incumbent may be required to report to work in the event of a natural disaster, inclement weather, or crisis.
• You will be a Mission Essential employee. This requires you to work during an emergency to ensure continuation of essential functions. You may be required to work at the designated duty location, a telework site, or an alternate location/facility.
• This position and any future selections from this announcement may be used to fill various shifts located within DLA Strategic Materials at Fort Belvoir, VA.

Qualifications

To qualify for a Physical Scientist, your resume and supporting documentation must support:

A. Basic Education

• Bachelor's degree in physical science, engineering, or mathematics. Degree must have included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics.

OR

• A 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.

B. Specialized Experience

One year of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position and is directly in or related to this position. To qualify at the GS-11 level, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level or equivalent under other pay systems in the Federal service, military, or private sector. To qualify at the GS-12 level, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level or equivalent under other pay systems in the Federal service, military, or private sector. To qualify at the GS-13 level, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level or equivalent under other pay systems in the Federal service, military, or private sector. Applicants must meet eligibility requirements, minimum qualifications, and any other regulatory requirements by the cut-off/closing date of the announcement. Creditable specialized experience includes:

Gs-11

• Assisting senior scientists in gathering and compiling data for studies and reports on strategic and critical materials.
• Applying basic principles of materials science to help elevate material properties and specifications against established standards and guidelines.
• Communicating technical information to internal team members and assisting in the preparation of documents and reports.

GS-12

• Conducting studies and investigations related to the properties, characteristics, and uses of strategic critical materials.
• Knowledge of sampling and laboratory chemical analysis for compliance with outlined specifications and standards.
• Providing technical support to acquisition and material testing programs, including assisting with the evaluation of proposal and the resolution of common customer quality complaints.

GS-13

• Leading complex studies, investigations, and research to determine current and future requirements for strategic and critical materials.
• Serving as a subject matter expert by providing advice, guidance, and recommendations to senior management on materials acquisition, disposal strategies and stockpile policies.
• Developing and formulating new projects, programs, and policies for strategic materials based on program evaluations, risk assessments, and independent analysis.
• Leading review of sampling and laboratory chemical analysis for compliance with contract specifications and standards.

C. Education Substitution

Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Education must be from a college or university accredited by an organization approved by the U.S. Department of Education. See http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/Search.aspx. If using education to meet basic qualifications, YOU MUST SUBMIT A TRANSCRIPT as supplemental documentation. To qualify based on education in lieu of specialized experience, you must possess:

• GS-11: 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree.
• GS-12: Education cannot be substituted for specialized experience at this grade level.
• GS-13: Education cannot be substituted for specialized experience at this grade level.

D. Combination of Graduate Education and Professional Experience

Combinations of successfully completed graduate level education and specialized experience may be used to meet total experience requirements for the GS-11. Only graduate level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be combined with 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.

Education

Are you using your education to qualify? You MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: Unofficial transcripts are acceptable at time of application.

GRADUATE EDUCATION: One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours that your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

Additional information

• 302.106, DLA will provide Section 508 conformant ICT to employees with disabilities. All ICT interfaces with the public related to vacancy announcements and career transition opportunities must conform to the applicable requirements in the current ICT Standards and Guidelines (36 C.F.R. 1194).

As required by 5 C.F.R.

For Important General Applicant Information And Definitions Go To

Reemployed Annuitants

This position does not meet criteria for appointment of Reemployed Annuitants. The DoD criteria for hiring Reemployed Annuitants can be found at:

Drug-Free Workplace Policy

The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) is committed to maintaining a safe, drug-free workplace. All DLA employees are required to refrain from illegal drug use on and off duty. DLA conducts pre-employment, reasonable suspicion, post-accident, and random drug testing.

Applicants tentatively selected for employment in testing designated positions will undergo a urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Refusal to undergo testing or testing positive for illegal drugs will result in withdrawal of the tentative job offer and a six-month denial of employment with DLA from the date of the drug test. Employees in drug testing designated positions are subject to random drug testing. A negative drug test result must be received by HR within 30 calendar days after the EOD (i.e., start date). The selectee's inability successfully pass; or refusal to conduct the test may result in: 1) the tentative or FJO being withdrawn during the recruitment process; or 2) subsequently being removed from Federal service for failure to meet a condition of employment. You may be required to sign a "Drug Test Statement of Understanding" if you are selected for this position.

The DLA drug testing panel tests for the following substances: marijuana, cocaine, opiates, heroin, phencyclidine, amphetamines, methamphetamines, fentanyl, norfentanyl, methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), and opioids.

ADVISORY: Use of cannabidiol (CBD) products may result in a positive drug test for marijuana. DLA employees are subject to Federal law and under Federal law, Marijuana is illegal

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