Supervisory Physical Scientist

Summary

This position is located at Denali National Park and Preserve within the Resources Management Division. This is a temporary promotion not to exceed 1-year and can be extended up to 3 years.

Duties

• The Supervisory Physical Scientist at Denali National Park and Preserve leads the park's physical science resource program, integrating geology, hydrology, air quality, acoustics, paleontology, and related disciplines into park planning and operations. The position provides expert scientific guidance, directs complex resource management activities, and supervises a multidisciplinary team. The incumbent serves as a key advisor to park leadership, partners, and researchers to advance long-term stewardship of physical resources. Common Daily Duties: Direct and supervise physical science staff, assigning work, reviewing products, mentoring employees, and ensuring workplace safety and equity. Develop and manage work plans, schedules, project proposals, budgets, and long-range strategies for physical resource inventory, monitoring, protection, and restoration. Provide expert guidance to park leadership on physical resource issues and represent the park in meetings, interagency coordination, and partnerships. Identify research needs, oversee scientific studies, coordinate GIS and data management activities, and ensure incorporation of scientific findings into management decisions. Design and implement monitoring protocols, conduct field data collection and analysis, and prepare scientific and management reports on physical resource conditions and trends.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 09/23/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, 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. To qualify for this position, you must meet the following Basic Qualifications: 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. To qualify for this position at the GS-12 grade level, you must also meet the following Minimum Qualifications: Specialized Experience:You must possess one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience includes performing work that demonstrates advanced knowledge and application of physical science principles in areas such as geology, hydrology, soils, air quality, acoustics, and paleontology; developing and implementing scientific monitoring protocols; conducting analyses and preparing scientific reports; leading or coordinating resource management projects; and providing technical guidance to staff, partners, or managers.Your experience must show the ability to manage complex physical science programs and supervise staff engaged in scientific or resource management activities. Additional Requirements:Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience.You must include hours worked per week for each position. 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.

Requirements

Must be a U.S. Citizen or National. Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication. Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service. Direct Deposit participation required. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/. You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority. A financial disclosure report will be required within 30 days of appointment. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest. This probationary period 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 period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. This is a supervisory position that may require completion of a supervisory probationary period.

Education

This position does not allow substituting education for experience. This position has a mandatory education requirement. You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work. Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the 09/23/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement to receive consideration. Note: You will only be marked eligible for those eligibilities that you selected and provided the appropriate supporting documentation. The application process is as follows: Click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. To PREVIEW the application questionnaire, select the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13062244 Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status, visit https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.