Physical Scientist

Summary

You will serve as a Physical Scientist with Bureau of Reclamation. This position is located within the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Denver, Water, Environment & Ecosystems Division, LAKEWOOD, COLORADO.

Duties

• Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Scientific Analysis: Performs and/or coordinates scientific analyses including technical planning activities; data collection, validation, and management; modeling and data analyses; analyses of site location and/or conditions; risk estimation and analyses; or analysis of instrumentation data. Documentation and Presentation: Prepares and reviews technical documentation such as technical memorandums and reports on scientific findings, correspondence, river and reservoir analysis guidance, and other technical documentation as needed. Makes oral presentations of technical documentation at coordination meetings, technical briefings, or other meetings. Review and Mentoring: Provides technical reviews, peer reviews, and checking of scientific analyses, and technical documentation. Provides technical guidance, training, and advice to lower graded staff and other internal and external stakeholders. Other Duties (non-grade controlling / non-series controlling): Project Management - Develops, monitors, and manages project plans including outlining project scope, schedule, and budget; coordinating and communication with other groups or offices; monitoring tasks and budget; managing changes to project plans; identifying and addressing issues prior to adverse impacts to schedule or budget; and participating on or leading technical teams. Compliance - Provides support in connection with regulatory program oversight, policy and rulemaking efforts, review of regulatory compliance issues, and resolution of technical related issues. Database Operation - Develops, modifies, and utilizes relational databases to maintain scientific data for conducting operational and planning analyses, and coordinates and operates data collection systems. Technical Working Groups - Participates on and/or leads technical work groups or teams.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 09/19/2026-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. Qualifications: To be eligible for consideration, you must first meet the Individual Occupational Requirement for this position Individual Occupational Requirements Basic Requirements: 1. 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 2. 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-11 grade level: Experience: To qualify, 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: carrying out conventional or routine civil engineering analyses including technical planning activities, data collection, modeling and data analysis, risk estimation and analysis, engineering design studies and projects, technical documentation, and other civil engineering analyses. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- Education: Successful completion of at least 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. You must include transcripts. -OR- Combination of education and experience as listed above. You must include hours per week and transcripts. 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/. Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment. 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. *Additional Requirements located under qualifications*

Education

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 09/19/2026-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/13063005 Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the Department of the Interior (DOI) who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s), including within the same metro/commuting area. Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration. 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.