Interdisciplinary Geographer/Physical Scientist.

Duties

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

• Provide geospatial analysis and production support for NCAC, focusing on exploiting national and commercial geospatial data to meet diverse federal civil customer requirements, including wildfire monitoring, hazard response, and scientific investigations.
• Manage collection and dissemination of geospatial data by developing tasking for imaging systems, validating customer requirements, and ensuring timely delivery of analytical products using tools such as ArcGIS, Socet GXP, Python, and various online data repositories.
• Maintain expert knowledge of imagery sensors and data resources, including sensor dynamics, licensing, and security requirements, to integrate multi-source data for incident response and scientific research.
• Engage in stakeholder coordination and partnership development with external agencies (e.g., National Interagency Fire Center, NGA, NASA), establishing frameworks for interagency collaboration and information sharing.
• Develop and document standard operating procedures, provide technical guidance and training to colleagues, and actively participate in technical exchange meetings, working groups, and conferences to enhance operational and analytical capabilities.
• Ensure compliance with administrative, security, and ethical standards, including proper handling of classified materials, completion of mandatory training, accurate time and attendance reporting, and adherence to federal and NCAC policies.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• 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
• Pre-employment and random drug testing are required. You will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive drug test is received.
• You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority.
• You may be required to work weekends.
• You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 2 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated.

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

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-10/11/2026-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.

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:

Basic Requirements For Geographer, GS-0150

• A. Degree: Successful completion of a degree in geography; or related physical or social science such as geology, meteorology, economics, statistics, sociology, anthropology, political science, history, cartography, computer science, urban studies, or planning that included at least 24 semester hours in geography or related fields. You must submit transcripts. -OR-
• B. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in geography, or a related field that included at least 24 semester hours in geography or related fields, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. You must submit transcripts.

Basic Requirements for Physical Scientist, GS-1301:

• A. Degree: Successful completion of degree in 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 submit transcripts.

-AND-

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: geospatial analysis and imagery exploitation, compiling and synthesizing geographic data to compare features and events, and integrating multi-source datasets; Managing collection strategies, validating technical requirements, and disseminating analytical products under time-critical conditions; Establishing outside partnerships, providing technical guidance and training, and ensuring compliance with security and administrative standards. 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.

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. Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | U.S. Department of Education.

Additional information

Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.

Physical Demands/Work Environment: The work is largely sedentary although there may be some walking, standing, and carrying small supply items. Traveling and conducting field work may be required that may require physical exertion. Work is usually performed in an office or computer laboratory environment. Travel to offices of other Federal or State agencies, university campuses, professional conferences, or committee meetings may be necessary. Fieldwork may be conducted outdoors as necessary.

All Department of Interior (DOI) employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here,

This is an interdisciplinary position. Position may be filled by: Geographer GS-0150 or Physical Scientist GS-1301.

The duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.