PDF versionJob Summary
The incumbent serves as a Research Soil Scientist, Agricultural Engineer, or Hydrologist in a multi-disciplinary program at the National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory (NSERL) in West Lafayette, Indiana. The mission of the NSERL is to quantify the dynamics and transport processes affecting environmental quality and agricultural sustainability and to develop tools for land users to conserve soil and water resources.
Major Duties
- Use soil physical, chemical, and hydrologic analyses to quantify changes in soil and water quality at multiple spatial and temporal scales as a function of management, climate and soil type.
- Elucidate mechanisms in which soil and water quality impacts agricultural productivity and environmental quality.
- Provide input to modelling efforts related to soil erosion, contaminant transport, agricultural production and resiliency and ecosystem services.
- Identify important research questions related to soil erosion, soil quality, water quality/quantity, climate change, sustainable agriculture and natural resource management.
- Recognize, conceive, plan, direct and conduct research through a systems approach that is rooted on the foundation of basic science.
- Conduct laboratory and field studies individually or jointly with federal, state and international scientists.
- Provide technical guidance in area of expertise to ARS scientists as well as scientists from domestic and international universities and research organizations.
Qualifications
Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. This is an interdisciplinary position and may be filled in any of the job series/position titles listed. In addition to the specialized experience requirements, applicants must submit proof that they meed the educational requirements for at least one of the series described in the announcement. Applicants may only be appointed to job series/position titles for which they meet all experience and educational requirements. Basic Qualification Requirements for Soil Science Series, 0470 A. Degree: soil science or a closely related discipline that included 30 semester hours or equivalent in biological, physical, or earth science, with a minimum of 15 semester hours in such subjects as soil genesis, pedology, soil chemistry, soil physics, and soil fertility.
OR
B. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in soil science or a related discipline that included at least 30 semester hours in the biological, physical, or earth sciences. At least 15 of these semester hours must have been in the areas specified in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Basic Qualification Requirements for Agricultural Engineer Series, 0890 A. Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.
OR
B. Combination of education and experience: college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:
1. Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT), or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.
2. Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
3. Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A.
4. Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor's degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.) For more information about EI and EIT registration requirements, please visit the National Society of Professional Engineers website at: http://www.nspe.org. The
OR
B. Combination of education and experience: course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Additional Requirements:
In addition to meeting the basic requirements for one of the series described above, applicants must also meet additional qualification requirements as stated below. GS-12: Applicants must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree directly related to the duties of the position (i.e. soil science, agricultural engineering, civil engineering, earth science, or hydrology) OR 1 year of specialized experience (defined below) equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the Federal Service OR a combination of graduate level education and specialized experience. GS-13: Applicants must have 1 year of specialized experience (defined below) equivalent to at least the GS-12 grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized Experience: Specialized experience is experience directly related to the position to be filled. The specialized experience requirements for this position at the GS-12 level are:
* Conducting hands-on lab or field research experiments related to agriculture, hydrology, soil or water resources.
* Presenting research findings at regional and national meetings or conferences.
* Publishing research results in peer-reviewed scientific journals related to soil science, agricultural engineering, civil engineering, earth science or hydrology. The specialized experience requirements for this position at the GS-13 level are:
* Designing and conducting hands-on lab or field research experiments related to soil erosion, water quality or soil quality.
* Presenting research findings at national and international meetings or conferences.
* Publishing independent research results in peer-reviewed journals related to soil science, agricultural engineering, civil engineering, earth science or hydrology.
Pay Range
$76,721.00 - $118,603.00