Environmental Engineer/physical Scientist

---

Job description

Summary

This position is in Region 5, Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division, Air Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Branch.

If selected, you must work at the location stated in this announcement.

About Region 5: EPA Region 5

Learn more about this agency

Help
Overview

• Accepting applications

• Open & closing dates
  
  11/16/2021 to 11/30/2021
• Salary
  
  $102,188 - $132,845 per year
• Pay scale & grade
  
  GS 13
• Help
  Location
  
  2 vacancies in the following location:
  
  • Chicago, IL 2 vacancies
• Telework eligible
  
  Yes-as determined by the agency policy.
• Travel Required
  
  Occasional travel - You may be required to travel u p to 25% of each month.
• Relocation expenses reimbursed
  
  No
• Appointment type
  
  Permanent
• Work schedule
  
  Full-time
• Service
  
  Competitive
• Promotion potential
  
  13
• Job family (Series)
  
  0819 Environmental Engineering
  
  1301 General Physical Science
• Supervisory status
  
  No
• Security clearance
  
  Not Required
• Drug test
  
  No
• Position sensitivity and risk
  
  Noncritical-Sensitive (NCS)/Moderate Risk
• Trust determination process
  
  Suitability/Fitness
• Announcement number
  
  CI-R5-MP-2
• Control number
  
  

Help
This job is open to

• Internal to an agency
  
  Current federal employees of this agency.

Clarification from the agency

Current permanent EPA internal employees in the Office of Region 5, Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Division with competitive status and CTAP eligibles.

Help
Duties

You will:

• Conduct inspections and investigations of regulated facilities for compliance with applicable regulations, permits, or other federal requirements.
• Provide technical advice and information on significant analytical methods, sampling techniques, etc., related to specific program areas, functions, or activities.
• Serve as a technical expert in the development, negotiation, and litigation of both civil and criminal enforcement matters.
• Plan, conduct and provide regulatory technical assistance on complex field sampling and analytical services, facility inspections and audits.
• Provide assistance to customers on the technical aspects of EPA laws and regulations.

One or more positions may be filled (in the organization advertised and/or in other organizations).

Help
Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You may have limited exposure to hazardous materials.
• You will be required to lift items weighing up to 50 pounds.
• Position has education requirementssee Qualifications/Education section.
• You must submit a resume and required documentssee How to Apply section.
• EPA and non-EPA applicants must submit transcripts/course listings.

If you are selected, you will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure form within 30 days of your first day of employment and annually thereafter.

You will be required to obtain (before coming on board) and maintain a valid driver's license and must be able to operate a Government-owned or leased motor vehicle.

This position requires the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

This position is designated as Moderate Risk and requires a background investigation. Unless an appropriate background investigation is already on record with the Office of Personnel Management, you must undergo a background investigation. All conditions of the pre-employment security process must be met before an official letter of employment can be issued with a report for duty date.

You must meet time in grade requirements no later than 30 calendar days after the closing date of this announcement.

Qualifications

In addition to the educational requirements, we are looking for at least one year of specialized experience related to this position as described below:

To qualify for the GS-13 level, you need to have at least one year of full-time experience equivalent to the GS-12 level defined as experience conducting site inspections under a national environmental law; experience writing inspection reports that identify specific violations of any of these environmental laws; experience providing technical support and advice on environmental compliance status of regulated entities.

Your answers to the online assessment will be used to evaluate your competencies in the following areas:

Skill in conducting field inspections, gathering evidence, and initiating enforcement actions.

Skill in written communication.

Knowledge of environmental laws, regulations, policies, and practices related to enforcement and compliance activities.

Ability to plan, conduct, and/or provide technical assistance to complex field sampling for inspections or audits.

Skill in oral communication.

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.

If you have part-time work experience, read this: EPA Announcement Policies and Procedures.

Education

You need a degree or combination of education and experience as described below to qualify for this position.

A bachelor's or higher degree from an accredited or pre-accredited college or university in:

0800 - Engineering Series:

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:

Professional registration or licensure Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT)1, 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.

Written Test Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)2 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.

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.

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.)

1301 - General Physical Science Series:

A. Degree: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics..... click apply for full job details