METEOROLOGIST

Duties

• You will serve as the Typhoon Duty Officer, performing the Department of Defense (DoD) sole tropical cyclone (TC) forecast mission.
• You will demonstrate expertise in all aspects of tropical meteorology to issue time-critical TC warnings.
• You will apply specialized technical knowledge to synthesize data, satellite imagery, radar, and numerical weather prediction model guidance to forecast TC track, intensity, and structure and issue authoritative TC warnings and decision support.
• You will work as the on-shift forecast lead for a 4-person joint service watch team.
• You will maintain broad situational awareness of key DoD installations and assets and U.S. civilian interests potentially affected by TCs.
• You will independently operate specialized meteorological systems including the Automated Tropical Cyclone Forecast software system (ATCF), the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS), and and satellite display software.
• You will develop and maintain standard operating procedures and dataflow documentation.
• You will proactively troubleshoot critical meteorological computer systems and associated data flow processes to ensure continuous 24x7 operations.
• You will conduct detailed annual post-storm analysis of the track, intensity, and structure of all TC activity.
• You will perform in a developmental capacity under closer supervision and guidance of a senior forecaster if selected at the GS-12 level.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• Must be a US Citizen.
• Must be determined suitable for federal employment.
• Must participate in the direct deposit pay program.
• New employees to the Department of the Navy will be required to successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov
• Generally, current federal employees applying for GS jobs must serve at least one year at the next lower grade level. This requirement is called time-in-grade. Time-in-grade requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.
• Within the Department of Defense (DoD), the appointment of retired military members within 180 days immediately following retirement date to a civilian position is subject to the provisions of 5 United States Code 3326.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• You will be required to obtain and maintain an interim and/or final security clearance prior to entrance on duty. Failure to obtain and maintain the required level of clearance may result in the withdrawal of a job offer or removal.
• This position may require travel from normal duty station to CONUS and OCONUS and may include remote or isolated sites. You must be able to travel on military and commercial aircraft for extended periods of time.
• You will be required to obtain and maintain a U.S. Passport.
• This is a Mission Essential position. You will be required to ensure organization or facility continuity of operations and/or completion of tasks that are considered essential to the mission designated by a local or command decision.
• Must possess a Bachelor's or higher degree in meteorology, atmospheric science, or a related natural science major that includes at least 24 semester hours of meteorology/atmospheric science coursework, or a combination of education and experience.
• This position is designated as Key in accordance with 32 CFR, Part 44 and DoD Directive 1200.7. In the event of a crisis, war, or mobilization, the incumbent must continue to perform the duties to support mission requirements.
• A member of the Ready Reserve may not fill the position on a permanent basis. If filled by a member of the Ready Reserve, appropriate action must be taken to change the incumbent's reserve status to a status other than that of Ready Reserve.
• Incumbent will be required to work rotating shifts, irregular hours, overtime, and be subject to recall to support unscheduled weather support or emergency requirements.

Qualifications

FOR THE GS-13:
In addition to the Basic Requirements for this position, you must have a Bachelor's degree in Meteorology (transcripts submission required at time of application) and your resume must also demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-12 grade level or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following:
- Operational Tropical Cyclone Forecasting: Serving as an on-shift forecast lead or authoritative forecaster, synthesizing complex satellite imagery, radar, scatterometry, and numerical weather prediction (NWP) models to produce and issue time-critical tropical cyclone track, intensity, and structure warnings under strict deadlines.- Systems Proficiency & Dataflow Management: Operating and troubleshooting specialized meteorological systems and applications (e.g., Automated Tropical Cyclone Forecast [ATCF] system, AWIPS, or equivalent production suites) to maintain continuous 24/7 operational dataflow.- Post-Storm Analysis & Mentorship: Conducting detailed post-storm reanalysis of tropical cyclones, authoring technical reports/assessments, and providing formal on-the-job training and mentorship to forecasters.

FOR THE GS-12:
In addition to the Basic Requirements for this position, you must have a Bachelor's degree in Meteorology (transcripts submission required at time of application) and your resume must also demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-11 grade level or pay band in the Federal service or equivalent experience in the private or public sector. Specialized experience must demonstrate the following:
- Developmental Forecasting Support: Assisting in the collection, analysis, and synthesis of meteorological data (satellite, radar, and NWP model output) to prepare draft forecasts, warnings, or weather advisories under the guidance or review of a senior forecaster.- Systems Utilization: Utilizing meteorological workstation software (e.g., AWIPS, ATCF, or similar workstation tools) to display, process, and format weather data and products.- Watch Operations Support: Participating as a watch team member in an operational setting and supporting post-event data quality control, assessments, or technical documentation.

Additional qualification information can be found from the following Office of Personnel Management website:

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1300/meteorology-series-1340/

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (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.

Education

Applicants must meet the following positive education qualifications requirements of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualifications Standards Manual: Applicants must possess:

Basic Requirements:

Degree: meteorology, atmospheric science, or other natural science major that included:

At least 24 semester (36 quarter) hours of credit in meteorology/atmospheric science including a minimum of:

Six semester hours of atmospheric dynamics and thermodynamics;*

Six semester hours of analysis and prediction of weather systems (synoptic/mesoscale);

Three semester hours of physical meteorology; and

Two semester hours of remote sensing of the atmosphere and/or instrumentation.

Six semester hours of physics, with at least one course that includes laboratory sessions.*

Three semester hours of ordinary differential equations.*

At least nine semester hours of course work appropriate for a physical science major in any combination of three or more of the following: physical hydrology, statistics, chemistry, physical oceanography, physical climatology, radiative transfer, aeronomy, advanced thermodynamics, advanced electricity and magnetism, light and optics, and computer science.

* There is a prerequisite or corequisite of calculus for course work in atmospheric dynamics and thermodynamics, physics, and differential equations. Calculus courses must be appropriate for a physical science major.

or

Combination of education and experience -- course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Transcripts are required at time of application.

Additional information

This position is covered by the Department of Defense Priority Placement Program.
Additional vacancies may be filled by this announcement.
A tentative offer of employment will be rescinded if the selectee fails to meet the pre-employment requirements, including failure to report to any of the scheduled appointments.
During the application process you will have the ability to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions in the local commuting area. Depending on the hiring organization and the position being filled, job requirements (e.g., security clearance, travel, drug testing, financial disclosure filing, bargaining unit status, etc.) may vary. Other hiring managers filling similar positions may offer relocation expense reimbursement and/or may offer recruitment incentives for new employees, depending on funding availability and in accordance with policy. If you opt-in and are referred on a certificate, your resume will be available to other hiring managers for 180-days from the date the job announcement closes. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

Federal annuitant information: The selection of an annuitant is subject to the Department of Defense and Department of the Navy policy on the employment of annuitants. Policy information may be found at:

ICTAP Applicants: To be considered well-qualified and exercise selection priority as an ICTAP candidate, displaced Federal employees must satisfy all qualification requirements for the position and receive a rating in the highly qualified category (score 85) or higher. ICTAP candidates must provide copies of all of the following documentation at the time of application: 1) agency notice; 2) most recent performance appraisal; and 3) most recent SF-50 or notification of personnel action that includes position, grade level, and duty location. Applicants who do not provide this documentation will not receive consideration as an ICTAP candidate. For more information about ICTAP eligibility please review the following link: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/federal-employees/career-transition/

Military Spouse Preference applicants will be placed at the highest grade for which they have applied and are determined Best Qualified (BQ). A BQ military spouse possesses knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies comparable to others who meet the competitive referral criteria for the specific position.

Eligible DoD career or career conditional employees shall be granted statutory return rights to their former position for a period of 5 years if continuously employed in a foreign or non-foreign area provided by Executive Order 10895 and DoDI 1400.25, v 1230. Employees that do not exercise their return rights within five years are no longer eligible for return rights and will be treated as a local hire.