Supervisory Biologist/Physical Scientist/Environmental Engineer

Summary

You will serve as a Supervisory Biologist/Physical Scientist/Environmental Engineer with Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. This position serves as Supervisor and assists with the management and oversight of the functions and responsibilities of the Coordination and Review Unit and the mission of the Environmental Compliance Division.

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Duties

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BSEE/BOEM Wide - This is a Merit Promotion announcement for career and career conditional BSEE/BOEM employees, Career Transition eligibles (CTAP), and those who are eligible under the hiring paths listed above. Refer to Required Documents section for more information.

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

1. Supervision/Leadership: Directs and supervises biologists, physical scientists, environmental scientists, environmental engineers, archaeologists, ecologists, etc.) in the Coordination and Review Unit (CRU) who are experts in regulatory compliance with the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), National Fishing Enhancement Act (NFEA), and other laws/regulations.

2. Administrative Management of the CRU: As the Unit Supervisor, the incumbent oversees the following items:

• Assigns work to subordinates and reviews resultant products ensuring that National and Regional efficiency, consistency, and accuracy requirements are met; including planning and compliance work to be accomplished by Unit staff, setting and/or adjusting short-term and long-term priorities, preparing work schedules, and using selective consideration of the difficulty and requirements of assignments based upon the capabilities of the employees;
• Approves leave and hears and resolves complaints from employees/grievances before recommending solutions to the Section manager;
• Prepares hiring packages for Unit personnel and makes and/or approves selections for staff positions;

3. Advisory/Compliance Verification/Monitoring/Enforcement: Under this major duty, the incumbent:

• Serves as the Section's Office Compliance Program lead, which includes establishing compliance authority for OCS operations, development of the associated policy/guidance, managing PAS and similar data collection, conducting primary analyses, and preparing reports on the effectiveness of established mitigation and permit/plan conditions placed on OCS activities;
• Oversees, schedules, and participates in Field Inspections related to his/her area of expertise; including acting in a leadership role on Seafloor Compliance, Assessment, and Monitoring Program (SCAMP) projects related to OCS site assessments, compliance research, and other associated offshore efforts, which involve highly-technical sonar, remotely-operated vehicle (ROV), and other remote-sensing surveys at OCS locations;?

4. Liaison/Representation/Procurement: Under this major duty, the incumbent:

• Briefs and defends agency programs, policies, and conclusions to other Federal, State, and local government, industry, private agencies, and the public, prepares and presents briefing papers, policy documents, and technical reports and serves as the bureau representative during meetings with Congressional members and their staff, elected state officials, lead industry representatives, and the media and at various scientific and technical workshops and conferences;
• Establishes and maintains relationships with individuals, industry associations, the media, Federal, State, and Local government bodies, special interests groups/Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), and other Federal agencies on matters of mutual interest concerning environmental compliance during OCS energy operations; and

5. NEPA Compliance/Decision-making: Under this major duty, the incumbent: Develops and manages policy, assignment, and tracking of NEPA Program and associated coordination efforts to ensure National and Regional compliance with NEPA regarding the permitting of the offshore exploration, development, and production of oil, gas, sulfur, and other minerals on the Federal OCS, and preparing the requisite compliance documentation as it relates to well, pipeline, and structure permits;

• Oversees the preparation and approval of the NEPA compliance work, which includes reviewing, evaluating, and recommending changes/improvements to ensure consistency, accuracy, and the quality of the final documents and the administrative-record; and
• Continually evaluates the NEPA program to support adaptive-management efforts needed to aid agency SMEs and decision makers in improved reviewing/permitting processes and developing more feasible and effective mitigation measures for future operations.

Salary Range Information: $125,776 (Step 1) to $163,514 (Step 10)

First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

Requirements

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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 .

• A financial disclosure report will be required within 30 days of appointment.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.

This probationary or trial 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 or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

This is a supervisory position that may require completion of a supervisory probationary period.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 09/18/2026-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.

Minimum Qualification Requirements:

Basic Educational Requirements:

To be qualified for this position, you must meet either A or B below for the series to which you are applying.

Biological Sciences Series, 0401:

A. Degree: biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position.

-OR-

B. Combination of education and experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Environmental Engineering Series, 0819:

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
2. Written Test
3. Specified academic courses
4. Related curriculum

For further information on the adequacy of such background demonstrated by one of the above listed are found in the link below:

Physical Science Series, 1301:

A. 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

- 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.

-AND-

To qualify for this position at the GS-14 grade level:

Experience : To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-13 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience:

1. Experience planning, directing, or leading, either in a team member, senior staff, or supervisory role, dedicated Subject Matter Experts (SMEs; e.g., scientists, engineers, program specialists, technicians) engaged in the reviewing, inspections, or tracking of industry operations;
2. Experience working with industry operations, impact-producing factors (IPFs) resulting from those activities, and the concepts and procedures involved in mitigation development and the appropriate ways in which to monitor their application and develop programs to ensure compliance with the mitigation;
3. Experience with field, site, or facility inspections for verification and compliance oversight of environmental mitigation and conditions of approval (COAs); including preparation of enforcement actions and the development of associated corrective actions;
4. Experience providing expert advice/assistance with policy development and execution for an environmental program to ensure associated industry compliance and reduce/negate potential impacts; and
5. Experience with conducting or managing outreach and engagement associated with bureau programs, policies, and decisions to other Federal, State, local government, industry, private agencies, and/or the public.

Must meet 3 out of 5.

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 does not allow substituting education for experience.

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:

Additional information

Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.

All 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, DOI Ethics Prohibitions | U.S. Department of the Interior.

This is an interdisciplinary position. Position may be filled as: Biologist-0401, Physical Scientist - 1301, Environmental Engineer - 0819

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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.

Benefits

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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. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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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.