The purpose of this notice is to inform you of Department of Energy (DOE) management’s intent to fill a Physical Scientist GS-1301-15 position to serve as a program manager for the Materials Chemistry (MC) program in the Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences (BES), Materials Sciences and Engineering Division located in Germantown, MD. The recruitment will use the Open Continuous Direct Hire Announcement CY-22-OCDH-1301-11434839-DH, which is posted on USAJOBS:

https://www.usajobs.gov/job/646322700

This announcement will be used to collect applications from candidates for this permanent position. Management will request a list of applications to the Direct Hire Announcement on June 22^nd, 2022; applications submitted after that date may not be considered for the BES position. The short announcement period should not be interpreted as an indication that preferred candidates have already been identified. BES is interested in attracting a broad and diverse pool of applicants with expertise in synthesis science. You must submit your application, including a resume and any other required documents identified in the announcement, through USAJOBS to be considered for this position. In addition to the required documents, you are strongly encouraged to submit an optional cover letter indicating interest in the BES Materials Chemistry Program Manager position and describing how your experience demonstrates that you meet the requirements for a GS-15 position and that you possess the knowledge and abilities in materials chemistry required to successfully perform the duties of this position.

Anyone applying to this position needs to be aware that, if selected, you will be placed on a new permanent appointment in the Civil Service. A DOE career status employee selected for this position may be required to serve a new one (1) year probationary period, pursuant to 5 CFR 315.802.

The Physical Scientist will serve as a program manager for the MC program and will determine scientific focus and direction of the research programs, prepare calls for proposals, organize independent peer reviews, recommend funding allocations, organize Principal Investigator meetings, serve as a liaison on committees, and assess scientific progress of the program. This program supports hypothesis-driven research on materials with a focus on the role of chemical reactivity, chemical transformation, and chemical dynamics on the material composition, structure, function, and lifetime across the range of length scales from atomic to mesoscopic. Discovery of the mechanistic detail for chemical synthesis, transformations and dynamics of materials, fundamental understanding of structure-property relationships of functional materials, and utilization of chemistry to control interfacial properties and interactions between materials are common themes. Topical areas of interest include, but are not limited to, fundamental aspects of chemical synthesis of new classes of materials with novel functionality; exploitation of extreme conditions, complex chemistries and molecules, or non-equilibrium conditions to accelerate materials discovery; control of interphase chemistry and morphology, fundamental electrochemistry of solid-state materials; and chemical dynamics and transformations of functional materials in energy-relevant operational environments. The program manager will act as a recognized expert in materials chemistry and will assist with new program planning and current program conduct in other core research areas within the Division.

Other information

More information about BES can be found at: 
https://science.osti.gov/bes

A complete description of the BES MC program can be found at:
https://science.osti.gov/bes/mse/Research-Areas/Materials-Chemistry  

Details of the MC research portfolio may be found in the abstracts of the most recent principal investigators’ meeting at:

https://science.osti.gov/-/media/bes/mse/pdf/docs/2021/2021_Mat_Chem.pdf