NOAA South Pole Technician

Two NOAA technicians work at the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station to operate, calibrate, and maintain NOAA and partner climate instrumentation and projects for a one-year period.

 

Date posted

Mar. 24, 2023 4:45 pm

Application deadline

Apr. 10, 2023 5:00 pm

Organization

NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory

Location

  • United States

Job description

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML) is seeking two primary technicians for Winter 2024 at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, and one alternate technician who would deploy if primary candidates cannot deploy or must leave Antarctica before winter.

Two NOAA technicians work at the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station to operate, calibrate, and maintain NOAA and partner climate instrumentation and projects for a one-year period. The team collects high quality data to monitor the composition of the atmosphere and the Earth’s energy budget, enabling researchers to understand how the climate changes over time. They also serve as members of the station’s Emergency Response Team and assist with community tasks such as cleaning the station, station opening/closing tasks, and other duties as assigned.

Two primary technicians will be hired as federal employees on term-limited appointments and must initially pass the mandatory physical qualification (PQ) for deployment. If a technician does not meet the NSF’s rigorous PQ standards for wintering at South Pole, the term appointment will be ended early and employment will be terminated. Concurrent to completing the PQ, the technicians will complete training with NOAA and partner project leads at the NOAA/GML office in Boulder, and virtually. Training may include a travel to, and hands-on experience at the NOAA Barrow Atmospheric Baseline Observatory in Utqiagvik, AK. Team building and emergency response training is anticipated to be held in the Denver area in early October 2023.

Deployment to Antarctica for primary technicians is anticipated to occur in mid-October 2024. However, with uncertainty surrounding the 2023 season COVID-19 protocols, dates are subject to change. There may be a quarantine or isolation period included in this year’s deployment. After the year in Antarctica concludes, technicians may take up to 30 days of leave prior to returning to the United States.

The Alternate Technician will be hired as a federal employee on term-limited appointment and must initially pass the mandatory physical qualification (PQ) for deployment. After completing the PQ, the alternate trains alongside the primary technicians in Boulder. However, they remain in an “on call” status until the South Pole Station closes for the winter. In the event the primary technician cannot deploy, or leaves South Pole during the summer season (November - February), the alternate would immediately deploy to take their place.

If the training period is successful and the Alternate does not deploy, they will be given the first right of refusal to deploy as the primary NOAA technician for the following year (2025).

Basic Qualifications

  • United States citizenship
  • Meets OPM Physical scientist education/experience (https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1300/general-physical-science-series-1301/)
  • Must have all undergraduate or graduate work completed by June 2023.
  • Past technical experience, past fieldwork/experience strongly preferred
  • Must be able to pass a rigorous physical qualification - may require wisdom teeth removal, stress test, current COVID-19 vaccination
  • Must be able to obtain a New Zealand visa
  • Must be able to pass a federal service background check

A strong candidate will have:

  • Electronics troubleshooting experience
  • An understanding of, and experience with, computer network hardware, software, and firewalls
  • Field work experience, preferably in the Arctic or Antarctic regions
  • Soldering and/or cable making experience
  • Basic programming skills and experience with multiple operating systems, including Windows and Linux
  • Teamwork experience - large and small teams
  • Situational awareness/emotional intelligence
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills

 

 

For more details

https://gml.noaa.gov/obop/spo/spo_tech_job.html