Department of the Interior

Meteorologist (Fire)

Lakewood, Colorado, Albuquerque, New Mexico Full time

Meteorologist (Fire)

Department: Department of the Interior

Location(s): Lakewood, Colorado, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Salary Range: $89583 - $128460 Per Year

Job Summary: There are two positions, one located at the Rocky Mountain Coordination Center (RMCC) in Lakewood, CO and one located at the Southwest Coordination Center in Albuquerque, NM Incumbents will provide interagency program management, develop new fire weather products, serve as advocates and liaisons for wildland fire agencies, and coordinate with federal and state fire staff, interagency units, other coordination centers, the National Weather Service, and cooperators.

Major Duties:

  • Oversees fire weather systems and data networks to ensure operational integrity and compliance with national standards Leads interagency coordination and provides policy guidance on fire weather programs and equipment. Delivers weather forecasts and briefings to support fire management and emergency response. Supports research and training by sharing expertise and developing fire weather courses. Acts as a technical liaison with agencies and manages weather-related web content.

Qualifications: In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards. To receive consideration for this position, you must provide updated required documents and meet all qualification requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. Your resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount qualified specialized experience. For more information on the qualifications for this position, go to: Meteorology Series 1340 (opm.gov) MINIMUM BASIC EDUCATION: Degree Requirement: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major field of study in 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 above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: For the GS-12 level: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level. Examples of specialized experience include: Issuing fire weather forecasts and warnings for wildfires, prescribed burns, herbicide spraying, hazardous spills, pesticide spraying, wildland and wilderness management. Assisting the Agency as well as National Weather Service personnel in development of and provided training for fire management agency courses that included instruction of basic meteorology, weather observations, smoke management, forecasts, warnings, and other services. 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. Resume: Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text. Headers may be slightly larger but must remain legible. All resumes must maintain a minimum 0.5-inch margins on all sides to ensure readability and prevent excessive content compression. Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions are prohibited and will not be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications

How to Apply: To apply for this position: You must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. To receive consideration, the complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 12/12/2025. You must provide documentation to support your claim for each eligibility selected. Please review the required documentation listed in the eligibilities language to ensure you submit the appropriate information. Note: You will only be marked eligible for those eligibilities that you selected and provided the appropriate supporting documentation. WE DO NOT ACCEPT HARD-COPY OR E-MAIL APPLICATION PACKAGES. Select Apply. If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to login or create an account. Prompted to Start the Application Process by selecting "Start Application." Click here for USAJobs Help with "How to create an application" To PREVIEW the application questionnaire, select the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12805603 Select or add the resume you want to use for this application. Click here on how to build a resume in USAJOBS. Select documents you want included in this application. Review package to acknowledge your documents were reviewed. Select if you want to include your demographic information. After reading and certifying the application is true and submitted in good faith, select "Continue to Agency Site." Follow onscreen prompts and instructions to complete your application. Add the supporting documents by indexing your documents with the dropdown. Upload any missing required documents or optional documents. Review and Submit Application. While logged in, you can check the status of your application by selecting "+" next to the job title for this position. You can review or revise your application at any point during the open period of the announcement. To update an application, you should log into your USAJOBS account and select "+" next to the job title for this position. Select "Update Application" for this job. Note: When you click Update Application, you will be prompted to re-select your documents from USAJOBS. Documents submitted with the first application will no longer be associated with the applicant record. So it is important that you select all documents you want to use in the re-application.

Application Deadline: 2025-12-12