Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/13/2026. Individual Occupational Requirements

Basic Requirements:

• The education must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education(external link) at the time the degree was obtained
• Applicants must meet one of the following requirements: A bachelor's or graduate/higher level degree in industrial hygiene, occupational health sciences, occupational and environmental health, toxicology, safety sciences, or related science
• Or, A bachelor's degree in a branch of engineering, physical science, or life science that included 12 semester hours in chemistry, including organic chemistry, and 18 additional semester hours of courses in any combination of chemistry, physics, engineering, health physics, environmental health, biostatistics, biology, physiology, toxicology, epidemiology, or industrial hygiene
• Or, Certification from the Board for Global EHS Credentialing (formerly American Board of Industrial Hygiene(external link) (ABIH))
• Courses in the history or teaching of chemistry are not acceptable
• Link to OPM Individual Occupational Requirements Note: Courses in the history or teaching of chemistry are not acceptable
• Evaluation of Education All science or engineering courses offered in fulfillment of the above requirements must be acceptable for credit toward the completion of a standard 4-year professional curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in science or engineering at an accredited college or university
• For engineering degrees to be acceptable, the curriculum must be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) as a professional engineering curriculum
• Evaluation of Experience Qualifying experience involves the recognition, evaluation, corrective actions, and elimination of environmental conditions in the workplace that causes sickness, impaired health, or illness
• This experience must demonstrate a professional knowledge of the theory and application of the principles of industrial hygiene and closely related sciences such as physics and engineering controls
• Such work must have involved experience in all of the following areas: the acquisition of quantitative and qualitative data, and the measurement of exposures for a variety of chemical, physical, and biological stresses
• the analysis of the data acquired and the prediction of probable effects of exposures on the health and well-being of workers
• and the selection and recommendation of appropriate controls, including management, medical, engineering, education or training, and personal protective equipment
• SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE (GS-11 GRADE LEVEL) - In addition to meeting one of the above requirements, applicants must have at least one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped them with the knowledge, skill and ability to successfully perform the duties of this position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position
• To be creditable, this specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-9 grade level in the Federal service
• Specialized experience includes: knowledge of industrial hygiene principles, procedures, standards, equipment, techniques, and methods
• managing an industrial hygiene program
• performing analysis to determine nature and degree of toxic materials
• knowledge of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards (such as hazardous waste, drinking water, medical waste, etc.)
• conducting surveys/studies of work operations regarding hazardous conditions
• and preparing comprehensive industrial hygiene reports
• Such work must have involved experience in all of the following areas: 1) the acquisition of quantitative and qualitative data, and the measurement of exposures for a variety of chemical, physical, and biological stresses
• 2) the analysis of the data acquired and the prediction of probable effects of exposures on the health and well-being of workers
• and 3) the selection and recommendation of appropriate controls, including management, medical, engineering, education or training, and personal protective equipment
• OR, SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) - Applicants must possess successful completion of three (3) years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. in industrial hygiene, occupational health sciences, occupational and environmental health, toxicology, safety sciences, or related science
• The education is qualifying if it provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the Industrial Hygienist position
• This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university
• OR, COMBINING EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED)- Combination of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements
• To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned)
• Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess
• Add the two percentages
• The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-11
• For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e
• 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e
• 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education
• Physical Requirements: The work includes frequent inspections of various spaces such as laboratories, mechanical spaces, boiler plants etc
• and necessitates a good deal of walking, standing, bending, and climbing
• For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.