Physical Scientist, Research or Physical Science Officer

Important messages

We are committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free work environment, starting with the hiring process. If you need to be accommodated during any phase of the evaluation process, please use the Contact information below to request specialized accommodation. All information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential.

Assessment accommodation

All candidates will be invited to a pre-screening exam which has been tentatively scheduled for November 23, 2021.

The following tentative dates have be tentatively scheduled for the Interviews (December 13-22, 2021 and January 5-14, 2022).

Candidates must make themselves available for assessment during this time.

Note that coop experience and major academic projects will be considered as experience.

Applicants are not required to submit a cover letter. Instead, they are required to answer screening questions and provide information through the electronic application.

As such, when submitting your application to this selection process, you will be required to answer screening questions to demonstrate how you meet the Essential Qualifications (education and all essential experiences) as well as any Asset Qualifications (if applicable).

When answering the screening questions, it is not sufficient to say that you have the required qualifications or to list your current or past responsibilities. Rather, you must provide concrete examples of tasks you have accomplished with significant details to explain the WHAT, WHEN, WHERE and HOW you acquired each qualification.

Candidates must also submit a resume with their application. The resume will be used to validate the information provided in the applicant’s answers to the screening questions.

Should your responses to the screening questions contain insufficient details to demonstrate that you meet the screening criteria, your application will not be given further consideration in this process. Candidates will not be solicited for incomplete or possible missing information.

Work environment

Environment and Climate Change Canada has just been recognized as the 2nd best employer of 2021 in Canada by Forbes!

What makes us different?
- An exceptional mandate of protecting the environment and its natural heritage.
- An organization which recognizes work contribution and supports you in your career aspirations.
- A collaborative environment where our services are offered to a scientific community and a department that values innovation.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is looking to staff positions in the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) and Science and Technology Branch (S&T).

MSC is the largest branch of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and is the primary supplier of meteorological and water resources information in Canada. We have over 1300 employees spread across Canada in regional offices with the majority of our workforce located in Ontario. Our headquarters is located in the National Capital Region (Ottawa-Gatineau).

Within MSC, the Applied Science Section within the Prediction Services Directorate is seeking qualified candidate(s) to join its teams located in Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal. Work will involve leading and/or supporting various scientific projects and applications related to the development and analysis of tools related to severe weather and remote sensing, climate, air quality, or sea ice, icebergs and oil pollution; or managing and/or supporting key forecast tools and applications, and the transformation and modernization of those tools and applications.

The Canadian Centre for Meteorological and Environmental Prediction (CCMEP) Directorate operates numerical weather and environmental prediction systems to generate automated forecasts, and process it into products for MSC meteorologists, partners and the public. It also implements system innovation processes, implements data exploitation solutions and delivers specialized national services such as environmental emergency response. It manages and develops information delivery and visualisation systems for the MSC forecast centers, and take charges of specialized training and professional development for the MSC.

The Monitoring Strategies and Data Services Division (MSDS) within the Monitoring and Data Services Directorate manages the ingestion, processing, quality assessment and control, storage and dissemination of weather and climate data collected from the MSC's monitoring networks to provide meteorologists, numerical forecast models and researchers with the data and information they need to assess current weather conditions and understand historical conditions. The Division is responsible for improving the access, quality and interoperability of hydrometeorological data across Canada for the benefit of all users.

Within S&T, the Air Quality Research Division (AQRD) carries out research and monitoring related to atmospheric pollutants. The Division provides state-of-the-science information on atmospheric trends and processes in order to understand the impacts of air pollution on human and environmental health. The Division also identifies emerging issues, and supports the development of policy and prediction programs related to air quality.

The Climate Research Division (CRD) is a comprehensive research program focused on understanding the Earth system as it relates to climate, which includes making quantitative predictions/projections of climate change to support adaptation and mitigation decision making. CRD employs observations, process studies, model development and application, analysis, and diagnostics in order to understand climate change.

Intent of the process

This process is intended to establish a qualified pool of candidates that may be used to staff PC-2 positions in Ottawa, Montreal or Toronto on an indeterminate or determinate basis with various language requirements according to the position being staffed.

Positions to be filled: 2

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

In order to be considered, your application must clearly explain how you meet the following (essential qualifications)

Candidates must clearly explain in detail how they meet the essential and asset experience qualifications by indicating WHAT (clearly explain your duties), WHEN and for HOW LONG (date and length of time in months or years), and WHERE (employer and geographic location) this experience was acquired.

EDUCATION:
Graduation with a degree from a recognized post-secondary institution, with acceptable specialization in physics, chemistry, geography, earth sciences or in a discipline in the sciences or engineering relevant to the position.

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE:
• Experience working on science issues within an interdisciplinary team environment.
• Experience in scripting or computer programming (e.g., Linux Shell scripting, Python, Tcl/Tk, R, C, Perl).
• Experience in conducting data analysis (Please describe in detail information on data type/size, methods/tools, analysis, results).
• Experience gathering and analyzing information and writing technical or scientific documents (e.g., reports, notes, summaries).

The following will be applied / assessed at a later date (essential for the job)

Various language requirements
English essential
Bilingual imperative BBB/BBB
Bilingual imperative BBC/BBC

NOTE: Each appointment decision will be treated distinctly. The requirements of each position will be determined objectively at the time of the appointment or the deployment.

Consequently, we encourage all candidates, regardless of their language profile, to apply.

Information on language requirements

KNOWLEDGE
• Knowledge of the programs and services of Environment and Climate Change Canada.
• Knowledge of environmental and atmospheric science.
• Knowledge of data analysis methods and descriptive statistics.
• Knowledge of scripting and computer programming.

BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES:
• Adaptability
• Client Focus
• Thinking
• Working with Others
• Communication

The following may be applied / assessed at a later date (may be needed for the job)

A person may be appointed to the position without meeting any or all of the asset qualifications; however, meeting these criteria is desirable and may be a deciding factor in choosing the person to be appointed.

ASSET QUALIFICATIONS:

EDUCATION:
• Post-secondary Certification in data science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data visualization or other related field.
• A master's degree from a recognized post-secondary institution in climatology, atmospheric science, environmental sciences or a related field.

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE:
• Experience in the planning and oversight of projects related to environmental sciences, meteorology, climatology, air quality/health or environmental monitoring.
• Experience in geospatial analysis, geospatial modeling and spatial statistics.
• Experience working with large datasets.
• Experience in satellite image analysis and interpretation.
• Experience in the implementation of machine learning systems (e.g., training, testing and validation, data preparation).
• Experience in developing user/business requirements.

KNOWLEDGE:
• Knowledge of artificial intelligence (e.g., machine learning, neural networks).
• Knowledge of numerical modeling, numerical data assimilation and numerical weather and environmental prediction.
• In-depth Knowledge of statistical methods and data analysis.

Conditions of employment

• Reliability Status security clearance
• Willingness and ability to occasionally work outside of normal business hours.
• Willingness and ability to travel occasionally.

Vaccination Notice Requirement:
All employees of the core public administration are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and attest to their vaccination status unless accommodated based on a medical contraindication, religion, or another prohibited ground for discrimination as defined under the Canadian Human Rights Act.

Other information

The Public Service of Canada is committed to building a skilled and diverse workforce that reflects the Canadians we serve. We promote employment equity and encourage you to indicate if you belong to one of the designated groups when you apply.

Information on employment equity

On October 6, 2021, the Government of Canada announced details of its plans to require vaccination across the federal public service.

As per the new Policy on COVID-19 Vaccination for the Core Public Administration Including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, federal public servants in the Core Public Administration and members of the RCMP must attest to their vaccination status. The requirement for employees to be fully vaccinated applies whether they are teleworking, working remotely or working on-site. This is a condition of employment and it applies to indeterminate (permanent), determinate (term), casual, and student hiring. Should you reach the point in the selection process where it is necessary to verify terms and conditions of employment then the hiring manager or a human resources representative will contact you in order to complete an attestation.

Candidates must provide a contact email address and number that they can be reached during the normal business week (Monday to Friday).

Qualifications may be evaluated by a wide range of tools and methods. Consequently, a written exam, an interview, reference checks or other evaluation methods may be sought in this process. Applicants need to make a reasonable effort to make themselves available for their evaluation at the appointed time. A passing note will be established for all of the evaluated qualifications.

All communication relating to this process, including email correspondence, may be used in the assessment of qualifications.

Persons are entitled to participate in the appointment process in the official language(s) of their choice.

A pass mark will be established for each qualification. However, achieving the pass mark is not guarantee of an appointment or that candidates will advance to the next stages of the assessment process. A cut-off score (in other words, establishing a higher threshold than the pass mark and selecting only the candidates who meet this threshold) and a top-down approach (in other words, establishing a maximum number of candidates who can proceed to the next assessment stage) may be used at any step if there is a sufficient number of candidates to meet immediate and anticipated staffing needs.

Candidates will be required to submit a copy of his/her/their education documentation. Candidates with foreign credentials must provide proof of Canadian equivalency. Consult the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials for further information at http://www.cicic.ca/.

The Public Service of Canada is also committed to developing inclusive, barrier-free selection processes and work environments. If contacted in relation to a job opportunity or testing, you should advise the Public Service Commission or the departmental official in a timely fashion of the accommodation measures which must be taken to enable you to be assessed in a fair and equitable manner. Information received relating to accommodation measures will be addressed confidentially.

Preference

Preference will be given to veterans first and then to Canadian citizens and permanent residents, with the exception of a job located in Nunavut, where Nunavut Inuit will be appointed first.

Information on the preference to veterans

We thank all those who apply. Only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.