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You are viewing a Dear Colleague Letter.

A Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) is an informal correspondence which is written by a Requesting Office and distributed to communities within a specific program area, to attract individuals eligible under a Visiting Scientist, Engineer, and Educator (VSEE) appointment, an Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) assignment and/or a Federal Temporary appointment. These letters may be circulated in paper form through internal mail, distributed electronically using listservs or accessed through NSF.gov’s Career Page.

Physical Scientist (Program Director)

Division: Materials Research (MPS/DMR)
Directorate: Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS)
Job Type:
STEM
Appointment Type:
Temporary / Rotator
Pay Grade/Scale:
AD-04
Salary Range:
$160,889 - $206,279
This job is open to the public

Application timeline

Date Posted:
Closing date: Open until filled
Formal consideration of interested applicants will begin and will continue until a selection is made.

Position Summary

The Division of Materials Research (DMR) announces a nationwide search for senior-level researchers to serve as a Program Director for the Polymers program. Formal consideration of interested applications will begin at time of posting and will continue until a selection is made.

For the DMR mission statement and additional information about the above program, please see www.nsf.gov/materials.

Position Description

The Polymers Program supports research and education on polymeric materials and polymer science. Responsibilities of the Program Director include long-range planning and budget development for the areas of science represented by the program, the administration of the merit review process and proposal recommendations, the preparation of press releases, feature articles and material describing advances in the research supported, and coordination and liaison with other programs within NSF, and other Federal agencies and organizations.

NSF Program Directors bear the primary responsibility for carrying out the Agency's overall mission. To fulfill this responsibility requires not only knowledge in the appropriate disciplines, but also a commitment to high standards, a considerable breadth of interest and receptivity to new ideas, a strong sense of fairness, good judgment, and a high degree of personal integrity.

The position recruited under this announcement will be filled under the following appointment option(s):

Temporary Excepted Service Appointment: Appointment to this position will be made under the Excepted Authority of the NSF Act. Candidates who do not have civil service status or reinstatement eligibility will not obtain civil service status if selected. Candidates currently in the competitive service will be required to waive competitive civil service rights if selected. Usual civil service benefits (retirement, health benefits and life insurance) are applicable for appointments of more than one year. Temporary appointments may not exceed three years.

Visiting Scientist, Engineer, and Educator (VSEE) Program: Appointment to this position will be made under the Excepted Authority of the NSF Act. Visiting Scientists are on non-paid leave status from their home institution and placed on the NSF payroll. NSF withholds Social Security taxes and pays the home institution's contributions to maintain retirement and fringe benefits (i.e., health benefits and life insurance), either directly to the home institution or to the carrier. Appointments are usually made for a one-year period and may be extended for an additional year by mutual agreement.

It is NSF policy that NSF personnel employed at or IPAs detailed to NSF are not permitted to participate in foreign government talent recruitment programs.  Failure to comply with this NSF policy could result in disciplinary action up to and including removal from Federal Service or termination of an IPA assignment and referral to the Office of Inspector General. https://www.nsf.gov/careers/Definition-of-Foreign-Talent-HRM.pdf.

Applications will be accepted from U.S. Citizens. Recent changes in Federal Appropriations Law require Non-Citizens to meet certain eligibility criteria to be considered. Therefore, Non-Citizens must certify eligibility by signing and attaching this Citizenship Affidavit to their application. Non-Citizens who do not provide the affidavit at the time of application will not be considered eligible. Non-Citizens are not eligible for positions requiring a security clearance.

To ensure compliance with an applicable preliminary nationwide injunction, which may be supplemented, modified, or vacated, depending on the course of ongoing litigation, the Federal Government will take no action to implement or enforce the COVID-19 vaccination requirement pursuant to Executive Order 14043 on Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees. Federal agencies may request information regarding the vaccination status of selected applicants for the purposes of implementing other workplace safety protocols, such as protocols related to masking, physical distancing, testing, travel, and quarantine.

Candidates must have a Ph.D. or equivalent experience in the physical sciences or a closely related field, plus six or more years of successful research, research administration, and/or managerial experience pertinent to the position after the award of the degree.

Candidates with effective oral and written communication skills, and familiarity with NSF programs and activities are highly desired.

The position requires an individual with broad knowledge and demonstrated expertise across fundamental polymer science. While interdisciplinarity is stressed, a central goal of the Polymers program includes developing and advancing the foundations of polymer science across the wide horizon of the polymer field through innovative research and education projects. Polymers are studied from the molecular level through the nano-to-macro continuum using fundamental materials-focused scientific approaches. Such approaches are experimental but may also partly integrate theoretical, modeling, or computational aspects. Broad areas addressed include materials chemistry, design and preparation, characterization, phase behavior, structure, morphology, and properties. Particular focus is on transformative approaches to novel materials with superior properties, on advancing polymer fundamentals and optimizing structure-property relationships, as well as on basic polymer research addressing major societal challenges.

Successful candidates are expected to work effectively both as an individual within the specific NSF program and as a member of crosscutting and interactive teams, able to work across government agencies to promote NSF activities and to leverage program funds through interagency collaborations. Candidates should be familiar with a broad spectrum of the polymers and materials research communities, as well as with the issues being addressed in the field. Accomplishments in the integration of research and education, multidisciplinary experience and interest, as well as experience with management of review processes are highly desired. 

Applicants should indicate which program they are applying to within their cover letter and the subject line of the email. Please submit your curriculum vitae to dmr-recruit@nsf.gov. Applications are reviewed by DMR's Division Director and Deputy Division Director. A few candidates are selected for telephone and/or NSF on-site or virtual interviews. Applicants will receive an acknowledgment of their application and a status update by email when selections occur. For more information about these openings, you may send an inquiry to dmr-recruit@nsf.gov or contact Alex Klironomos. Nominations from the community are also encouraged. A nomination email can be sent to dmr-recruit@nsf.gov.

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