Seasonal Archeologist

Full Job Description

OPM has identified this position as eligible for an exception to the typical 1039-hour season. This exception allows up to 1560 hours which may extend the season(s) reflected in this announcement.

The typical seasonal period for these positions is April - October but can be variable during these months due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding. Anticipated Entry on Duty: April 2026.

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-02/19/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience.

To receive credit for 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 the resume 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 of qualified specialized experience.

To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level, you must meet basic requirements and minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: Basic Requirements 1.

Education (A) Degree that included 3 semester hours each in the following course areas: History of archeology. Archeology of a major geographical area such as North America or Africa.

Regional archeology, archeological cultures, or sites in a specific part or portion of a major geographical area to acquire or develop a foundation for regional specialization for professional development.

Theory and methods of archeology. Methods include, but are not limited to, typology, classification, sampling, cultural evolution, diffusion, dating, and analytical techniques.

Archeological field school, to provide a basic understanding of theoretical and practical approaches to research design implementation, field preservation techniques, and report preparation by participation in actual field work.

AND Six semester hours of related course work in: geography, geology, or cultural geography; history, historiography, or historical archeology; environmental studies; scientific writing (nonfiction English composition); and/or surveying.

AND Archeological field school.

(B) Related Curriculum: a degree in anthropology (with emphasis on ethnology, physical anthropology, or scientific linguistics), history, American studies, or a related discipline may be accepted as satisfying in full the educational requirements, provided the curriculum supplied academic course work sufficiently similar to the requirements in A.1 (including archeological field school).

OR 2.

Combination of Education and Experience College-level education or training that provided knowledge equivalent to that described in A above, plus appropriate technical experience or additional education.

OR 3. Experience Four years of archeological work experience that demonstrated a thorough knowledge of the fundamental principles and theories of professional archeology.

The work experience must have included archeology field experience, which may include that gained in an archeological field school.

Field experience should have included a combination of professional experience in archeological survey, excavation, laboratory analysis, and preparation of written materials.

Applicants with such field experience should, after additional experience under the direction of a higher grade archeologist, be able to demonstrate the ability to be a crew chief, directing the work of others at a single location as a part of a larger archeological project.

Minimum Qualifications In addition to the basic requirements listed above, you must also meet one of the following minimum qualifications: Experience: At least one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors).

Specialized experience is experience that has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to successfully perform the duties of this position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled.

For this position, specialized experience is (1) conducting archeological site inventories and cataloging; (2) Photographing artifacts for curation and produces quality photographs for report publications; (3) preparing archeological survey and excavation reports; and (4) using Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to record archeological sites and features.

You must include hours worked per week.

-OR- Education: Successful completion of at least two (2) full academic years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree, or a master's or equivalent graduate degree that provides the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

You must include transcripts. -OR- Combination of Education and Experience: Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above.

To combine education and experience, first take the number of semester hours (or equivalent) earned towards a graduate degree and divide by 18.

Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include transcripts.

Volunteer Experience: 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. Major Duties:

Conducts archeological research for project reviews and field investigations to document conditions and monitor work sites requiring excavation.

Inputs acquired data into digital form and uses computer applications for record keeping analysis, manipulation, and presentation.

Identifies, evaluates, and monitors cultural resources, identifies potential threats.