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Hydrologist, GS-1315-DEU (DB)

Department of the Interior
Geological Survey
This job announcement has closed

Summary

What General Information Do I Need To Know About This Position?

Salary:

GS-09 - $53,347 (Step 01) to $69,352 (Step 10)

GS-11 - $64,545 (Step 01) to $83,906 (Step 10)

NOTE: First time hires to the Federal Government are typically hired at the Step 01.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
02/19/2020 to 02/28/2020
Salary
$53,347 to - $83,906 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 09 - 11
Location
FEW vacancies in the following location:
Indianapolis, IN
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - Occasional travel of up to 4 to 7 nights per month may be required.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-Time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
RES-2020-0126
Control number
560185800

Duties

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As a Hydrologist within the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, some of your specific duties will include: 

  • Plans, budgets, coordinates project and staff, conducts and reports on studies (hydrologic and water quality, sediments and air chemistry).
  • Applies, modifies and guides use of established and new procedures to collect, quality assurance, achieve and release data (hydrologic and water quality, sediment and air chemistry), for conventional and anomalous conditions.  
  • Computes, analyzes, interprets, and presents hydrologic water quality and air chemistry results using computerized simulation, statistical, geographic information systems, and other tools.
  • Prepares, reviews and presents project proposals, public presentations and reports of hydrologic, water quality, sediment and air chemistry studies. Collaborates with internal and external partners on development, progress, and results. 
  • Operate a government vehicle as a incidental driver.

Physical Demands: The work requires frequent physical exertion while conducting field portions of projects work and with inspection of ongoing operations, including walking over rough, rocky, uneven terrain; lifting and carrying equipment and supplies; and wading in streams in all types of weather.

Work Environment:  The work involves some degree of risk when conducting on-the-ground assessments of operations as well as exposure to moderate discomfort from such extremes as heat, cold, and inclement weather.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Applicants must be U.S. Citizens.
  • Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
  • Selectee may be subject to serving a one-year probationary period.
  • More requirements are listed under Qualifications and Other Information.
  • Selectee must provide a valid state driver's license & safe driving record.
  • Selectee subject to successful completion of a pre-employment medical exam.

Are There Any Special Requirements For This Position?

  •  This position is subject to pre-employment medical as a condition of employment.
  • Because this position requires travel for official business, the selectee will be required to apply for a charge card within 30 calendar days of appointment.  Individuals who have delinquent account balances from a previous Government charge card will be required to satisfy their existing obligation before a new card can be issued.
  • A background investigation will be required for this position. Continued employment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication. Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.
  • Throughout the recruitment and hiring process we will be communicating with you via email; therefore, it is imperative that the email address you provide when applying for this vacancy remains active. Should your email address change, please notify the point of contact identified in the vacancy announcement as soon as possible so that we can update our system.

Qualifications

  • For information on basic qualifications, which includes information on whether you may substitute education for specialized experience, please click on the following: https://www.usgs.gov/about/organization/science-support/human-capital/hydrologist-gs-1315.
  • In addition to the basic education requirements, you must have 1-year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level in the Federal service.
  • BASIC EDUCATION REQUIREMENT: Applicants must meet A or B below to satisfy the basic education requirement for Hydrologist, all grade levels.

    A. Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree in physical or natural science, or engineering that included at least 30 semester hours or the equivalent in any combination of courses in hydrology, the physical sciences, geophysics, chemistry, engineering science, soils, mathematics, aquatic biology, atmospheric science, meteorology, geology, oceanography, or the management or conservation of water resources. The course work must have included at least 6 semester hours or the equivalent in calculus (including both differential and integral calculus), and at least 6 semester hours or the equivalent in physics. **OR B. A combination of education and experience-course work as shown in "A" above (30 semester hours or the equivalent in any combination of courses as specified in "A" above which must include at least 6 semester hours or the equivalent in calculus (including both differential and integral calculus), and at least 6 semester hours or the equivalent in physics), plus appropriate experience and/or additional education for a total of 4 years. The education or combined education and experience must be comparable in type, scope and thoroughness to that acquired through successful completion of a 4-year course of study as described in "A" above.
  • For GS-09:

    In addition to the basic education requirement as stated above, applicants must meet one of the following to qualify for the GS-09 level:

    2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education (36 semester hours, 54 quarter hours or the equivalent) leading to a master's degree in hydrology or other directly related field of study or master's or equivalent graduate degree in hydrology or other directly related field of study if it provided the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of this position.

    **OR one year of appropriate professional experience in hydrology that is equivalent to at least the GS-07 level in the Federal service.

    Examples of such experience related to the duties of this position include performing a variety of straightforward hydrologic measurements using automated data collection equipment and continuous and discrete observations, and basic computations, compilations, quality assurance, analyses and interpretation of hydrologic, water quality and air chemistry data in assisting higher level Hydrologists in carrying out hydrologic assignments. Work experience would include public presentations and peer-reviewed interpretive technical reports, academic thesis or dissertation, or journal articles that document scientific studies. Work or academic background would have included organic chemistry.  This work experience would have involved following established methods and procedures, or detailed instructions; using some judgment in applying basic principles and procedures and would have required a good general working knowledge of the principles and the theories of hydrology and application of geographic information system, statistical analysis and hydrologic simulations to data analysis.

    **OR a combination of successfully completed progressive graduate level education, as described above, that is beyond the first year of graduate study and professional experience, as described above. 

    For GS-11:

    In addition to the basic education requirement as stated above, applicants must meet one of the following to qualify for the GS-11 level: 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education (54 semester hours, 81 quarter hours or the equivalent) leading to a Ph.D. degree in hydrology or other directly related field of study or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in hydrology or other directly related field of study if it provided the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of this position.

    **OR one year of appropriate professional experience in hydrology that is equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in the Federal service.

    Examples of such experience related to the duties of this position include independent responsibility for a well-defined study or for a phase of a larger study that required the planning and carrying out of routine hydrologic work. This work would have required the individual to select and make minor adaptations to procedures and accepted practices and handle unexpected conditions arising in the normal course of the work, including establishing, automated hydrologic data collection networks and calibrating, collecting data from and troubleshooting operation of the network, implementing quality assurance and public release of continuous and discrete data, and with interpretation of hydrologic, water quality and air chemistry data.  Work or academic background would have included organic chemistry.  Experience would include preparation of project proposals, public presentations, public release of data and peer-reviewed interpretive technical reports, academic thesis or dissertation, or journal articles that document scientific studies. At this level, Hydrologists have a sound working knowledge of the principles of hydrology and application of geographic information system, statistical analysis and hydrologic simulations to data analysis and the ability to independently perform moderately difficult and responsible scientific work.

    **OR a combination of successfully completed graduate level education, as described, above that is beyond the second year of progressive graduate study and professional experience, as described above. 

    You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements for the position by the closing date of the announcement.

Education

  • 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.
  • Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the above requirements. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.usgs.gov/about/organization/science-support/human-capital/how-foreign-education-evaluated-federal-jobs .

Additional information

  • Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.
  • Identification of promotion potential in this announcement does not constitute a commitment or an obligation on the part of management to promote the employee selected at some future date. Promotion will depend upon administrative approval and the continuing need for and performance of higher-level duties.
  • Under Executive Order 11935, only United States citizens and nationals (residents of American Samoa and Swains Island) may compete for civil service jobs. Agencies are permitted to hire non-citizens only in very limited circumstances where there are no qualified citizens available for the position.
  • USGS employees are subject to Title 43, USC Section 31(a) and may not: (a) have any personal, private, direct or indirect interest in lands or mineral wealth of lands under survey; (b) have any substantial personal, private, direct or indirect interests in any private mining or mineral enterprise doing business with the United States; or (c) execute surveys or examinations for private parties or corporations.
  • The application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a). The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361.
  • DOI uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit www.dhs.gov/E-Verify.  
  • THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

--Vacancy Related Questions: As part of the online application process, you will need to respond to a series of questions designed to assess your possession of the following knowledge skills, abilities and/or competencies:

  • Scientific Knowledge
  • Scientific Records
  • Information Management
  • Compute/Analyze Data
  • Laboratory Techniques
  • Collect Scientific Data
  • Groundwater Scientific Knowledge
  • Program/Project Management
  • Customer Service
  • Written Communication
  • Interpersonal Communication

--Basis of rating:  Category rating will be used in the ranking and selection process for this position. The quality categories are Best Qualified, Well Qualified, and Qualified. You will be rated on the extent and quality of your experience, education, and training relevant to the duties of the position. If you are eligible, your on-line responses to the application questions will determine your placement in the appropriate quality category described above. Your responses must be substantiated by your resume. If you do not respond to the application questions you may be rated ineligible. Veterans' preference rules for category rating will be applied.

--NOTE: If it is determined that you have rated yourself higher than is supported in your description of experience and/or education as described in your resume/application, or that your resume or application is incomplete, you may be rated ineligible, not qualified, or your score may be lowered.


To preview questions please click here.

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