Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results

Hydrologist

Department of Energy
Bonneville Power Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located with Bonneville Power Administration, in in Weather and Streamflow Forecasting organization (PGPW), Power and Operations Planning (PGP), Generation Asset Management (PG), Power Services (P).

A successful candidate in the Hydrologist position will manage the Community Hydrologic Prediction System, overseeing hydrologic prediction, streamflow data management, and weather and streamflow display for hydrogeneration planning.

Overview

Help
Job canceled
Open & closing dates
10/09/2024 to 10/23/2024
Salary
$131,445 to - $170,881 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 14
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Portland, OR
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
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
Financial disclosure
Yes
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
25-BPA-42814-12569665-DE
Control number
813200500

Duties

Help

As a Hydrologist, you will:

  • Maximize the business value of the hydrologic prediction system by working with IT technical leads to prioritize system maintenance and enhancements.
  • Serve as the functional lead and subject matter expert working with BPA's Contracting Office, Contractor/Vendors and BPA IT staff on all Contracting Office/Vendor activities.
  • Serve as the lead quality control expert for vendor and BPA/IT software releases.
  • Represent BPA as the subject matter expert on hydro meteorological science for guiding treaty operations and side agreements
  • Provide daily, weekly, and intra-annual streamflow forecasts for the Columbia River Basin (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia).
  • Perform weekly forecast rotation including continuous monitoring of real-time streamflow, hydrologic forecast performance and trends, and resulting hydrologic impacts across the Columbia Basin.
  • Provide hydro-meteorological decision support for a wide array of BPA workgroups and business functions, computer science, and climate science.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
  • Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by a background investigation.
  • May be required to successfully complete a probationary period.
  • This position does not support remote work. You will be required to report physically to the official reporting worksite as specified by the supervisor, but no less than 3 days per pay period
  • Per DOE 326.1 a Financial Disclosure Statement is required.

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENT: A. Degree: physical or natural science, or engineering that included at least 30 semester hours 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 in calculus (including both differential and integral calculus), and at least 6 semester hours in physics. Calculus and physics, as described above, are requirements for all grade levels

--OR--

B. Combination of education and experience -- course work as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

For more information on how to meet the Basic Requirements please visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/1300/hydrology-series-1315/

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level GS-13 in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position is defined as: developing and evaluating hydrologic forecasting systems involved in analyzing, forecasting, and data collection to improve operational forecasting procedures and methods of forecast interpretation. This includes utilizing information technology and scientific computing and programming related to weather and hydrologic forecasting, such as Linux and Python.

There is no substitution of education for experience at the GS-14 level.

"Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. 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.

CTAP/ICTAP candidates: To be considered "well qualified" you must meet all of the requirements as described in this section.

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

This vacancy has a positive education requirement. In order to be rated as qualified, you must provide copies of your college transcripts. Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. See Department of Education Accreditation Search to verify school accreditation.

Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website.DO NOT email or mail in any of your application documents. Documents will not be accepted outside of the online application system.
In order to be rated as qualified, you must provide copies of your college transcripts.

Failure to provide copies of your college transcripts may result in a rating of "Ineligible".

Additional information


About the Position - Portland
This position is located in Portland, OR which boasts huge spans of amazing trees, foliage, landscape, and everywhere you look you can appreciate beautiful greenery! It is known as the most bike-friendly city in America, has a train system that greets you at the airport spanning across the city, and is home to the Portland International Rose Garden, the oldest in the country! Portland is the one place where you will find lively festivals, energetic music, mouthwatering food, and for you basketball fans, the Portland Trail Blazers are a 7 minute walk from the HQs building! There is always something new to experience in this eco-friendly town!

EEO Policy: USAJOBS Help Center | Equal employment opportunity policy
Reasonable Accommodation Policy: USAJOBS Help Center | Reasonable accommodation policy
Veterans Information: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/working-in-government/unique-hiring-paths/veterans/disabled/
Telework: www.telework.gov
Selective Service Registration: http://www.sss.gov/

Hiring incentives may be authorized for a highly qualified candidate based on budget availability and in accordance with federal regulations.

BPA strives to ensure a safe, positive, inclusive work environment, supported by Leadership Behaviors. For more information on Leadership Behaviors visit: www.bpa.gov/goto/LeadershipBehaviors

We also understand the importance of work/life balance and offer a variety of programs and policies designed to create more flexible, responsive work environments supportive of commitments to community, home and family members. BPA also supports employees' overall wellness through its Be Well program, which helps employees adopt healthier lifestyles and feel better about their work/life balance. The program supports five key areas of life: career, community, financial, physical and social.

How you will be evaluated

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

The Department of Energy uses an application tracking system to evaluate the responses you provide in the applicant assessment questionnaire to place you into an initial quality category via OPM's Category Rating procedures. These categories are "Best Qualified", "Well Qualified", and "Qualified. Then, the HR Office and/or Subject Matter Expert (SME) will conduct a quality review of your application and supporting documentation to ensure you have been placed into the appropriate quality category.

Your application is rated based on the extent and quality of your experience, education (when applicable), and training as described in your resume and applicant assessment. Your credentials are measured against the established duties of the position at the grade level(s) being advertised.

If you are eligible for career transition assistance plans such as ICTAP or CTAP, you must meet the definition of "well qualified" which is defined as scoring in the Well Qualified category (or higher).

If you are a Veteran Preference eligible candidate, you will be listed at the top of whichever quality category your rating places you in. CP/CPS veterans are placed at the top of the highest category for all positions except professional and scientific positions at GS-9 and higher.

If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses you provided in your online questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation before the vacancy closes, you may be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score may be adjusted accordingly

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

Once the application process is complete, your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications. If you are minimally qualified for this job, your responses to the self-assessment questions (True/False, Yes/ No, Multiple Choice questions) will be evaluated and you will be placed into one of three pre-defined quality categories under Category Rating procedures. These categories are "Best Qualified", "Well Qualified", and "Qualified. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

  • Decision Making
  • Leadership
  • Oral Communication
  • Technical Competence
  • Writing


Application of Veterans' Preference: If you are a preference eligible candidate, you will be listed at the top of whichever quality category your rating places you in. CP/CPS veterans are placed at the top of the highest category for all positions except professional and scientific positions at GS-9 and higher.

Career Transition Assistance Programs: To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet the eligibility criteria; and 2) be rated "well-qualified", which is defined as scoring 85.0 or higher.

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date (10/23/2024) of this announcement.

To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12569665

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.