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Information Systems Section Chief

Department of the Interior
Geological Survey
National Geospatial Technical Operations Center (NGTOC)

Summary

What General Information Do I Need To Know About This Position?
Lakewood, CO GS-13 Step 1 $118,675 - Step 10 $154,280
Rolla, MO GS-13 Step 1 $106,437 - Step 10 $138,370

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

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
04/06/2026 to 04/17/2026
Salary
$106,437 - $154,280 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 13
Locations
1 vacancy in the following locations:
Lakewood, CO
Rolla, MO
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel up to 3 nights per month for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
Yes
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
USGS-RES-26-12918364-ST-DLP
Control number
863050500

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Duties

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As a Supervisory Geographer/Cartographer/Computer Scientist within the National Geospatial Technical Operations Center (NGTOC), some of your specific duties will include:

  • Directs, supervises, and motivates a professional workforce of geospatial system developers in the planning, investigation, testing, prototyping, development and implementation of emerging technologies and capabilities for improving the value, quality and efficiency of National Geospatial Program (NGP) products and services.
  • Works closely with both internal and external teams to ensure collaboration and coordination to achieve an effective and efficient implementation of new capabilities and to sustain current capabilities.
  • Serves as a technical advisor and systems development subject matter expert to the Branch Chief for Systems Development and to NGTOC and the NGP staff and management.
  • Performs planning, budgeting and oversight for numerous systems development projects in support of The National Map.
  • Serves as a representative on governance boards comprised of internal and external stakeholders and communicates relevant System Development issues, strategies and decisions among the Branch, Section and Board members.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

Key Requirements:

  1. Applicants must be U.S. Citizens.
  2. Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
  3. This position requires completion of a one year supervisory/managerial probationary period, if one has not previously been completed.
  4. More requirements are listed under Qualifications and Other Information.

Are There Any Special Requirements For This Position?

  • 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.
  • If you are a Federal employee applying for a promotion (under merit promotion procedures) you must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

Qualifications

GS-0150
A. Degree in geography; or related physical or social science such as geology, meteorology, economics, statistics, sociology, anthropology, political science, history, cartography, computer science, urban studies, or planning that included at least 24 semester hours in geography or related fields.
**OR
B. A combination of education and experience-- courses equivalent to a major in geography, or a related field that included at least 24 semesters hours in geography or related fields, as shown in "A" above, plus appropriate experience and/or additional education. 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. (CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO COMBINE EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE)

GS-1370
A. Degree in cartography; or a major that included or was supplemented by at least 30 semester hours in cartography and/or directly related science, and related mathematics. Such course work includes, but is not limited to, cartography, astronomy, geodesy, photogrammetry, physical and geological oceanography, computer science, land surveying, geophysics, physical geography, and remote sensing. The 30 semester hours must have included at least 6, but no more than 15, semester hours of college level, non-business mathematics or statistics (i.e. college-level algebra, trigonometry, calculus, or scientific mathematics or statistics requiring equivalent college-level courses as prerequisites).
**OR
B. Combination of education and experience-courses equivalent to a major in cartography, or a minor that included or was supplemented by at least 30 semester hours in cartography, and/or directly related science, and related mathematics, as shown in "A" above, 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. (CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS ON HOW TO COMBINE EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE).

GS-1550
Bachelor's or higher degree in computer science OR a bachelor's or higher degree with 30 semester hours in a combination of mathematics, statistics, and computer science. At least 15 of the 30 semester hours must have included any combination of statistics and mathematics that included differential and integral calculus.

GS-13
In addition to the basic education requirement, applicants must meet the following to qualify for the GS-13 level:
One year of appropriate professional experience in geography, cartography, or computer sciences that is equivalent to at least the GS-12 level in the Federal service. 1) Serving as a technical expert on physical and human geographic features for navigation, intelligence, logistics, and broad applications; 2) Planning, managing, and overseeinggeospatial data workflows, including GIS database and model creation for agency systems and maps; 3) Leading, mentoring, and coordinating teams in geospatial data production, analysis, and cartography; 4) Applying advanced cartographic principles to complex or novel situations, revising standards, and contributing to Federal standards; 5) Conducting significant geographic analysis, synthesizing datasets, and producing findings for complex requirements; 6) Developing and managing software systems for geospatial data validation, production, and delivery, including creating new methods when needed; 7) Managing projects to develop new geospatial products or services, resolving complex technical issues; 8) Contributing to authoritative publications or technical papers in geography, cartography, or geospatial systems, demonstrating advanced expertise. Applicants at this level possess extensive knowledge in cartography, geography, or computer science, and exercise independent judgment on challenging scientific work.

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

Conditions of Employment for this Position:
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated.

This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider:
- your performance and conduct;
- the needs and interests of the agency;
- whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
- whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated.

Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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/human-capital/how-foreign-education-evaluated-federal-jobs

Additional information

Other Information:

  • Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.
  • 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.
  • As part of the application process, a series of four short essay questions will be included. Applicants must certify that their own words were used to answer the questions.
  • Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the Department of the Interior (DOI) who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s), including within the same metro/commuting area. Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration.
Agency Benefits:

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

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

--Resume Length:
Please limit your resume to no more than 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

--Basis of Rating:
Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the result of the assessment required for this position. Your responses must be substantiated by your resume. If you do not respond to the application questions you may be rated ineligible.

Narrative Responses Assessment Required: If you meet the eligibility and basic qualification requirements for this position, you will be contacted via email and asked to provide narrative responses to questions that are specific to this job. The email will include the instructions and deadline in which the responses must be submitted. Subject-matter-experts will use these narrative responses to further evaluate your knowledge, skills, abilities, and competences as they directly relate to the duties of this position. Failure to submit this information upon request will result in your disqualification from further consideration.

As part of the online application process, you will be assessed on your possession of the following knowledge skills, abilities and/or competencies:

  • Leadership & Supervision
  • Interpersonal Communication
  • Program/Project Management
  • Information Management
  • Scientific Knowledge

Due weight will be given to performance appraisals and awards during the interview/selection process conducted by the hiring manager. If referred, all relevant documents including performance appraisals and awards submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the hiring official for review.

--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 the announcement questionnaire, click here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12918364

Geological Survey

Agency contact information

Diana Panchal
Phone
703-648-7464
Fax
703-648-4113
Email
diana_panchal@ios.doi.gov
Address
NGTOC INNOVATION OFC
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
Mail Stop 600
Reston, VA 20192
US

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