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Supervisory Hydrologic Technician

Department of the Interior
Geological Survey

Summary

This position is in the Northwest Pacific Island Reg in the Field Office.

Filling one vacancy in each of the following locations:
Honolulu, HI
Kennewick, WA
Ferndale, WA

The official worksite for the selectee is the duty station identified in this vacancy announcement. The selectee will typically report to this duty location on a regular and recurring weekly basis.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Location
3 vacancies in the following locations:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Salary
$89,508 - $116,362 per year

This salary is for the Rest of the U.S. with locality pay scale for 2026. The salary will be adjusted based on the selectee's duty location.

Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Promotion potential
12
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time
Travel Required
50% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
Yes
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
26-13034005-IMP-CS
Control number
880934500

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Open only to current USGS employees serving on perm competitive service appts; OR current USGS employees, regardless of current status, who are eligible for consideration under a noncompetitive auth such as those specific to 30% disabled vets, VRA, Individuals with Disabilities, Pathways Interns & Recent Grads who are eligible for non-comp conversion, etc.

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Duties

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As a Supervisory Hydrologic Technician within the NW- Pacific Island Reg, Field Office, some of your specific duties will include:

- Leads and oversees hydrologic data collection, computation, analysis, and dissemination for surface-water, groundwater, sediment, and water-quality monitoring networks, ensuring products meet U.S. Geological Survey technical standards, Fundamental Science Practices, and mission requirements.

- Provides expert technical consultation to colleagues, interpretive-study staff, and managers on local hydrologic conditions, network design, instrumentation issues, and difficult water-data collection problems requiring unique or modified approaches.

- Applies advanced hydrologic and hydraulic methods, including complex rating development, velocity-index methods, indirect peak-flow measurements, and nonstandard computational approaches to resolve data anomalies and support flood response, water management, and scientific interpretation.

- Serves as a technical authority for hydrologic data collection and computation, reviews staff work, and ensures hydrologic data and products provided to the public and cooperating agencies are accurate, timely, defensible, and consistent with U.S. Geological Survey policies, national standards, and Fundamental Science Practices.

- Serves as the technical authority for hydrologic records by reviewing, analyzing, and approving continuous and discrete data; ensuring quality assurance and quality control of time-series records processed in Aquarius Time-Series or similar systems; and supporting timely release of defensible hydrologic information to customers and the public.

- Supervises a multi-grade staff of hydrologic technicians by planning and assigning work, setting priorities and schedules, reviewing technical and administrative work products, evaluating performance, resolving complaints, and providing day-to-day guidance on work and personnel matters.

- Develops staff through mentoring, coaching, cross-training, and identification of developmental needs, while promoting teamwork, accountability, safety, merit system principles, and equal employment opportunity in daily operations.

- Selects and evaluates sites for gaging stations, groundwater wells, and water-quality monitoring locations; oversees the design, installation, maintenance, calibration, and repair of hydrologic monitoring infrastructure and associated field equipment and telemetry systems.

- Builds and maintains effective working relationships with Federal, Tribal, State, and local partners by organizing cooperator meetings, responding to data and program inquiries, communicating hydrologic conditions and program status, and helping develop work plans and proposals that address water-resources information needs.

- Plans and manages field-office operations by developing work plans, staffing and funding estimates, monitoring expenditures and commitments, and aligning travel, equipment, and personnel resources with changing program priorities and available budgets.

Physical Demands: Field work is conducted year-round in a wide range of environmental and weather conditions across Washington and Hawaiʻi. Conditions may include high heat and humidity, heavy rain, cold temperatures, snow and ice, strong winds, and rapidly changing streamflow during storms and floods. Work may require travel over steep, uneven, slippery, or otherwise difficult terrain; working in and around swift or deep water; operating from small boats; and making measurements from bridges with moving traffic. Field duties frequently involve lifting and carrying equipment, prolonged standing or walking, climbing, and working in remote locations. Required personal protective equipment may be bulky or restrictive and can add to the physical demands associated with heat, cold, precipitation, and other field conditions.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

Key Requirements:

  1. Selectee may be subject to serving a one-year supervisory probationary period.
  2. More requirements are listed under Qualifications and Other Information.
  3. Selectee must provide a valid state driver's license & safe driving record.
  4. Selectee subject to successful completion of a pre-employment medical exam.

Are There Any Special Requirements For This Position?

  • Pre-Employment Medical - Taking and passing a pre-employment medical examination at Federal expense is required due to the physical demands of this job.
  • You will be required to operate a government-owned or leased vehicle in the performance of your official duties. Applicants for this position must meet the following requirements: (1) possess a valid State license, and (2) possess a safe driving record. If selected, you will be required to provide proof of a valid State license & a copy of your driving record.
  • 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

For GS-12:

Applicants must meet the following to qualify for the GS-12 level:

One year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 in the Federal service. Examples of such experience may include: planning and conducting the computation and collection of data from approximately thirty or more gaging stations; determining stage-discharge relations, computing rating tables and mean daily, monthly and annual discharge rates from these stations. Acting as a party chief and making indirect measurements of flood flows under extremely difficult conditions. Collecting data including that required to compute flood flows by the slope-area method, by measurement of flow over dams, by flow through culverts and by flow over embankments. Obtaining hydrologic data from published and unpublished sources and conducting hydrologic studies relative to the frequency of flood and droughts. Planning and coordinating a ground water survey program for an area that may be either a small area with complex features or a larger area with planning and coordinating problems related to the scope of the ground water survey operations.

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

Additional information

Other Information:

  • This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies in the advertised office or other U.S. Geological Survey offices in the local commuting area.
  • Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.
  • 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.
  • 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.

Resume Review Assessment Required: If you meet the eligibility and basic qualification requirements for this position subject-matter-experts will perform a structured review of your resume to evaluate your knowledge, skills, abilities, and competences as they directly relate to the duties of this position.

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.

Geological Survey

Agency contact information

Chan Saechao
Email
chan_saechao@ios.doi.gov
Address
OFFC OF REG DIR, NW-PAC ISLAND REG
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
Mail Stop 600
Reston, VA 20192
US

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