Civil Engineer (Hydrologic)/Hydrologist

American Meteorological Society; Sacramento (CA); On-site; USD 133,000 - 161,000; Full time

Job summary

The American Meteorological Society seeks a Civil Engineer (Hydrologic)/Hydrologist to join the Bureau of Reclamation in California. This interdisciplinary role focuses on water resources, hydrology, and CVP operations.

As a regional expert, you will provide written and verbal guidance on water management decisions, review complex hydrologic data, and help develop operating policies while coordinating with federal, state, and local agencies and stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Basic Educational Requirements include ABET-accredited engineering degree.
• Combination of education and experience can qualify via FE, or PE licensure.
• Hydrology series requires degree with hydro-related coursework; or combination with appropriate experience.
• One year of specialized experience at the GS-12 level or equivalent is required for higher grade eligibility.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert guidance on CVP water management decisions and hydrology.
• Review complex near-real-time hydrologic, meteorological, and operational data.
• Lead or participate in meetings with Federal, state, local agencies, and stakeholders.
• Develop methods to analyze impacts of proposed constraints or changes to the CVP.

Skills

Hydrology

Water resources

Engineering analysis

Policy development

Education

ABET-accredited engineering program

FE exam or PE licensure

Hydrology-related coursework (calculus, physics)

Job description

Summary

You will serve as a Civil Engineer (Hydrologic)/Hydrologist with Bureau of Reclamation.

Learn more about this agency

Duties

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

• Serves as one of five (5) regional water operations experts for the CVP providing written and verbal technical advice, guidance, and direction in water management decisions.
• Applies expert, broad-based knowledge of the complex interrelated aspects of CVP facilities, California hydrology, Bay-Delta conditions, historical water-year patterns, operational parameters, current issues, and potential controversies associated with water supplies and deliveries.
• Develops and implements new operating policy as needed to adapt CVP operations to the changing water resource environment in the State of California.
• Uses current data acquisition applications and data management systems to review and evaluate the most complex near- and real-time hydrologic, meteorological, and operational data.
• As a Regional subject matter expert, serves as a team technical advisor, member, or team member, or team leader for CVP operations, hydrology, water supply, water quality, water requirements, water use, water rights, or reservoir storage related modeling and studies.
• Directs and/or conducts the development of methods for analysis and performs, or coordinates the performance of, studies to evaluate the impacts of proposed constraints, standards, additional project demands or other changes to the CVP.
• In a leadership capacity, participates in meetings, briefings, hearings, and/or other gatherings with Departmental, Reclamation and other Regional staff, representatives of other agencies, stakeholders, the media and the public.
• Provides expert-level technical information on the CVP and related issues to senior Reclamation officials and staff, explains policies and agreements, and seeks to resolve conflicts and gain cooperation from concerned entities.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• Must provide proof of U.S. citizenship.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Direct Deposit participation required.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit https://www.e-verify.gov/.
• Required to perform an uncommon tour of duty (e.g., outside normal work hours) in connection with weekend duties, flood emergencies, or other special circumstances.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.

This probationary/trial 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/trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 08/28/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.

Minimum Qualification Requirements:

Basic Educational Requirement AND/OR Specialized Experience for the series to which you are applying.

0810 Civil Engineering Series Basic Educational Requirements:

In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following:

A. Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.

-OR-

B. Combination of education and experience college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:

1. Professional registration or licensure Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT) , or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.

2. Written Test Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

3. Specified academic courses Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A.

4. Related curriculum Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor's degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)

1315 Hydrology Series Basic Educational Requirements:

In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following:

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.

-OR-

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

To qualify for this position at the GS-13 grade level:

Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: experience performing engineering work in support of the management of complex and difficult water resources issues; water resources/hydrology project/program development, and planning; formulation and execution of comprehensive operations related to water resource activities; maintaining contact and collaborative working relationships with state, federal and local agencies, and Indian Tribes in implementing water resources management projects; providing counsel to higher organizational levels concerning water resource management issues. These examples are not all inclusive.

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.

Education

This position does not allow substituting education for experience.

You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education for the Basic Educational Requirement(s). Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications

Additional information

Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.

If otherwise eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information visit: Recruitment Incentive or Relocation Incentive. A continued service agreement may be required if it is determined you are eligible for a permanent change in duty station (PCS), recruitment, or relocation incentive.

All DOI employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here, DOI Ethics Prohibitions | U.S. Department of the Interior.

This is an interdisciplinary position. Position may be filled as: Civil Engineer (Hydrologic) 0810 or Hydrologist 1315.

Salary range:

Civil Engineer (Hydrologic): $133,359 - $160,638

Hydrologist: $117,984 - $153,382

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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.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.