ENGINEER, WATER RESOURCES

State of California; California; Hybrid; USD 72,000 - 136,000; Full time

Job summary

State of California is seeking an innovative Engineer, Water Resources (WR) to contribute to real-time forecasting and reservoir coordination. You will monitor storms, develop hydrologic models, and collaborate with multi-agency partners to support water management decisions in a dynamic environment.

The role involves creating decision support tools, training in forecast research, and applying hydrology expertise to California’s water resources.

Qualifications

• Possession of a valid California Driver’s License.
• Pre-employment eligibility may require security checks and access requirements as outlined by federal and state directives.

Responsibilities

• Monitor storms and issue river and reservoir inflow forecasts.
• Develop and run hydrologic and reservoir operations models to aid water supply and flood management decisions.
• Collaborate with federal, state, and local partners on reservoir operations solutions.
• Support Forecast-Coordinated Operations and Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations programs.
• Create and enhance hydrology and reservoir operations decision support systems, tools, and dashboards.
• Train and learn latest forecast research and apply to RCOU work.

Job description

$6,488.00 - $12,152.00 per Month
New to State candidates will be hired into the minimum salary of the classification or minimum of alternate range when applicable.

Final Filing Date: 10/30/2026

The Reservoir Coordinated Operations Unit (RCOU) is looking for an innovative and passionate Engineer, Water Resources (WR) who is looking for the opportunity to contribute to their technical and engineering skills towards one of the Department of Water Resources (DWR) most impactful programs. The Engineer, WR on our team work in the exciting and ever-changing environment of real-time forecasting and reservoir coordination and modeling. Under the supervision of the RCOU manager, typical work duties include:

• As a part of the State-federal forecasting team, monitor storms and issue river and reservoir inflow forecasts, which impact communities statewide.
• Develop and run hydrologic and reservoir operations models, which aid water supply and flood management decisions by reservoir managers.
• Collaborate and coordinate with federal, State, and local partners in developing and implementing engineering solutions for reservoir operations.
• Support and advance the Forecast-Coordinated Operations and the Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations programs.
• Create new and enhance existing hydrology and reservoir operations decision support systems, tools, and dashboards.
• Train and learn about the latest advancements in forecast research and reservoir operations and apply this knowledge to the work in RCOU.

Through these duties, this position is critical to DWR’s mission to sustainably manage the water resources of California by supporting the decision making of water managers, flood emergency responders and reservoir operators.

You will find additional information about the job in the Duty Statement .

Minimum Requirements

You will find the Minimum Requirements in the Class Specification.

• ENGINEER, WATER RESOURCES

ENGINEER, WATER RESOURCES $6,488.00 - $7,735.00A $7,428.00 - $9,296.00B $8,896.00 - $11,131.00C $9,712.00 - $12,152.00D New to State candidates will be hired into the minimum salary of the classification or minimum of alternate range when applicable.

# of Positions:

1

Telework:

Hybrid

Job Type:

Permanent, Full Time

Department Information

Division of Flood Operations, Hydrology and Flood Operations Branch, Operations Support Section, Reservoir Coordinated Operations Unit;Sacramento

Department of Water Resources (DWR) was established in 1956 by the California State Legislature.We manage California’s water resources, systems, and infrastructure, including the State Water Project, in a responsible sustainable way.

At DWR, we are embedding climate change response into every project we undertake. We have set standards to help evaluate how each project incorporates climate resilience principles and ensure consistency across the Department. Our mission is to sustainably manage the water resources of California, in cooperation with other agencies, to benefit the state’s people and protect, restore, and enhance the natural and human environments.

DWR also strives to create a trusting and welcoming workplace where employees embrace diverse viewpoints and treat each other with civility and respect. An important component of DWR’s equal employment opportunity program centers around justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Free virtual career consultation services including one-on-one DWR career consultations, application/resume review, tips for applying, and mock interviews, provided by DWR’s Recruitment and Workforce Planning section can now be scheduled via https://water.ca.gov/About/Careers.

Special Requirements

Possession of a valid California Driver’s License.

Pre-employment eligibility may require successfully passing a security check and meeting applicable access requirements, as outlined in U.S. Department of Commerce Departmental Administrative Order (DAO) 207-12, NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 207-12, and NWS Foreign National Access and Technology Transfer Directive (NWSI) 60-704, including any applicable requirements related to access by foreign nationals. Continued access to NWS networks and databases may also require periodic reverification and compliance with applicable security and access requirements.

Desirable Qualifications

In addition to evaluating each candidate's relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate:

In addition to evaluating each candidate's relative ability, as demonstrated by quality and breadth of experience, the following factors will provide the basis for competitively evaluating each candidate: We are seeking highly motivated candidates with strong verbal, documentation, technical writing, and technical presentation skills. Additionally, the candidate should possess similar experience with respect to multi-agency coordination. Candidate should be knowledgeable in reservoir operations, reservoir operations modeling and HEC-ResSim modeling software. Candidates should be knowledgeable in the principles of hydrology and hydrologic principles and those principles as it relates to California. They should also have knowledge and experience of hydrologic modeling to include real-time modeling and forecasting. This includes knowledge of probability and statistics and the application of probability and statistics to forecasting. The candidate should also have experience with the HEC-DSSVue software, knowledge of programming languages such as JAVA, Python, MATLAB, R. In addition, the candidate should also have experience in with the Microsoft Office suite of applications.

Personal Leave Program 2025: Effective July 1, 2025, state employees are subject to temporary wage reductions in exchange for Personal Leave Program (PLP) accruals. The specific rate and hours earned were negotiated and agreed upon by each bargaining unit.The actual monetary impact of these temporary reductions can vary based on your bargaining unit and/or federal and state tax withholdings. For additional information please visit Human Resources Manual - CalHR .

Contact Information

The Hiring Unit Contact is available to answer questions regarding the position or application process.

Hiring Unit Contact:
Timothy McDaniel
[phone]
[e-mail]

Please direct requests for Reasonable Accommodations to the interview scheduler at the time the interview is being scheduled. You may direct any additional questions regarding Reasonable Accommodations or Equal Employment Opportunity for this position(s) to the Department's EEO Office.

EEO Contact:
Office of Civil Rights
[phone]
[e-mail]

California Relay Service: 1-800-735-2929 (TTY), 1-800-735-2922 (Voice)TTY is a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, and is reachable only from phones equipped with a TTY Device.