GEOLOGIST

US Geological Survey; California (MO); On-site; USD 57,000 - 77,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Geological Survey seeks a Geologist GS-1350-09/11/12 at either Austin, TX or Moffett Field, CA. The position will be filled at GS-9 with a full performance level of GS-12, and pay will vary by duty location. First time hires start at the step 1 rate.

Basic Education and Specialized Experience include a Geology degree with coursework and experience with GIS, ArcGIS Online, and Python/ArcPy. Relevant combinations of education and experience are considered.

Qualifications

• Status by closing date: 09/15/2026 or as stated; all qualifications must be met by then.
• Specialized experience includes GIS and geologic data analysis with ESRI tools.
• Educational background requires geology degree with related coursework.

Responsibilities

• Generate and manage geologic analyses per project requirements.
• Develop and maintain GIS workflows and geoprocessing tools.

Skills

GIS systems

ArcGIS online

Python/ArcPy

Education

Geology degree

Graduate degree in geology

Tools

ESRI software

ArcGIS

Job description

This position will serve as a Geologist GS-1350-09/11/12 for the U.S. Geological Survey in either Austin, TX or Moffett Field, CA. The position will be filled at the GS-9 level with a full performance level of GS-12.

Pay will vary based on duty location for which you're selected. First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

Requirements Continued...

You must be at least (1)18 years old or (2) at least 16 years old and: (a) Have graduated from high school or been awarded a certificate equivalent to graduating from high school; or (b) Have completed a formal vocational training program; or (c) Have received a statement from school authorities agreeing with their preference for employment rather than continuing their education; or (d) Be currently enrolled in a secondary school and either work only during school vacation periods or work part-time during the school year under a formal student employment program.

Qualifications:

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-09/15/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

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

Basic Educational Requirements

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

• A. Degree: Geology, plus 20 additional semester hours in any combination of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological science, structural, chemical, civil, mining or petroleum engineering, computer science, planetary geology, comparative planetology, geophysics, meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, physical geography, marine geology, and cartography. You must submit transcripts.

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

-AND-

To qualify for this position at the GS-9 grade level:

• Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-7 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience performing a variety of observations, computations, compilations and analyses in assisting higher level Geologists in carrying out geologic assignments such as: Developing and managing cloud-based enterprise GIS systems with ESRI software (or similar Graphic Information Software) and associated server hardware; Generating ESRI file geodatabases; Integrating ArcGIS online with geologic field data; Developing and maintaining Python/ArcPy geoprocessing tools. You must include hours per week worked.

• Education: Successful completion of at least two years of progressively higher-level graduate education (36 semester hours, 54 quarter hours or the equivalent) leading to a master's degree in geology or other directly related field of study or master's or equivalent graduate degree in geology or other directly related field of study if it provided the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of the position to be filled. You must include transcripts.

• Combination of education and experience: To combine education and experience, first take the number of semester hours (or equivalent) earned towards a directly related graduate degree that is beyond the first year of graduate study and divide by 18 semester hours (or equivalent). Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week and transcripts.

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.