Hydrologic Technician

US Geological Survey; Billings (MT); On-site; USD 41,000 - 53,000; Full time

Job summary

You will serve as a Hydrologic Technician within the Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center located in Billings, MT.

You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 10 nights per month and must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes. Salary GS-05 $40,736 (step 1) - $52,957 (step 10), with first-time hires starting at step 1.

Qualifications

• Specialized experience includes assisting with collection of hydrologic data and taking water-level measurements.
• Education can substitute for experience with a four-year degree and relevant science coursework.
• Combination of education and experience may meet the requirements; hours per week must be specified.

Responsibilities

• Assist with the collection of hydrologic data.
• Take water-level, streamflow, discharge, or water-quality measurements.
• Record field observations and related metadata.
• Assist with installation or maintenance of hydrologic equipment and instrumentation.
• Enter, retrieve, and maintain scientific data using databases or spreadsheets.

Skills

Hydrology data collection

Field measurements

Data entry

Equipment maintenance

Education

Bachelor's degree in science/engineering

Tools

Databases

Spreadsheets

Job description

You will serve as a Hydrologic Technician within the Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center located in Billings, MT.

You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 10 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.

Salary GS-05 $40,736 (step 1) - $52,957 (step 10)

First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-09/17/2026-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.

Minimum Qualification Requirements

To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications:

Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above):

Examples of qualifying specialized experience include:

• Technician or aid in engineering, earth, physical, or natural science, forestry, soil conservation, or surveying.
• Trades or crafts work in maintenance or construction of facilities or equipment related to hydrology.
• Drafting.
• Construction estimating.

To qualify for this position at the GS-05 grade level:

• Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-04 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: assisting with the collection of hydrologic data; taking water-level, streamflow, discharge, or water-quality measurements; recording field observations and related metadata; assisting with the installation or maintenance of hydrologic equipment and instrumentation; or entering, retrieving, and maintaining scientific data using databases, spreadsheets, or other software. You must include hours per week worked. -OR-
• Education: Successful completion of at least full four year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree (a) with major study in an appropriate field of science (i.e., geology, chemistry, physics, geophysics, biology, ecology, mathematics, soils, forestry, meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, physical science, atmospheric science) engineering, construction, or industrial technology, or (b) that included at least 24 semester hours, or the equivalent, in any combination of courses such as engineering, industrial technology, construction drafting, surveying, physical science, biology, or mathematics.. You must include transcripts. -OR-
• Combination of education and experience. To combine education and experience, combination of successfully completed post-high school education and specialized experience may be used to meet the qualification requirements for GS-5. Only progressive education in excess of the first 60 semester hours or 90 quarter hours (i.e., beyond the first two years) of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement, assuming the education includes the appropriate number of directly related semester hours, or the equivalent, in any combination of courses such as engineering, industrial technology, construction drafting, surveying, physical science, biology, or mathematics.

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.