Hydrologist

American Meteorological Society; Blue River (OR); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Forest Service is seeking a hydrologist to join a field-based research unit in Oregon, focusing on evaluating forest management effects on erosion and stream functions.

You will integrate with a team to perform field measurements, data quality control, and sediment analyses. Responsibilities include developing and maintaining data-processing software, ensuring instrument and data integrity, and performing basic laboratory and field equipment repairs at monitoring sites.

Qualifications

• Degree: physical or natural science, or engineering that included at least 30 semester hours in any combination of 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 and at least 6 semester hours in physics.

Responsibilities

• Operates, maintains, and collects data from hydrometeorological field instruments; performs field and laboratory measurements on hydrologic characteristics.
• Is responsible for data compilation and quality assurance for hydrometeorological data, including streamflow, temperature, and rainfall data.
• Prepares and processes sediment samples to determine sediment characteristics using gravimetric methods, as well as miscellaneous other sediment-related analyses.
• Compiles reports of processed samples, and analyzes data to calculate standard streamflow and precipitation metrics and assess sensor functions at each monitoring station.
• Develops, maintains, and trouble-shoots software used at various stages in sample processing and reporting, as well as software used in processing and documenting other hydrologic data from monitoring sites.
• Maintains, trouble-shoots, and carries out simple repairs of basic laboratory and field equipment.

Job description

Summary

This position is located on a Forest Service Research unit.

The incumbent performs professional work in the field of hydrology, participating as a member of a research team working to evaluate short-and long-term effects of forest management activities on erosion processes and stream functions.

For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Adam Price at [e-mail].

Duties

• Operates, maintains, and collects data from hydrometeorological field instruments; performs field and laboratory measurements on hydrologic characteristics.
• Is responsible for data compilation and quality assurance for hydrometeorological data, including streamflow, temperature, and rainfall data.
• Prepares and processes sediment samples to determine sediment characteristics using gravimetric methods, as well as miscellaneous other sediment-related analyses.
• Compiles reports of processed samples, and analyzes data to calculate standard streamflow and precipitation metrics and assess sensor functions at each monitoring station.
• Develops, maintains, and trouble-shoots software used at various stages in sample processing and reporting, as well as software used in processing and documenting other hydrologic data from monitoring sites.
• Maintains, trouble-shoots, and carries out simple repairs of basic laboratory and field equipment.

Conditions of Employment

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt.
• Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
• Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards.

Your application and resume must clearly show that you possess the experience requirements. Transcripts must be provided for qualifications based on education. Provide course descriptions as necessary.

Basic Requirement: GS-1315 Series:

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. Calculus and physics, as described above, are requirements for all grade levels.

OR

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

Evaluation of Experience:

Acceptable experience must have included performance of scientific functions related to the study of water resources, based on and requiring a professional knowledge of related sciences and the consistent application of basic scientific principles to the solution of theoretical and practical hydrologic problems. The following is illustrative of acceptable experience: field or laboratory work that would require application of hydrologic theory and related sciences such as geology, geo-chemistry, geophysics, or civil engineering to making observations, taking samples, operating instruments, assembling data from source materials, analyzing and interpreting data, and reporting findings orally and in writing. In some cases, professional scientific experience that is not clearly water resource experience may be acceptable if such experience was preceded by appropriate education in hydrology or by professional hydrology experience.

Applicants with related experience in hydrology gained through earlier Federal Government employment might have gained that experience in one or more occupational series. Such series include Soil Conservation, GS-457; Forestry, GS-460; Soil Science, GS-470; Civil Engineering, GS-810; Chemistry, GS-1320; Meteorology, GS-1340; and Geology, GS-1350. Comparable non-Federal experience may be given similar credit.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education in the amounts listed below.

Specialized Experience Requirement:

For the GS-09 level:

Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 in the Federal service. Qualifying specialized experience is defined as four or more of the following:

• Assisting with creating complex databases including full metadata and flagging of questionable data.
• Manipulating and assisting in analyzing large data sets from a variety of research areas such as forestry, atmospheric sciences, hydrology, socio-economics, wildlife, fisheries - analyses included graphical and text summaries across multiple timesteps, calculations of higher order statistical metrics.
• Assisting in developing, designing and managing complex databases including data dictionaries, data models, quality assurance, and metadata for multi-disciplinary information and geospatial applications.
• Presenting analysis of complex and large datasets at local or regional scientific meetings, assisted with national meeting presentations. Integrating datasets with different structural and disciplinary characteristics.
• Documenting the multiple steps of data acquisition and management of streaming data, starting with raw data on field datalogger to final data available on the web.

OR

an a master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., directly related to the work of this Hydrologist position. Examples of directly related education are: watershed science, forest hydrology, hydrologic engineering, hydrogeology, hydrology, environmental engineering, civil engineering, agricultural engineering, and soil science.

OR

an appropriate combination of specialized experience and education. Only graduate education in excess of 18 semester hours may be used to qualify applicants for this grade level. The education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.

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.

TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENT:

If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. This requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

See above for education that may be qualifying for the specific grade level.

Additional information

This is a temporary promotion not-to-exceed 1-year and may be extended without further competition or may end earlier due to lack of work or funds, or at the discretion of the Hiring Manager. This temporary promotion may be made permanent without further competition. If the temporary promotion is not made permanent, you will be returned to your permanent position of record or to a different position of equivalent grade and pay in the Forest Service, in the same geographic location, if possible. Your salary will be adjusted to the grade level and step that you would normally have been in had you remained in your position.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Reemployment Priority List (RPL): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.

The Forest Service may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government, to attract highly qualified candidates. Additional Information is available on the OPM Website.

This is a bargaining unit position and is represented by either NFFE, AFGE, or NAGE.

Forest Service daycare facilities may be available.

Government Housing may be available.

The position will be filled Corvallis, OR, McKenzie Bridge, OR or Blue River, OR.

Final determination of the duty station will be made by the selecting official at the time of the job offer.

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.

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.