Supervisory Hydrologic Technician

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS); Pembroke (NH); On-site; USD 101,000 - 132,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Geological Survey in New England seeks a Supervisory Hydrologic Technician to lead staff, manage resources, and oversee hydrologic data collection and publication supporting the USGS water science mission.

You will direct section budget and field operations, supervise data processing, and ensure records are reviewed, finalized, and published on time according to agency standards. This role requires US citizenship and the ability to work in field conditions.

Qualifications

• All qualifications must be met by the closing date of the announcement.
• Specialized experience includes planning and conducting data collection from hydrologic stations and performing flood-related analyses.

Responsibilities

• Direct workforce management activities including recruitment, retention, performance management, and resource allocation.
• Plan and direct section budget, workforce, and data-collection activities in accordance with policy.
• Oversee hydrologic data collection, records processing, and data quality using established methods and SOPs.
• Coordinate data processing and records management using SIMS and RMS.
• Ensure hydrologic records are reviewed, finalized, and published on time to meet deadlines.

Skills

Leadership

Data Analysis

Data Interpretation

Decision Making

Tools

SIMS

RMS

Job description

Summary

You will serve as a Supervisory Hydrologic Technician with Geological Survey responsible for supervising staff, managing resources, and overseeing hydrologic data collection and publication in support of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) water science mission.

Salary

$101,375.00 per year (GS12 Step 1) to $131,790.00 per year (GS12 Step 10). First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

Open to

• Internal to an agency: Current federal employees of the hiring agency that posted the job announcement.
• Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL): Federal employees whose job, agency or department was eliminated and are eligible for priority over other applicants.
• Clarification from the agency: This is a Merit Promotion Announcement for career and career conditional USGS Employees, Career Transition eligibles (CTAP), and those who are eligible under the hiring paths listed above. Refer to Required Documents section for more information.

Duties

• Direct workforce management activities, including recruitment, hiring, retention, employee relations, performance management, and the allocation of personnel, financial, and program resources to support the Department's capacity to manage its programs in a results-oriented, customer-focused, and efficient manner.
• Plan and direct section budget, workforce, and hydrologic data-collection activities in accordance with New England Water Science Center policies, procedures, and priorities.
• Oversee hydrologic data collection, records processing, and data quality activities using established methods, field equipment, and standard operating procedures.
• Coordinate continuous hydrologic data processing and records management using the Site Information Management System (SIMS) and Records Management System (RMS).
• Ensure hydrologic records are reviewed, finalized, and published accurately and on time to meet U.S. Geological Survey deadlines and data-quality requirements.

This is a supervisory position that may require completion of a supervisory probationary period.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• 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/.
• Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment.
• You must pass a physical examination.
• You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 11/20/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.

For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, 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.

-AND-

Specialized Experience

To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience examples of such experience may include planning and conducting the computation and collection of data from approximately thirty or more gaging stations; determining stage-discharge relations, computing rating tables and mean daily, monthly and annual discharge rates from these stations. Acting as a party chief and making indirect measurements of flood flows under extremely difficult conditions. Collecting data including that required to compute flood flows by the slope-area method, by measurement of flow over dams, by flow through culverts and by flow over embankments. Obtaining hydrologic data from published and unpublished sources and conducting hydrologic studies relative to the frequency of flood and droughts. Planning and coordinating a ground water survey program for an area that may be either a small area with complex features or a larger area with planning and coordinating problems related to the scope of the ground water survey operations.

You must include hours per week worked.

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.

Additional information

Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.

If otherwise eligible and qualified, you may be offered a 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: 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.

Physical Demands

Work regularly requires considerable dexterity, agility, and strenuous physical exertion. Field assignments involve climbing and/or working from tall ladders and scaffolding, or other elevated structures; working on uneven, slippery, or steep terrain such as streambanks, rocky embankments, wetlands, or flood-affected areas; and lifting and carrying or deploying equipment that frequently weighs 50 pounds or more. The incumbent must often bend, crouch, or work in confined or restricted spaces to install, maintain, or repair hydrologic instruments. Many tasks require sustained periods of standing, wading in fast-moving or deep water, or operating in adverse weather conditions such as extreme heat, rain, cold, or high humidity. These physical demands are essential to complete hydrologic measurements, instrument servicing, and site inspections safely and effectively.

Work Environment

Work is performed in both office and field settings. Office duties are carried out in a typical environment requiring no special safety precautions. Fieldwork, however, routinely exposes the incumbent to a wide range of environmental and weather conditions, including extreme heat or cold, heavy rain, high humidity or snow. Field assignments often involve work near or in rivers, canals, wetlands, and storm-impacted areas where footing may be unstable, slippery, or steep. The incumbent may encounter aggressive, dangerous wildlife, biting insects, dense vegetation, poisonous plants, and other natural hazards. Field sites may also involve risks such as flooding, fast moving water, ice, heavy equipment, traffic, or exposure to irritant or toxic chemicals used in hydrologic monitoring. Travel to remote or difficult-to-access locations is common.

The duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.

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.

Review our 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.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g. resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the additional assessment(s) required for this position. To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process.

Your resume must not exceed 2 pages. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed.

Competencies

• Data Analysis
• Data Interpretation
• Decision Making
• Leadership

To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of additional assessment(s), including a structured resume review. These assessments measure the critical competencies listed above that are required to successfully perform the job.

All qualified non-competitive applicants and the best-qualified Merit Promotion applicants will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration or your score may be lowered. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration. Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in your application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.

Current or former displaced Federal employees who are surplus, displaced, or involuntarily separated have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP). To be considered under CTAP, you must be well-qualified, score at least 85 (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements), and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry.

Required Documents

• Resume which includes a list of all significant jobs held and duties performed, with dates in month-year format (include month/day/year format if needed for 52 weeks of experience), and indicate hours worked per week (or full-time). Your resume must clearly show how long you have held each grade/rank. Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text. All resumes must maintain a minimum 0.5-inch margins on all sides to ensure readability and prevent excessive content compression. Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions are prohibited and will not be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications. Your 2-page resume must contain information sufficient to make a valid determination that you fully meet the specialized experience requirements. If you have federal experience, you should include series, and grade for each position held, and if experience is part of a career ladder position, you must clearly distinguish the job duties and length of time working for each grade level. More information on how to write a Federal Resume: https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/what-to-include
• Complete All Required Assessment(s).
• Performance Appraisals and Awards: You must submit your most recent performance appraisal showing the official rating of record and signed by a supervisor dated within the past 18 months. If unavailable, a written explanation is required (including if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level). Performance awards dated within the past 5 years may also be submitted for due weight consideration.
• All College Transcript(s), if qualifying based on education.
• Eligibility Documentation:
  • Current and former Federal employees must submit latest SF-50 (i.e., Promotion, Separation, Within Grade Increase (WGI)) showing tenure 1 or 2 in block 24, grade, and if applicable, an additional SF-50 showing the highest grade or promotion potential held. Time in grade will be determined by reviewing your resume and required SF-50s. If your SF-50 showing highest permanent grade held has an effective date within the past year, your resume must clearly show that you held that grade for one year. Do not submit award SF-50s.
  • Interagency Career Transition (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP): You MUST submit proof of eligibility including 1) copy of the agency notice, e.g., RIF Separation Notice, Notice of Proposed Removal, etc.; 2) SF-50s (Notifications of Personnel Action) showing career/conditional tenure competitive status, promotion potential and duty location; and 3) your most recent performance appraisal. To exercise selection priority, displaced or surplus Federal employees must be well qualified. For more information visit: USAJOBS Help Center - Career Transition Programs (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL).

Failure to submit any of the above-mentioned required documents will result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.

Do not submit photographs with your application package.

Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements: Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.