Supervisory Hydrologist

Geological Survey (DOI); Tuscaloosa (AL); Hybrid; USD 148,000 - 197,000; Full time

Job summary

Geological Survey (DOI) is seeking a Supervisory Hydrologist to lead the ESPD as Division Director. The role focuses on balancing core hydrologic knowledge with process-oriented expertise to support water resource programs.

Salary is based on the GS pay scale with potential relocation consideration. The position requires strategic leadership, extensive hydrological knowledge, and strong collaboration across federal and partner entities. Telework is eligible per agency policy.

Qualifications

• Leadership and program management experience in scientific research or policy.
• Budgeting and financial management for large scientific programs.
• Knowledge of hydrologic modeling and water resource assessment.

Responsibilities

• Directs strategic resource planning and financial management for scientific programs, including developing budget requirements and funding priorities.
• Plans, directs, and evaluates complex scientific programs involving hydrologic modeling and water resource assessments.
• Provides strategic leadership for scientific research and policy development to advance organizational goals.
• Establishes partnerships with senior officials across Federal, State, Tribal, local and academic organizations to coordinate research activities.
• Oversees personnel management, performance evaluation, recruitment, and employee relations with merit-system principles.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Budget & finance management

Policy development

Hydrology modeling

Education

Hydrology or water resources degree

Job description

Summary

You will serve as a Supervisory Hydrologist with Geological Survey. This position serves as the Division Director for the ESPD who is responsible for ensuring that WMA’s core knowledge of hydrologic processes, and process-oriented scientific expertise/capacity are well balanced and maintained.

Pay will vary based on grade level and/or duty location for which you’re selected. First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

Learn more about this agency

Locations

1 vacancy in the following locations:

• Tuscaloosa, AL
• Moffett Field, CA
• Lakewood, CO
• Reston, VA
• Madison, WI

Telework eligible: Yes—as determined by the agency policy and supervisor approval.

Remote job: No

Relocation expenses reimbursed: Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.

Salary: $147,945 - $197,200 per year

Pay scale & grade: GS 15

Promotion potential: None

Work schedule: Full-time

Travel Required: 25% or less – You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 1-5 nights per month. You must obtain a government charge card for travel purposes.

Appointment type: Permanent; Occupations and job series: 1315 Hydrology

Supervisory status: Yes

Federal service type: This job is in the Competitive Service

Represented by a union: No

Drug test: No

Security clearance: Not Required

Position sensitivity and risk: High Risk (HR) — Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.

• Credentialing
• Suitability/Fitness

Financial disclosure required: Yes – Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.

Announcement number: CBUY-27-13104514-IMP-CMC

Control number: 890881900

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 current and former career and career conditional Federal employees, Career Transition eligibles (CTAP & ICTAP) and those who are eligible under the hiring paths listed above. Refer to Required Documents section for more information.

Duties

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

• Directs strategic resource planning and financial management for scientific programs, including developing budget requirements, establishing funding priorities, and overseeing the allocation of personnel, equipment, facilities, and resources to support operations and long-term organizational goals.
• Plans, directs, and evaluates complex scientific and technical programs involving integrated process-based research, hydrologic modeling, water resource assessments, and quality assurance to ensure scientific integrity, operational effectiveness, and achievement of mission objectives.
• Provides strategic leadership and direction for scientific research, technical programs, and policy development to advance organizational goals and national water resource priorities.
• Establishes and maintains partnership with senior scientific and technical officials across Federal, State, Tribal, local, academic and other organizations to coordinate research activities and counsel on a wide range of modeling-related activities.
• Exercises supervisory authority over personnel management, workforce planning, performance evaluation, recruitment, and employee relations while ensuring compliance with Federal regulations and merit system principles.

Conditions of employment

• 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/.
• You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 1-5 nights per month.
• Must possess and maintain a valid driver’s license throughout employment.
• You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority.
• A financial disclosure report will be required within 30 days of appointment.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.

This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual’s employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

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

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement – 11/05/2026-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.

Minimum Qualification Requirements

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

Basic Educational Requirements

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

• A. 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 coursework 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. You must submit transcripts.

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

Specialized Experience Requirement

To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-14 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: Leading, developing, or managing major interdisciplinary scientific programs or projects involving hydrologic research, water-source assessments, or related scientific activities; developing or implementing scientific, technical, or administrative policies, standards, or procedures; resolving complex scientific or programmatic issues; and providing authoritative technical advice and coordinating with senior officials, scientific leaders, or external organizations.

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.

This position has a mandatory education requirement.

You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support education requirement. Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications

Additional information

Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.

If otherwise eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or 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 Recruitment Incentive or 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 Environment: Work is primarily performed in an office setting, but some field work may be necessary to visit sites where hydrologic observations are performed. Proper personal protective equipment, such as personal flotation devices is required when working on watercraft or wading in surface waters.

The duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

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 window. Learn more about federal benefits.

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.

You will be assessed in the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

• Financial Management
• Human Capital Management
• Hydrology
• Strategic Thinking

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 interview.

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) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, 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

The following documents are required and must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) 11/05/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement:

1. 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
2. Complete All Required Assessment(s).
3. 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.
4. All College Transcript(s), if qualifying based on education.
5. 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.
• Veterans Preference Documentation: Veterans eligible under VRA (GS-11 & below only), VEOA, 30% or more Disabled, or Disabled Veterans Enrolled in a VA Training Program must submit the most recent Documentation of Service and Separation under Honorable Conditions (e.g. DD-214) as listed on the SF15. If you are a Parent or Spouse of a Disabled or Deceased Veteran, you must submit all documentation as listed on the SF15. You may request a copy of the VA letter from https://www.va.gov/records. If you are a veteran within 120 days of discharge, you must submit signed documentation from the Armed Forces certifying: 1) your expected release/retirement from active duty, 2) under honorable conditions, 3) your pay grade/rank/rate at time of discharge, 4) dates of active-duty service, 5) any campaign or expeditionary medals received, & 6) dated within 120 days of your separation.
• 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.

Agency contact information

DOI Staffing Team 5 (USGS)

[e-mail]

EARTH SYS PROCESS DIV

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive

Mail Stop 600

Reston, VA 20192

US

Fair and transparent

Criminal history inquiries Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy
Financial suitability New employee probationary period
Privacy Act Reasonable accommodation policy
Selective Service Signature and false statements
Social security number request

Additional locations

Madison, WI