Supervisory Interdisciplinary (General Engineer/Physical Scientist/Mathematician)

Bureau of Reclamation; Sacramento (CA); On-site; USD 118,000 - 153,000; Full time

Job summary

Bureau of Reclamation in Sacramento, CA seeks a Supervisory Interdisciplinary professional (General Engineer/Physical Scientist/Mathematician) to lead multidisciplinary water resource analysis and modeling efforts. The role requires coordinating with federal and state partners to meet water demands while safeguarding the environment.

The position offers a pathway across engineering, physical science, or mathematics, with salary reflecting the GS framework and Sacramento pay tables.

Qualifications

• Engineering degree with ABET-accredited program or equivalent with calculus and engineering science coursework.
• Combination of education and experience showing strong foundation in physical and mathematical sciences and engineering applications.
• Registration or licensure (EI, EIT, or PE) or successful FE exam equivalent or related credentials.

Skills

Water resources modeling

Statistical methods

Interagency negotiations

Education

ABET-accredited engineering degree

Engineering/physical science or mathematics with 24 semester hours

Mathematics degree with 24 semester hours

Tools

CALSIM 3

DSM2

SCHISM

HEC-RAS

Job description

You will serve as a Supervisory Interdisciplinary (General Engineer/Physical Scientist/Mathematician) with Bureau of Reclamation. You can make a difference in the West by assisting in meeting increasing water demands while protecting the environment.

Duty Location: Sacramento, CA

Engineers are on a Special Rate Table: $133,359 - $160,638
All other series fall under the Sacramento Pay Table: $117,984 - $153,382

Qualifications:

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-09/24/2026-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.

This is an interdisciplinary position that may be filed in any of the following series: GS-0801 General Engineer, GS-1301 Physical Scientist, or GS-1520 Mathematician depending on the qualifications of the selected candidate.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR GS-0801, GENERAL ENGINEER SERIES:

1. Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics.

-OR-

2. Combination of education and experience: college-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following:

• Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an EI, EIT, or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, DC, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions.
• Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, DC, Guam, and Puerto Rico.
• Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph 1.
• Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor's degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all-inclusive.)

QUALIFICATIONS FOR GS-1301, GENERAL PHYSICAL SCIENCE SERIES:

1. Degree: physical science, engineering, or mathematics that included 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science such as mechanics, dynamics, properties of materials, and electronics.

-OR-

2. Combination of education and experience: education equivalent to one of the majors shown above that included at least 24 semester hours in physical science and/or related engineering science, plus appropriate experience, or additional education.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR GS-1520, MATHEMATICS SERIES:

1. Degree: mathematics; or the equivalent of a major that included at least 24 semester hours in mathematics.

-OR-

2. Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in mathematics (including at least 24 semester hours in mathematics), as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

In addition to meeting the educational requirements above: To qualify for this position at the GS-13 grade level: You must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience:

• Experience leading development, calibration, and application of water resources models such as CALSIM 3, DSM2, SCHISM, HEC-RAS, and water temperature or water quality models.
• Experience producing regulatory and operational analyses incorporating hydrology, climate change, environmental performance measures, and compliance requirements.
• Experience establishing modeling standards including assumptions, Quality assessments/Quality checks processes, documentation standards, uncertainty analysis, and defensible methodologies.
• Experience managing a multi-model technical program involving hydrologic, operational, groundwater/surface water, power, or fisheries modeling.
• Experience applying statistical methods, optimization techniques, and scenario analysis to support operational and policy decisions.
• Experience preparing executive-level briefs that translate complex technical modeling results into policy or operational decisions.
• Experience supervising engineers, scientists, or modelers including assigning work, evaluating performance, conducting hiring actions, and supporting training and development.
• Experience in implementing recruitment, development, and recognition programs.
• Experience conducting interagency negotiations and resolving disputes on modeling assumptions, methodology, or technical standards.
• Experience developing technical specifications and managing contracts related to model development or enhancement.
• Experience presenting and defending modeling work in interagency forums, regulatory settings, public meetings, or legal proceedings.

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.