Summary

You will serve as a Supervisory Hydrologic Technician with Geological Survey.

GS-12 Salary: Salary: $90,968 (Step 01) to $118,261 (Step 10).

Duties

Help

USGS - 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.

As a Supervisory Hydrologic Technician within the Central Plains Water Science Center, some of your specific duties will include:

• Responsible for the technical and administrative supervision of professional, technical, clerical and administrative positions to carry out the mission of the organization.
• Plans work to be accomplished by subordinates; makes assignments based on capability and expertise; evaluates the work performance of subordinates; develops performance standards; gives advice or instruction to subordinates on work and administrative matters; and identifies developmental and training needs of employees, providing or arranging for needed development or training.
• Responsible for programming and annual budgeting submissions and ensure program accomplishments are within budget allocations.
• Conducting water-quality data collection field activities, including stream sampling, equipment maintenance.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

• Must provide proof of U.S. citizenship.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Direct Deposit participation required.

• Selectee must provide a valid state driver's license & safe driving record. You will be required to operate a government-owned or -leased vehicle in the performance of your official duties. Applicants for this position must meet the following requirements: (1) possess a valid State license, and (2) possess a safe driving record. If selected, you will be required to provide proof of a valid State license & a copy of your driving record.
• Selectee subject to successful completion of a pre-employment medical exam. Taking and passing a pre-employment medical examination at Federal expense is required due to the physical demands of this job.
• You are required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority.

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.

*Additional Requirements located under qualifications*

Qualifications

Requirements Continued...

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 - 08/25/2026-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.

To qualify for this position at the GS-12 grade level:

Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 level in the Federal service. 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 stations; determining stage-discharge relations, computing rating tables and mean daily, monthly and annual discharge rates from these stations. Acting as a team lead and making measurements, collecting water-quality samples, and coordinating and directing a team to do so under extremely difficult conditions. Obtaining hydrologic data from published and unpublished sources and conducting hydrologic studies relative to the frequency of flood and droughts. Planning and coordinating a surface- and groundwater 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 surface- and groundwater 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.

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.

Physical Demands: Field work is physically active and regularly requires considerable dexterity, agility, and strenuous physical exertion and may include, but is not limited to: climbing rocky and steep terrain, climbing and/or working from tall ladders and scaffolding; wading streams; work in areas where footing is treacherous (slippery or icy riverbanks, steep rocky terrain, fast-moving water); and crouching or crawling in restricted areas and lifting equipment weighing up to 100 pounds. Field work also involves moderate risks such as measuring from highway bridges, in swift streams, and from boats or cableways.

Work Environment: Field and laboratory work exposes the incumbent to extreme weather conditions including, but not limited to, rain, snow, and extreme temperatures; and hazards including, but not limited to, flooding, ice, insect bites, and exposure to toxic chemicals. Special safety precautions are required in many cases, and incumbent typically wears a life jacket, reflective rain gear, safety glasses, etc. Field areas are often isolated and occasionally difficult to reach.

Expand Hide additional information

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

Help

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.

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.