Hydrologist

Summary

The position is located on the Black Hills National Forest in Custer, SD. The incumbent performs professional hydrology work, responsible for conducting and interpreting hydrologic surveys and analysis, watershed rehabilitation and management planning, and providing technical guidance.

• The duties listed below are at the full performance level (GS-09).
• Assists in the development of land management planning related to hydrological evaluation.
• Operates, maintains, and collects data from hydrometeorological field instruments; performs field and laboratory measurements on hydrologic characteristics.
• 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.
• Develops and implements quality control and assurance plans for the laboratory, and analyzes hydrologic data to determine the causes of data anomalies.
• Evaluates data quality and assembles data bases required to support research studies. Prepares reports of findings for assigned parts of studies.
• 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.

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service 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.
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may 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. 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.

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: Successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major field of study in 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 coursework as shown above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

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…