Supervisory Hydrologic Technician

Summary

This position is with the U.S. Geological Survey, Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center, Billings Field Office, in Billings, Montana. As Field Office Chief, you will supervise employees who collect, process, review, and publish hydrologic data; oversee monitoring networks; ensure compliance with USGS technical and safety requirements; and coordinate programs with Federal, State, Tribal, and local partners.

Duties

• Provides leadership and oversight to hydrologic technicians by establishing work priorities, assigning and reviewing work, evaluating performance, and supporting employee training, development, and career advancement. Plans, coordinates, and oversees hydrologic monitoring programs, including the design, installation, operation, and maintenance of surface-water, groundwater, water-quality, and sediment monitoring stations and data-collection networks. Ensures hydrologic data collection, computation, review, and dissemination activities comply with USGS technical standards, policies, quality assurance requirements, and safety procedures. Coordinates personnel, equipment, vehicles, and other resources to support mission objectives, efficient operations, budget planning, and the delivery of high-quality water-resources data. Represents the USGS and Water Science Center in interactions with Federal, State, Tribal, and local partners, cooperators, landowners, and other stakeholders to support monitoring programs, funding agreements, and collaborative initiatives. Communicates technical and operational information to employees, management, partners, and stakeholders; provides guidance and instruction; and facilitates coordination and resolution of operational issues.

Qualifications

Specialized Experience: To qualify at the GS-12 level, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 grade level in the Federal service. Examples of specialized experience include: planning, coordinating, and conducting hydrologic data collection and analysis activities; overseeing the operation and maintenance of multiple surface-water, groundwater, water-quality, or precipitation monitoring stations; analyzing and interpreting hydrologic data to evaluate water resources conditions and trends; providing technical guidance and quality assurance for hydrologic data collection and processing activities; resolving complex technical issues related to hydrologic monitoring equipment, data collection methods, and data accuracy; and coordinating hydrologic projects, priorities, and field operations to support water resources investigations and program objectives. 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. Time-In-Grade: Current career or career-conditional employees of the Federal government, or former career or career-conditional employees, who have a break in service of less than one year, are required to meet the time-in-grade restriction of one year of Federal experience at the next lower-grade, with few exceptions outlined in 5 CFR 300.603(b).You must meet all Eligibility and Qualification requirements, including time-in-grade restrictions and any selective placement factors, if applicable, by the closing date of this announcement.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. citizen or national. You must be suitable for Federal employment, as determined by a background investigation. This is a Moderate Risk/Public Trust position. A security clearance is not required. You must complete a one-year supervisory probationary period unless you have previously completed one. You must possess and maintain a valid state driver's license. You must possess and maintain a U.S. Government Motor Vehicle Operator's Identification Card for the duration of the appointment. You must successfully complete a pre-employment physical examination. You may be required to operate government-owned or leased vehicles. You may be required to travel up to 50% of the time to remote field sites, meetings, and other locations. You must be able to perform strenuous fieldwork, including climbing ladders or elevated structures, working on steep or unstable terrain, wading in fast-moving or deep water, bending, crouching, working in confined areas, and lifting or carrying equipment weighing 50 pounds or more. You may work in extreme heat or cold, rain, snow, high humidity, flooding, ice, nighttime conditions, and other adverse environments. You may encounter wildlife, biting or stinging insects, poisonous plants, traffic, heavy equipment, chemicals used in hydrologic monitoring, and other field hazards. You may be required to wear personal protective equipment such as hard hats, gloves, boots, eye protection, respirators, and life jackets. You must meet all eligibility, qualification, and time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

Education

There is no education substitution for the GS-12 level in the Hydrologic Technician, GS-1316 series. Applicants must meet the qualification requirements based on specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level.

How to apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply for and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments and submit all required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the 09/22/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement to receive consideration. Note: You will only be marked eligible for those eligibilities that you selected and provided the appropriate supporting documentation. The application process is as follows: Click the Apply Online button. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. To PREVIEW the application questionnaire, select the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13051852 Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 PM (ET) on the announcement closing date. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. Applicants who apply under this job opportunity announcement agree to have their application, associated documents and applicable personal information shared with other Bureaus/Offices within the Department of the Interior (DOI) who have vacancies within the same occupational series, grade, full performance level and in the same geographic location(s), including within the same metro/commuting area. Applying to this announcement does not replace the need to apply to other job opportunity announcements for which you wish to receive consideration. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status, visit https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.