Duties
Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:
- Surface Water: Performs a wide variety of stage and discharge measurements using appropriate techniques, equipment and protocols.
- Ground Water: Performs wide variety of water-level and discharge measurements from wells and springs selecting appropriate techniques, equipment and protocols.
- Water Quality: Performs field measurements such as water temperature, specific conductance, pH, dissolved oxygen and alkalinity.
- Instrumentation: Installs, maintains, services, and assists in the configuration of a variety of sensing, recording, and communications equipment and instrumentation.
- Data Management: Enters, retrieves, edits, and analyzes hydrologic data using one or more of several databases, spreadsheets, and graphics software programs. Monitors water-quality sampling frequencies for timely data collection and reports discrepancies.
Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.
This position will be filled under the Field Unit Local Hiring Authority. Eligibility is limited to applicants who reside within the defined local commuting area at the time of application. For this announcement, the local commuting area is the area from which individuals can reasonably commute to the duty station under normal conditions. The defined vicinity for this position is: between 50-75 miles depending on location, see below for specifics. You must provide proof of residency within the defined vicinity (e.g. mortgage or property deed, lease/rental agreement, utility bill, insurance policy, etc.) at time of application. See the Required Documents section for information on how to verify current residence.
You MUST maintain a permanent and exclusive residence within the vicinity of the field unit as listed below:
75 miles from 401 Hardin Road, Little Rock, AR 72211
75 miles from 700 W Research Blvd, Fayetteville, AR 72701
75 miles from 640 Grassmere Park Drive, Nashville, TN 37211
75 miles from 3535 South Sherwood Forest Blvd., Suite 120, Baton Rouge, LA 70816
75 miles from 3095 W California Ave, Ruston, LA 71270
75 miles from 308 Airport Road, Jackson, MS 39208
75 miles from 27 Kirkbride Lane, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401
75 miles from 765 Alligator Alley, Hardeeville, SC 29927
75 miles from 1770 Corporate Drive, Suite 500, Norcross, GA 30093
75 miles from 3916 Sunset Ridge Road, Raleigh, NC 27607
75 miles from 810 Tyvola Road, Suite 108, Charlotte, NC 28217
75 miles from 44 Buck Shoals Road, Unit 704, Asheville, NC 28704-3307
75 miles from 720 Gracern Road, Suite 129, Columbia, SC 29210
75 miles from 105 South 6th Street, Room 231, Federal Building, Mt. Vernon, IL 62864
75 miles from 1400 Independence Road, Rolla, MO 65401
75 miles from 400 S Clinton St, Suite 269, Iowa City, IA 52240
75 miles from 401 NW Capital Drive, Lee's Summit, MO 64086
75 miles from 405 N. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, IL 61801
75 miles from 3745 Broadway, Fort Myers, FL 33901
75 miles from 2639 North Monroe St, Bldg. C, Suite 101, Tallahassee, FL 32303
75 miles from 10770 North 46th St., Suite E700, Tampa, FL 33617
75 miles from 3321 College Avenue, Davie, FL 33314
75 miles from 12703 Research Parkway, Suite 200, Orlando, FL 32826
75 miles from Ft. Worth Federal Center, 501 W. Felix St., Building 24, Fort Worth, TX 76115
75 miles from 1505 Ferguson Lane, Austin, TX 78754
75 miles from 3745 S. Jackson Street, Suite A, San Angelo, TX 76903
75 miles from 5563 DeZavala, Suite 290, San Antonio, TX 78249
75 miles from 19241 David Memorial Dr., Suite 180, The Woodlands, TX 77385
75 miles from 202 NW 66th Street, Bldg. 7, Oklahoma City, OK 73116
75 miles from 10207-B East 61st Street, Tulsa, OK 74133
60 miles from 601 SW 2nd Ave., Suite 1950, Portland, OR 97204
60 miles from 294 NW Graham Road, Troutdale, OR 97060
60 miles from 1244 Walnut St., Suite 200A, Eugene, OR 97403
60 miles from 6600 Washburn Way, Klamath Falls, OR 97603
60 miles from 4890 N Runway Drive, Central Point, OR 97502
50 miles from 2730 N. Deer Run Road, Suite 3, Carson City, NV 89701
50 miles from 500 Date Street, Building 500, Boulder City, NV 89005
50 miles from Nevada National Security Site, A23-158 Mercury Hwy, Mercury, NV 89023
50 miles from 716 West Cedar Street, Eureka, CA 95501
50 miles from 3115 Ramco Street, Suite 180, West Sacramento, CA 95691
50 miles from 6000 J Street, Placer Hall, Sacramento, CA 95819
50 miles from 8550 23rd Avenue, Sacramento, CA 95826
50 miles from NASA AMES-Moffett Field, Building 19, 260 Moffett Field, CA 94035
50 miles from 12110 Tech Center Drive, Poway, CA 92064
50 miles from 11075 Black Marble Way, Redding, CA 96003
50 miles from 10775 Pioneer Trail, Suite 102, Truckee, CA 96161
50 miles from 1653 Plum Lane, Redlands, CA 92374
50 miles from 4165 Spruance Road, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92101
50 miles from 2885 Mission Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Requirements
Conditions of employment
Vicinity Continued...
50 miles from Cal Poly Technology Park II, 1 Grand Ave., Building 84, Suite 1A, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
50 miles from 2550 North State Street, Ukiah, CA 95482
50 miles from 6150 West Thunderbird Road, Glendale, AZ 85306-4001
50 miles from 2255 N. Gemini Drive, Flagstaff, AZ 86001
50 miles from 7301 Calle Agua Salada, Yuma, AZ 85364
50 miles from 520 N. Park Avenue, Suite 221, Tucson, AZ 85719
75 miles from 3162 Bozeman Avenue, Helena, MT 59601
75 miles from 5522 Research Park Drive, Baltimore, MD 21228
75 miles from 1 Technology Drive, Frostburg, MD 21532
75 miles from Mc Daniel Drive, Dover, DE 19901
75 miles from 3075 Gracie Rd., Cortland, NY 13045-9373
75 miles from 2045 Route 112, Building 4, Coram, NY 11727
75 miles from 439 Hepburn Street, Williamsport, PA 17701
Requirements:
- 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.
- Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit www.dhs.gov/EVerify/.
- Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment.
- A physical examination will be required, or a statement regarding physical ability will need to be completed. You must maintain physical fitness standards throughout employment.
- If your specific duty location requires it, you must obtain and maintain a Motorboat Operator Certification Course (MOCC) within 1 year of entry on duty, if applicable.
- You may be required to complete training and obtain/maintain a government charge card with travel and/or purchase authority.
- Applicants must be at least (1)18 years old or (2) at least 16 years old and: (a) Have graduated from high school or been awarded a certificate equivalent to graduating from high school; or (b) Have completed a formal vocational training program; or (c) Have received a statement from school authorities agreeing with their preference for employment rather than continuing their education; or (d) Be currently enrolled in a secondary school and either work only during school vacation periods or work part-time during the school year under a formal student employment program.
Qualifications
Requirements Continued...
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated. 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.
Qualifications:
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-08/14/2026-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.
Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications:
Basic Educational Requirement AND/OR Specialized Experience for the series to which you are applying.
To qualify for this position at the GS-08 grade level:
- Specialized Experience: At least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors. Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: work as a technician or aid in engineering, earth, physical, or natural science, forestry, soil conservation, or surveying; trades or crafts work in maintenance or construction of facilities or equipment related to hydrology; drafting; or construction estimating. Experience performing routine repair of water-quality measurements; preparing summaries or basic data reports on geographical or hydrologic field activities; and computing and drafting field observation data. You must include the hours worked per week.
-OR-
- Education: Successful completion of 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education with a major study in an appropriate field of science, engineering, construction, or industrial technology. (2 years of graduate education is 36 semester hours, 54 quarter hours). You must include transcripts.
-OR-
- Combination of education and experience. Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above. Applicants may substitute a combination of appropriate specialized experience (as described above) and appropriate graduate level education (as described above) that is beyond the first 1 1/2 years of progressive graduate study to meet the qualification requirements. You must include transcripts.
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
You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. 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. Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | U.S. Department of Education. https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualification
Additional information
Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.
The full performance of this position is GS-11. Promotion to the full performance level is neither guaranteed nor implied and will be based solely on your ability to satisfactorily perform the work of the position, existing work at the higher grade level, and recommendation by the position's supervisor.
Physical Demands: The work regularly requires considerable dexterity, agility, and strenuous physical exertion such as climbing and/or working from tall ladders and scaffolding; work in areas where footing is treacherous such as slippery or icy riverbanks, steep rocky terrain, cableways, or fast-moving water; lifting heavy objects weighing 23 kilograms (50 pounds) or more or crouching or crawling in restricted areas.
Working Conditions: Office conditions do not require special safety precautions; field conditions may include extreme heat or cold, rain or snow; hazardous conditions such as ice or flooding; or exposure to irritant or toxic chemicals. Work may require the use of personal protective equipment such as masks, coats, boots, goggles, respirators, or life jackets.
All Department of Interior (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, https://www.doi.gov/ethics/ethics-prohibitions.
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.
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.