HYDROLOGIC TECHNICIAN

Clarification from the agency

Open to current or former Federal employees w / perm comp status; OR those eligible under a special or noncomp appointing authority (e.

g.,VRA, disabled, Pathways Interns & Recent Grads who are elig for noncomp conversion, etc.); OR current or former employees who are serving, or previously served, on temp or term appt in a land mgmt agency;

OR veterans with preference or have been separated from the armed forces under honorable conditions after approx 3yrs or more of continuous active service.

Duties

Open to all U.S. citizens under : USGS-DEN-24-12346868-DE-DAH

As a Hydrologic Technician within the New Mexico Water Science Center, some of your specific duties will include :

• Makes stream discharge measurements at all stages, at times under extremely adverse conditions.
• Applies seasoned judgment to compensate for field conditions and subtle problems.
• Determines the most effective method, technique and protocol for the collection of representative data.
• Collects hydrologic data using a variety of methods and equipment
• Performs and reviews statistical and / or technical analyses of a wide variety of hydrologic data collected in the field.
• Prepares material for publication, including maps, tables and other illustrative material.
• Collects, processes, and prepares for lab analysis, the full range of samples using the most appropriate technique and protocol depending upon complex field conditions.
• Utilizes multiple techniques to compute, check and review a wide variety of water-quality monitoring records
• Operates a government owned / leased vehicle as an incidental driver.

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, or fast-moving water;

lifting heavy objects weighing 23 kilograms (50 pounds) or more or crouching or crawling in restricted areas.

Work Environment

Office conditions do not require special safety precautions; field conditions may include extreme heat or cold, rain or snow, possible aggressive wildlife encounters, and hazardous conditions such as ice or flooding, or exposure to irritant or toxic chemicals.

Work may require the use of special clothing or gear such as masks, coats, boots, goggles, respirators, or life jackets.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Key Requirements :

• Applicants must be U.S. Citizens.
• Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by background investigation.
• Selectee may be subject to serving a one-year probationary period.
• More requirements are listed under Qualifications and Other Information.
• Selectee must provide a valid state driver's license & safe driving record.
• Selectee subject to successful completion of a pre-employment medical exam.

Are There Any Special Requirements For This Position?

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.

• Taking and passing a pre-employment medical examination at Federal expense is required due to the physical demands of this job.
• Because this position requires travel for official business, the selectee will be required to apply for a charge card within 30 calendar days of appointment.

Individuals who have delinquent account balances from a previous Government charge card will be required to satisfy their existing obligation before a new card can be issued.

A background investigation will be required for this position. Continued employment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication.

Failure to successfully meet these requirements will be grounds for termination.

Throughout the recruitment and hiring process we will be communicating with you via email; therefore, it is imperative that the email address you provide when applying for this vacancy remains active.

Should your email address change, please notify the point of contact identified in the vacancy announcement as soon as possible so that we can update our system.

If you are a Federal employee applying for a promotion (under merit promotion procedures) you must meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of the announcement.

Qualifications

Definitions :

EXPERIENCE : One year of work experience is twelve months working full-time (at least 35-40 hours per week). Part-time experience can be pro-rated (i.

e., a year at 20 hours per week is credited as 6 months of experience). If your position consisted of mixed duties, experience credit is given for the percentage of time that you spent on qualifying duties (i.

e., if you held a position for 2 years, full-time, consisting of 25% personnel work and 75% budget work, and then applied for a budget position you could calculate your experience as follows : 2 yrs 24 months.

24 months x 75% percentage of time spent on budget duties 18 months of qualifying experience.)

EDUCATION : One year of full-time academic study is 30 semester hours, 45 quarter hours, or the equivalent in a college or university, or at least 20 hours of classroom instruction per week for approximately 36 weeks in a business or technical school.

This education must have been successfully completed and obtained in an accredited business, technical school, college or university for which high school graduation or the equivalent was a prerequisite.

GRADUATE EDUCATION : In the absence of specific graduate program information, a year of graduate education is 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours of graduate level college course work, or the number of credit hours the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full time study.

This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university.

For GS-04 :

Applicants must meet one of the following to qualify for the GS-4 level :

Six months of general experience and 6 months of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-3 level in the Federal service that is in or related to the duties of this position.

NOTE : Excess specialized experience beyond the required 6 months may be substituted for general experience; i.e., one year of creditable specialized experience will meet the requirements for 6 months of general experience and 6 months of specialized experience.

General experience is any type of work that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position to be filled,

Experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation for which the applicant is applying.

Specialized experience may include 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 if it equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position.

• Examples of GS-3 level work assignments include : 1) Performing minor repairs at gaging stations, to water level recorders and other equipment used in hydrologic investigations;
• 2) Assisting in making measurements of stream flow or making simple current meter measurements on small streams; 3) Recording routine measurements of water levels at specified observations wells;
• 4) Collecting water quality samples and assisting in making laboratory determinations of water quality parameters by predetermined methods;

5) Maintaining and assisting in readying current meters and sampling equipment for field work. For examples 1-5, a designated authority made assignments by giving complete, explicit oral and / or written instructions at the beginning of each assignment, covering work methods, available equipment, procedures, reference guidelines, etc.

Recurring assignments were carried out within well-established procedures, with minimal instruction and were only infrequently spot checked or observed by a designated authority.

Less routine assignments were occasionally checked in progress or upon completion.

Applicants may substitute successful completion of two full years of study that included at least 12 semester hours, or the equivalent, in any combination of courses such as engineering, industrial technology, construction drafting, surveying, physical science, biology, or mathematics.

A combination of successfully completed post-high school education and specialized and / or general experience may be used to meet the qualification requirements for the GS-04 level.

NOTE : When crediting education to meet any part of the experience requirement, such education must include the appropriate number of directly related credit hours required in any combination of courses such as engineering, industrial technology, construction drafting, surveying, physical science, biology, or mathematics.

When crediting this education, you must prorate the number of hours of directly related courses required as a proportion of the total education to be used.

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For GS-05 :

Applicants must meet one of the following to qualify for the GS-5 level :

One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-04 level in the Federal service that is in or related to the duties of this position.

Specialized experience may include 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 if it equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position.

• Examples of GS-4 level work assignments include : 1) Making adjustments and minor repairs to water level recorders, or other equipment used in water investigations;
• 2) Following well-defined methods and designated formulas; computing, extracting, compiling, and presenting geological or hydrologic data in prescribed tabular or graphic form;

3) Computing mean daily gage heights from water stage record charts, editing record tapes, and making corrections based on field notes.

For examples 1-3, the work assignments involved familiar conditions, concepts, and methods that were made in terms of the objectives to be achieved without explicit instruction as to work methods.

Assignments involving new, more difficult, or unfamiliar areas of work were given with more specific guidance. Explicit instructions were provided for solving technical problems involving unfamiliar conditions, methods, or concepts.

Applicants may substitute successful completion of a full four year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree (a) with major study in an appropriate field of science (i.

e., geology, chemistry, physics, geophysics, biology, ecology, mathematics, soils, forestry, meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, physical science, atmospheric science) engineering, construction, or industrial technology, or (b) that included at least 24 semester hours, or the equivalent, in any combination of courses such as engineering, industrial technology, construction drafting, surveying, physical science, biology, or mathematics.

A combination of successfully completed post-high school education and specialized experience may be used to meet the qualification requirements for GS-5.

Only progressive education in excess of the first 60 semester hours or 90 quarter hours (i.e., beyond the first two years) of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirement, assuming the education includes the appropriate number of directly related semester hours, or the equivalent, in any combination of courses such as engineering, industrial technology, construction drafting, surveying, physical science, biology, or mathematics.

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Education

QUALIFICATIONS CONTINUED

For GS-06 :

Applicants must meet one of the following to qualify for the GS-6 level :

One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-05 level in the Federal service that is in or related to the duties of this position.

Specialized experience may include 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 if it equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position.

• Examples of GS-05 level work assignments : 1) Computing mean daily gage heights from water stage record charts, editing record tapes, and making corrections based on field observation notes;
• 2) Preparing maps showing well elevations and depth to water, hydrographs, profiles, and well locations. For examples 1-2, the work assignments involved some technical problems not previously encountered;

problems involving concepts and methods for which guides and precedents existed, were resolved independently. General oral instructions relative to the time to be allotted to certain functions, expected time of completion of assignments, possible technical problems which may be encountered, and approaches that may be used in resolving these problems were provided.

• Other examples of GS-05 level work assignments include : 1) Installing, adjusting, inspecting, and servicing crest-stage indicators, well-recorders, and other instruments for the collection of ground and surface water data;
• and checking gage settings to ensure continuing accuracy of the records obtained from instruments; 2) Making technical studies of hydrologic data collected in the field, and preparing material for publication, such as, drafts, maps and other illustrative material;
• applying datum corrections to gage height records allowing for periods of ice effect, temperature variations, and precipitation;

and plotting hydrographs and analyzing differences in hydrographs with earlier records, and making necessary changes. For examples 1-2, routine assignments that involved familiar conditions, concepts, and methods were made in terms of the objectives to be achieved without explicit instruction as to work methods.

Assignments involving new, more difficult, or unfamiliar areas of work were given with more specific guidance. Explicit instructions were provided for solving technical problems involving unfamiliar conditions, methods, or concepts.

Applicants may substitute successful completion of 1 year of appropriate graduate level education (18 semester hours, 27 quarter hours or the equivalent) in hydrology or other field of study directly related to the work of this position for the required 1 year of specialized experience if it provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the work of this position.

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 / 2 year of progressive graduate study to meet the qualification requirements.

You must meet all qualification and eligibility requirements for the position by the closing date of the announcement.

EDUCATION

• 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.