Supervisory Hydrologic Technician

U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Department of the Interior

People & HR, Operations

troutdale, or, usa

Posted on Jun 29, 2026

Summary

This position is in the Oregon Water Science Center. Exact position location is Troutdale, Oregon. The major duties of this position include but are not limited to the following: The incumbent is required to be aware of, promote, and develop Science Center and inter-Science Center programs and to coordinate their data-collection phases when necessary. The incumbent must manage programs with numerous cooperators and provide technical direction of 9-15 hydrologic technicians.

Major Duties

As a Supervisory Hydrologic Technician within the Oregon Water Science Center, some of your specific duties will include: Lead and supervise hydrologic data operations. Oversees office and field activities involving the collection, computation, and analysis of surface-water, groundwater, sediment, and water-quality data. Plans and schedules data-collection efforts, ensures accurate hydrologic records, and directs the construction, installation, and maintenance of monitoring stations and equipment. Assigns workloads, reviews technical outputs, and provides guidance on complex analytical and administrative matters. Build and maintain partnerships with cooperators and water-resource agencies. Initiates and sustains regular communication with existing and potential cooperators to understand shared water-resource information needs. Represents the office at meetings with local, Tribal, State, and Federal partners to plan programs, budgets, and future studies. Leads periodic consultations to assess current and emerging water-resource conditions. Contribute to Science Center leadership, planning, and policy execution. Participates in supervisory and data-program leadership meetings to help set priorities, policies, and long-range plans for the Science Center. Supports the development and execution of technical standards and operational guidelines and provides technical expertise to colleagues engaged in regional and national projects. Ensure workplace safety and operational efficiency. Promotes safe work practices by identifying hazards, reviewing accidents, enforcing OSHA standards, and directing regular inspections of office and field installations. Develops funding estimates, human-resource plans, and operational budgets for the field office. Prioritizes and coordinates workloads to meet organizational objectives and immediate program demands. Manage personnel performance, development, and workplace equity. Evaluates employee performance, updates position descriptions, and resolves complaints. Conducts interviews and recommends selections, promotions, awards, and disciplinary actions. Identifies training needs and delivers in-house instruction on hydrologic data methods. Ensures employees are well informed on matters affecting their employment and actively promotes equal opportunity in all personnel actions. PHYSICAL DEMANDS: Field work is physically active and may include climbing rocky and steep terrain, wading streams, 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 work exposes the incumbent to extreme weather conditions such as rain, snow, extreme temperatures, etc., and hazards such as flooding, ice, and insect bites. 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.

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. Education completed in colleges or universities outside the United States may be used to meet the above requirements. You must provide acceptable documentation that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational institution in the United States. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit:https://www.usgs.gov/human-capital/how-foreign-education-evaluated-federal-jobs

Requirements

Key Requirements: Selectee may be subject to serving a one-year supervisory 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. Supervisory Probationary Period - This position requires completion of a one year supervisory/managerial probationary period, if one has not previously been completed. Are There Any Special Requirements For This Position? 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.

Evaluations

--Resume Length: Please limit your resume to no more than 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications. --Basis of Rating: Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the result of the assessment required for this position. Your responses must be substantiated by your resume. If you do not respond to the application questions you may be rated ineligible. Resume Review Assessment Required: If you meet the eligibility and basic qualification requirements for this position subject-matter-experts will perform a structured review of your resume to evaluate your knowledge, skills, abilities, and competences as they directly relate to the duties of this position. Due weight will be given to performance appraisals and awards during the interview/selection process conducted by the hiring manager. If referred, all relevant documents including performance appraisals and awards submitted with your application package will be forwarded to the hiring official for review. --Vacancy Related Questions: As part of the online application process, you will need to respond to a series of questions designed to assess your possession of the following knowledge skills, abilities and/or competencies: Hydrology Risk Management Creative Thinking Partnering Performance Mangement --NOTE: If it is determined that you have rated yourself higher than is supported in your description of experience and/or education as described in your resume/application, or that your resume or application is incomplete, you may be rated ineligible, not qualified, or your score may be lowered. To preview the announcement questionnaire, click here: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12992442

How to Apply

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS (CONTINUED) --Military Spouse - Submit Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders issued within the last 2 years, that lists you as authorized to accompany the Military member to the new duty permanent station; OR verification of the member's 100% disability (official statement from the Department of Veterans Affairs (dated 1991 or later)); OR verification of the member's death while on active duty (DD-1300 and Death Certificate) AND verification of the marriage to the service member (i.e., a marriage license or other legal documentation verifying marriage). Additional information can be found here. --Appointment of Certain Former Overseas Employees - Submit a SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action that confirms your eligibility and a performance appraisal from that period. Additional information can be found here. --Peace Corps & VISTA - Former Peace Corps volunteers or VISTA members must submit their Certification of Volunteer Service. Present and former Peace Corps personnel must submit a SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action that confirms their eligibility. Additional information can be found here --Certain National Guard Technicians - Submit proof that confirms that you were involuntarily separated (other than by removal for cause on charges of misconduct or delinquency); you served at least 3 years as a technician; and are within 1 year of your separation date from service as a Guard Technician. Additional information can be found here. --Public Land Corps (PLC) - Submit the signed Certificate of Eligibility for Noncompetitive Hiring Status (PLC) issued by the PLC Coordinator for the organization where the creditable service was completed. Additional information can be found here. HOW TO APPLY --Applications (resume and application questions) for this vacancy must be received on-line via USAJOBS BEFORE midnight Eastern Time (Washington, D.C. time) on the closing date of this announcement. If you fail to submit a complete online resume, you will not be considered for this position. Requests for extensions will not be granted. Most libraries, employment offices, and all USGS personnel offices can provide access to the Internet. If applying online poses a hardship for you, you must speak to someone in the Servicing Human Resources Office listed on this announcement PRIOR TO THE CLOSING DATE for assistance. --Instructions for Applying Online for this Vacancy Announcement: 1) Click the blue "Apply Online" button. 2) If you are not a registered USAJOBS user, please create a new account and follow the instructions to complete your application process. If you are a registered user, login to access your existing USAJOBS profile. 3) As a registered user, select a stored resume and select one or more of your stored documents to attach to your application. 4)Check the "Certification" box and click the "Apply for this position now!" button located at the bottom of the screen. 5)Address the eligibility questions as well as the questionnaire containing questions and/or task statements that address the knowledge, skills, abilities and/or competencies for this vacancy. 6)Submit required documents. 7) If you experience technical difficulties during the online application process, please contact the USAJOBS helpdesk.

What to Expect Next

--If you are rated as one of the most highly qualified candidates, you will be referred to the hiring manager for further consideration and possible interview. We expect to make a selection within 30-45 days of the closing date of this announcement. You will be notified via email of the outcome. You can also go to "My Account" within USAJOBS to review your Application Status.

Required Documents

Required documents may be: (1) uploaded directly from your desktop; or (2) uploaded directly from your USAJOBS stored attachments. Resume Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text. Headers may be slightly larger but must remain legible. All resumes must maintain a minimum 0.5-inch margins on all sides to ensure readability and prevent excessive content compression. Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions are prohibited and will not be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications. Supporting documents --Upload any supporting documents identified in the Key Requirements section or included below as it applies to your eligibility. Supporting documents may be: (1) uploaded directly from your desktop; or (2) uploaded directly from your USAJOBS stored attachments. Transcripts --If this position requires specific educational course work to qualify, or you are qualifying based in whole or part on education, you are required to provide all unofficial transcripts (undergraduate, graduate, etc.), which includes semester hours earned and grade received, by the closing date of this announcement or you will be disqualified from further consideration. Please ensure that all documentation is legible. Due Weight for Performance --Please submit 1) a copy of your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation and 2) a list of any awards (e.g. superior performance awards, special act or achievement awards, quality step increase, etc.) you received in the last 5 years. Any performance appraisal/evaluation and award documentation you provide will be forwarded to the selecting official. The selecting official will review this documentation and give it due weight consideration during the overall selection process. Due weight for performance applies to federal and non-federal work. If you do not have your most recent performance appraisal/evaluation, please submit a statement as to why it is not available. Please indicate if any prior performance appraisals/evaluations were at an acceptable level. Current Federal USGS Employees --If you are a current career or career-conditional Federal US Geological Survey (USGS) employee, you must submit a copy of a recent SF-50 "Notification of Personnel Action" documenting proof of competitive status within USGS, tenure, position title, occupational series, grade level and step by the closing date of this announcement, or you will not receive consideration. Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) Eligibles --If you are claiming CTAP eligibility, the Servicing Human Resources Office must receive proof by the closing date of this announcement that you meet the requirements of 5 CFR 330 Subpart F or you will not receive priority consideration. This includes: copy of the agency notice; your most recent Performance Rating; and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location. If you are a CTAP eligible, you will be considered well qualified if you earn a minimum score of 85 (prior to the assignment of veteran's preference points). For more information on CTAP please click here. Eligibility for Special Appointing Authorities If you are applying for this position based on eligibility under a special appointing authority, you must submit proof that supports your claim by the closing date of the announcement. If you fail to submit proof, you will not receive consideration under the special appointing authority. Below is a list of the most common authorities and the documentation requirements. If you're eligible for an authority not listed, you are responsible for submitting documentation that's appropriate for that specific authority. Additional information for all the authorities below can be found on the USAJobs Hiring Paths page. --30% or More Disabled Veteran - Submit a legible copy of your DD-214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, member 4 copy; and an official statement from the Department of Veterans Affairs (dated 1991 or later) or from a branch of the Armed Forces certifying the existence of a service-connected disability, etc. --Individuals with Disabilities - Submit documentation issued by a licensed medical professional; a licensed vocational rehabilitation specialist; or any Federal agency, State agency, or an agency of the District of Columbia or a U.S. territory that issues or provides disability benefits. REQUIRED DOCUMENTS CONTINUED BELOW IN THE HOW TO APPLY SECTION.

Other Information

Other Information: This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies in the advertised office or other U.S. Geological Survey offices in the local commuting area. Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position. The application contains information subject to the Privacy Act (P.L. 93-579, 5 USC 552a). The information is used to determine qualifications for employment, and is authorized under Title 5, USC, Section 3302 and 3361. As part of the application process, a series of four short essay questions will be included. Applicants must certify that their own words were used to answer the questions. 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. Agency Benefits: USGS has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework in accordance with the DOI Telework policy and with supervisor approval. The official worksite for the selectee is the duty station identified in this vacancy announcement. The selectee will typically report to this duty location on a regular and recurring weekly basis. For additional information on our internal telework policy, please reference the Department of the Interior Telework Handbook at: https://www.doi.gov/telework/policies. Working for the U.S. Geological Survey offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; health, life, dental, vision, and long term care insurance, flexible spending accounts, and participation in the Federal Employees Retirement System.