LEAD INTERDISCIPLINARY

Summary

About the Position: Serves as authority on water quality issues, senior Water Control / Water Quality liaison, and Water Quality Team Lead, resolving critical water management conflicts and issues impacting the District's multipurpose lake projects.

Duties

Serve as the District’s water quality Subject Matter Expert (SME), applying specialized reservoir storage knowledge to resolve critical, controversial water management conflicts, policy interpretations, and operational trade-offs.

Develop, evaluate, and apply new operating principles, guidelines, and water management priority strategies in the day-to-day regulation of District multipurpose reservoir and flood-control projects.

Coordinate internally/externally to meet requirements of the Clean Water Act (CWA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and other mandates, representing the District on interagency workgroups and regional meetings.

Support the Water Management Program Manager by planning, budgeting, and executing the Water Quality program, including preparing out-year budget submittals and executing the Program Management Plan (PgMP).

Apply biological, chemical, physical, and hydrodynamic concepts to evaluate environmental conditions, aquatic organism behavior, and the interactive effects of sudden high-velocity releases, stratification, and chemical build-up on ecosystems.

Conduct water quality and environmental investigations, analyze physical/chemical parameters (e.g., DO, pH, trace elements), write technical reports of findings, and review environmental assessments/impact statements prepared by other agencies.

Apply and complete rigorous Quality Assurance/Quality Control and District Quality Control (DQC) processes on project designs, peer-created products, and national Agency Technical Reviews (ATR) to minimize claims and ensure accuracy.

Serve as senior liaison between Water Control and Water Quality missions, translating technical issues to Corporate Boards, facility groups, and Project Review Boards to align project timing, funding, and goals.

Lead the full product development process from planning to completion, managing multiple resources concurrently, tracking schedules, mitigating risks, and advising executive management on courses of action.

Provide expert environmental guidance to flood-control reservoirs during flood and non-flood periods, issuing/reviewing Special Directives and evaluating deviations from established Water Control Plans.

Lead and coordinate a multidisciplinary workforce of 5-9 professional engineers, scientists, and technicians; setting priorities, distributing workload, monitoring progress, and resolving informal complaints.

Coach, mentor, and identify training needs for team members, promoting team building and consensus while representing the team to leadership to secure resources.

Qualifications

Who May Apply: US Citizens In order to qualify, you must meet the Individual occupational requirements and the minimum experience requirements described below. 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). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Your resume must clearly describe your relevant experience; if qualifying based on education, your transcripts will be required as part of your application. Additional information about transcripts is in this document. Minimum Experience: Qualified applicants must describe in their resume at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-12 level in federal service with applying limnological principles in evaluating physical, chemical, and biological parameters of water bodies and their relationship to the natural and built environment; and leading a multidisciplinary team for a water quality study. The hiring manager will review your resume under Direct Hire procedures, considering your level of competence with: Hydrology: Water Quality Subject Matter Expertise in aquatic ecosystems, environmental regulations (Clean Water Act, ESA, NEPA), data interpretation (biological, chemical, physical, hydrodynamic), program budgeting, and technical reporting. Technical Competence with Interdisciplinary project management, bridging Water Control and Water Quality missions, translating technical issues for executive management, risk mitigation, and utilization of systems like CWMS (Corps Water Management System). Leadership: Leading, mentoring, and organizing a workforce of 5-9 technical professionals. Workload distribution, performance tracking, conflict resolution, training, and consensus building. Individual Occupational Requirements: Basic Requirement for Biologist (0401): A. Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to the position. OR B. Combination of Education and Experience: Courses equivalent to a major, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education. Basic Requirement for Wildlife Biologist (0486): A. Degree: Bachelor's degree (or higher degree) in biological science that included at least 9 semester hours in such wildlife subjects as mammalogy, ornithology, animal ecology, wildlife management, or research courses in the field of wildlife biology; AND at least 12 semester hours in zoology in such subjects as general zoology, invertebrate zoology, vertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, physiology, genetics, ecology, cellular biology, parasitology, entomology, or research courses in such subjects (excess courses in wildlife biology may be used to meet the zoology requirements where appropriate.); AND at least 9 semester hours in botany or the related plant sciences. OR B. Combination of Education and Experience: Equivalent to a major in biological science (i.e., at least 30 semester hours), with at least 9 semester hours in wildlife subjects, 12 semester hours in zoology, and 9 semester hours in botany or related plant science, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Evaluations

Once the announcement has closed, a review of your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) will be used to determine whether you meet the qualification requirements listed on this announcement. Please follow all instructions carefully when applying, errors or omissions may affect your eligibility. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and/or experience, you may lose consideration for this position. Veterans and Military Spouses will be considered along with all other candidates.

How to apply To apply for this position, you must complete the online questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section above. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 08/04/2026 to receive consideration To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application (https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/13008153). Follow the prompts to select your resume and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. As a reminder, your resume must be two pages or less and must support the specialized experience described in this announcement. Resumes exceeding two pages will be removed from consideration. For additional information, refer to the 'Required Documents' section. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process. You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application. Your resume selected in USAJOBS will be included, but you must re-select other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application may be incomplete. It is your responsibility to verify that your application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. Uploaded documents may take up to one hour to clear the virus scan. Additional information on how to complete the online application process and submit your online application may be found on the USA Staffing Applicant Resource Center. To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://www.usajobs.gov/applicant/profile/dashboard/), all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://help.usajobs.gov/how-to/application/status.

Other information A Relocation Incentive may be considered. A Recruitment Incentive may be considered. Enhanced Leave Accrual may be considered. Advanced Rate of pay may be considered. Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration. You will be required to provide proof of U.S. Citizenship. This position requires a 1 year probationary period during which the agency evaluates your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In making this determination, the agency may consider your performance and conduct; agency needs and interests; whether your continued employment supports organizational or Government goals; and whether it promotes the efficiency of the Federal service. Continued employment requires written certification that it advances the public interest. Direct Deposit of Pay is required. Selection is subject to restrictions resulting from Department of Defense referral system for displaced employees. If you have retired from federal service and you are interested in employment as a reemployed annuitant, see the information in the Reemployed Annuitant information sheet. This is a(n) Engineering and Construction Career Field position. Multiple positions may be filled from this announcement. Salary includes applicable locality pay or Local Market Supplement. Payment of Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs is not authorized, based on a determination that a PCS move is not in the Government interest.