The Department of Ecology’s priority during the Covid-19 health crisis is to keep our staff, candidates, and the public safe.  We are still hiring and encourage you to apply to open positions.  The majority of our staff are currently working from home; we have transitioned to a virtual recruitment process, to include web-based interviews.

Keeping Washington Clean and Evergreen

Protecting Washington State’s environment for current and future generations is what we do every day at Ecology. We are a culture that is invested in making a difference. If you want to join a team that is highly effective, collaborative, and has leadership that embraces the value of people, Ecology may be a good fit.

The Environmental Assessment Program (EAP) within the Department of Ecology is looking to fill a Senior Surface Water Hydrologist (Hydrogeologist 3) position at our Headquarters Building in Lacey, WA.

This Senior Surface Water Hydrologist position serves as a senior level Hydrologist in the Freshwater Monitoring Unit, helping the unit monitor and report freshwater surface water quality across Washington State. This is an excellent opportunity to work with a great group of people and help guide the Freshwater Ambient Monitoring efforts in the great state of Washington.

We are looking for an individual who likes to work in a challenging environment on complex Freshwater monitoring issues and appreciates facing new challenges on a regular basis. The ideal candidate will be part of a dynamic team that enjoys doing their part to protect the rivers and streams of Washington and has fun doing it.

As an agency, our mission is to protect, preserve and enhance Washington’s environment for current and future generations. We invest in our employees to create and sustain a working environment that encourages creative leadership, effective resource management, teamwork, professionalism and accountability.

This position supports the mission by serving as a technical expert, coordinating the measurement and assessment of water quality at select ambient monitoring locations throughout Washington State. This position provides end of current water year (September 1- October 30) senior- level quality assurance reviews to all aspects of the Freshwater Monitoring Unit River and stream water quality activities. These reviews not only include an overall evaluation of the basic data sets but also cover the general hydrology used to interpret the data. This position also mentors other members of the FMU in various aspects of operation and maintenance of various continuous water quality measurement equipment.

To learn more about The Department of Ecology, please visit our website at www.ecology.wa.gov and follow, like or visit us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or our blog.

 Local efforts… Diverse people… Statewide impacts

The Environmental Assessment Program provides a range of scientific, monitoring, laboratory, and quality assurance services. Its mission is to measure, assess and communicate environmental conditions in Washington State.

Some of the key work activities for the Senior Surface Water Hydrologist position include:

• Serves as the main contact for water quality monitoring of freshwater rivers and streams.
• Uses independent professional judgment to evaluate the technical operation of FMU Continuous water quality gaging network.
• Independently designs, organizes, and conducts continuous temperature monitoring programs that support evaluation of impacts to water quality and assists in revising criteria and TMDL model development.
• Conducts high priority projects at the request of regional offices or headquarters programs. Publishes technical reports for projects and summary reports for long-term monitoring programs.
• Mentors other team members in the FMU in various aspects of operation and maintenance of various continuous water quality measurement equipment and quality assurance/quality control reviews of the resulting data.

Special Note – Significant overnight travel and fieldwork is required.  Time away from the office can sometimes exceed 20% of the scheduled work week.

Please note: During Stay Home, Stay Healthy, staff are working a combination of in-office and/or telework based on position and business need. This position is expected to work in the office up to 2 days a week.

Ecology is maintaining less than maximum building occupancy, and requiring masks, health screening questions before entry, and social distancing.
 
This recruitment will remain open until filled, with an initial screening date of April 6, 2021. In order to be considered for the initial screening, please submit an application on or before April 5, 2021. The agency reserves the right to make an appointment any time after the initial screening date.

Required Qualifications:

There are multiple ways to qualify for this position. See options below:

Option 1: A Bachelor’s degree involving a major study in hydrology, biology, or closely allied field AND three (3) years of professional experience as a hydrologist, biologist or closely allied profession.

Option 2: A Master’s degree with a major study in hydrology, biology, or closely allied field AND one (1) year of professional experience as a hydrologist, biologist or closely allied profession.

Option 3: A Ph.D. with major a study in hydrology, biology, or closely allied field.

Option 4: One (1) year as a Hydrogeologist 2 at the Department of Ecology.

Desired Qualifications:

We highly encourage you to apply even if you do not have some (or all) of the desired experience below.

Special Knowledge/Skills: Freshwater chemistry, computer programming, statistical sampling design, and database management. Ability to: reason logically, draw valid conclusions, and make appropriate recommendations; gather and analyze data; participate in conferences and interviews; speak and write effectively; establish and maintain effective working relationships.

Examples of specialized experience desired with independent responsibility to implement or mentor others concerning the following activities:

• Installing, operating and maintaining continuous stream gaging and water quality monitoring equipment
• Field and lab cleaning, calibration and servicing of data telemetry, and continuous water quality data collection systems.
• Collecting discrete water quality samples used to determine the uncertainty associated with the bio-fouling and calibration drift of deployed continuous water quality data instruments.
• Reviewing continuous water quality data for completeness and overall quality.

Note: Having some (or all) of this desired experience may make your application more competitive in a highly competitive applicant pool.

Special Requirements / Conditions of Employment:

• Must possess a valid driver’s license.

Application Instructions:

Please complete the short on-line application, supplemental questions and upload:

• Your current chronological resume.
• A cover letter explaining how you fit the requirements of the position.

 
Important Note:
When attaching documents to your application (Resume, Cover Letter, Transcripts, DD-214, etc.):

• Please be sure to remove private information such as your social security number, date of birth, etc.
• Do not attach documents that are password protected as these documents may not be reviewed and may cause errors within your application when downloaded.

 
Please to do NOT include your salary history. Wage/salary depends on qualifications or rules of promotion, if applicable.  

Please complete the applicant profile when applying for this position. Or, you may paste the text of your resume within the profile’s resume text field.

Please read the supplemental questions carefully and answer completely. Incomplete responses, including “please see resume,” may disqualify you from further consideration.

It is in the candidate’s best interest to submit all of the documents requested above. Applications without these documents may be declined.

Department of Ecology employees, please make sure to answer the agency-wide questions regarding permanent status as a classified employee within the Washington General Service or Washington Management Service. Do not forget to select Department of Ecology as a response to question 2, and type your personnel ID number for question 3. If you are not sure of your status or do not know your personnel ID number, please contact Human Resources.

If you are reading this announcement in print format, please visit www.careers.wa.gov to access the online recruitment system. Click on “Look for Jobs” and select Dept. of Ecology under the “Department” search list. Click “Apply Search.”

Other Information:

If you need assistance applying for this job, please e-mail careers@ecy.wa.gov. Please do not send an email to this address to follow-up the status of your application. You can view the latest status of your application on your profile’s main page.

If you have specific questions about the position, please email Brad Hopkins  at: Brad.Hopkins@ecy.wa.gov. Please do not contact Brad to inquire about the status of your application.

The act of submitting application materials electronically is considered affirmation that the information is complete and truthful. The state may verify this information and any untruthful or misleading answers are cause for rejection of your application or dismissal if employed.

This position is included in the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) union bargaining unit for the Department of Ecology.

This recruitment may be used to fill other positions of the same job classification across the agency. Once all the position(s) from the recruitment announcement are filled, the recruitment may only be used to fill additional open positions for the next sixty (60) days.

The Washington State Department of Ecology is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and gender identity diversity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons of disability, persons over 40 years of age, veterans, military spouses or people with military status, and people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are encouraged to apply. Persons needing accommodation in the application/testing process or this job announcement in an alternative format may call (360) 407-6186. Applicants who are deaf or hard of hearing may call the Washington Relay Service by dialing 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388.