Hydrologist

Maricopa County • Phoenix, AZ

1d

About The Position

The Hydrologist works independently and collaboratively to manage a large network of water-level gages in and around Maricopa County and provide accurate water-flow data for first responders, safety agencies, residents, and other data users. The position computes peak discharges and produces authoritative data for engineering, research, and planning organizations.

The role involves managing hydrologic data collection, presentation, reporting, and quality assurance; developing discharge ratings and models for streams, channels, hydraulic structures, basins, and dams; and computing flood-event discharges and runoff frequencies. The Hydrologist also serves as a technical expert on the ALERT streamgage system and provides information to emergency managers and other decision-makers.

Requirements

• Four years of professional hydrology experience or pre-registration civil engineering experience; or four years of experience leading and performing senior-level technical engineering work; or a bachelor's degree in Hydrology, Engineering, Surveying, Geography, Environmental Science, Geology, or a related field.
• An equivalent combination of post-secondary education and/or job-related experience may substitute for the minimum qualifications on a year-for-year basis.
• Must currently possess, or be able to obtain by the time of hire, a valid Arizona driver's license.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with hydrologic data collection and devices.
• Computer experience with Microsoft Office programs, especially Excel.
• Working knowledge of hydraulics and hydraulic software such as HEC-RAS, HEC-WRC, and HY-8.
• Working knowledge of ArcGIS or ArcPro.
• Ability to apply survey knowledge and techniques to surface-water data collection.
• Familiarity with the geography, hydrology, and meteorology of Maricopa County.
• Ability to read and interpret engineering plans and construction drawings.

Responsibilities

• Manage a large network of water-level gages, including data collection, presentation, and reporting.
• Develop discharge ratings for complex streams and hydraulics.
• Develop models for natural streams, engineered channels, hydraulic structures, basins, and dams.
• Oversee selection of locations for new water-level gages and oversee their installation to required standards.
• Use general survey techniques to collect hydrologic data for peak-flood computations, rating development, and instrumentation data integrity.
• Develop post-runoff and post-flood-event peak discharges by computing or estimating them from complex stream and hydraulic data.
• Compute runoff frequencies, return periods, and probabilities for flood events and data records using collected data and USGS and other methods.
• Periodically perform QA/QC on stream-gage data stored in a database to maintain the integrity of historic data records, and include the data in technical and archive reports.
• Serve as a technical expert regarding the ALERT streamgage system.
• Provide expert knowledge on public safety to emergency managers and other decision-makers.
• Create usable products from raw data sources using complex mathematical and hydrological computations, interpretations, and professional judgment.

Benefits

• Tuition reimbursement
• Exceptional work-life balance
• Opportunities for growth and development within Maricopa County
• Low-cost, high-value healthcare for the employee and qualifying dependents
• Child care benefits, including access to Maricopa County Kids Club
• Paid vacation, sick time, and parental leave
• Extensive wellness program, including an incentive
• Enrollment in the Arizona State Retirement System, a defined retirement benefit requiring an 11.98% per-paycheck contribution rate with a 100% employer match on Day 1

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior