Senior Water Resources Data Developer (Natural Resource Specialist 4)

Initial Posting Date:

06/18/2024

Application Deadline:

07/02/2024

Agency:

Water Resources Department

Salary Range:

$5,747 - $8,831

Position Type:

Employee

Position Title:

Senior Water Resources Data Developer (Natural Resource Specialist 4)

Job Description:

Oregon Water Resources Department

Our Vision

The vision of the Oregon Water Resources Department is to assure sufficient and sustainable water supplies are available to meet current and future needs.

Core Values

• Integrity

• We are accountable for all that we do. We act with honesty and promote transparency.

• Service

• We are dedicated to providing outstanding service and treating everyone equitably in our management and stewardship of state resources.

• Technical Excellence

• We base our resource decisions on law, science, and expertise.

• Teamwork

• We are united in our mission, relying on one another and working together with the communities we serve.

• Forward-Looking

• We seek innovative and practical solutions to the water challenges of today and tomorrow.
  2019-2024 Strategic Plan

The Oregon Water Resources Department's strategic priorities for 2019-2024 are to:

• Modernize our management of Oregon's surface water and groundwater resources to meet instream and out-of-stream uses

• Work to secure Oregon's instream and out-of-stream water future in the face of increasing water scarcity

• Foster a forward-looking team dedicated to serving Oregonians with integrity and excellence

Position Information

This position is a full-time, permanent position, located in Salem, with remote option flexibility.

This position is also represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

The Oregon Water Resources Department is committed to creating a workplace culture that understands and appreciates differences among people and is welcoming and inclusive to all. By fostering fairness and equity in its work culture, the Department strives to improve services for all Oregonians. We acknowledge that not all people have experienced equitable opportunities or fair treatment. We are committed to increasing our awareness and understanding of historic injustices and building a foundation for meaningful change. We value a wide range of professional and lived experiences, and people of underrepresented communities are strongly encouraged to apply.

Job Description:

PROGRAM INFORMATION

The Water Resources Department seeks a data scientist to scope and develop systems, tools, and databases to maintain and advance the work of the Surface Water Section. This includes identifying, developing, and implementing methods, workflows, algorithms, tools, and systems to improve accessibility and to summarize, visualize, and analyze various data sets. If you join the team, you will be a member of the Technical Services Division (TSD), reporting to the Assistant Manager of the Surface Water Hydrology Section.

The Surface Water Hydrology Section provides technical expertise regarding surface water and water use in Oregon. The section supports four major programs: Hydrographics, or surface water measurement, Water Use & Evapotranspiration, Field Hydrology, and Surface Water Availability. Through coordination with others in the agency, the section provides data and analysis critical for responsible water management.

Consider joining our team and advancing our mission to practice and promote responsible water management in Oregon! Learn more about the WRD.

PURPOSE OF POSITION

What you will do

The person in this position will play several key roles:

• Lead Surface Water Data Developer: Define vision and strategy for data analytics within the Surface Water Hydrology section and collaborate with other data and information program leads to implement with Department programs and collaborative efforts (e.g., Open Data Portal). Perform model creation, testing, and deployment. Develop, implement, and monitor data science projects from inception to implementation.

• Collaboration and coordination: Lead collaboration with scientists, data stewards, stakeholders, and users to identify data needs and develop products to bridge gaps. Work with Information Services and Department staff to identify business needs and strategic objectives to support the data lifecycle, design, develop, and implement new data modeling and data science solutions.

• Develop data manipulation toolkit: Lead the development of functions and utilities using software and tools such as Structured Query Language and R and Python programming environments to interact with data sets and databases to manipulate data. This work includes developing data workflows for efficiently acquiring, summarizing, analyzing, and visualizing data. This position will also write complex queries to interact with Department databases.

• Quality assurance/quality control: Design protocol for performing quality assurance and quality control of data acquisition, extraction, and transformation procedures. Develop and maintain data pipelines and ensure future functionality.

• File and data management: The person in this position will develop standards and guidance for a file and data management system to maintain organization and uphold data integrity. This work includes developing procedures for the Surface Water Hydrology section related to storing and archiving files. This position will also define and maintain standards for ingesting, creating, processing, maintaining, securing, using, and archiving data.

Minimum Qualifications

• Natural Resource Specialist 4

We are most interested in finding the best candidate for the job, and that candidate may not meet every one of our listed preferred qualifications. Lived experience may count towards the preferred qualifications. If you are excited about this position, we encourage you to apply. If you are unsure as to whether you meet the preferred qualifications of this position, please contact us to discuss your application.

• Four years of experience in Data Science, Hydrolology, Geology, Engineering, or related earth or data science or engineering. At least one year of the experience must be at a technical or professional level performing activities in a natural resource program such as researching and analyzing data, conducting investigations, applying pertinent laws and regulations, or coordinating and monitoring project activities;

AND

• A Bachelor's degree in Data Science or related field, Hydrology, Geology, or related earth science or engineering field;

OR

• Three (3) additional years of related (pertinent) experience.

Note: A Master's degree in a qualifying field counts for one year of experience and a PhD. in a qualifying field counts for two years of experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Expert proficiency in at least one programming language.

• Strong technical knowledge of environmental data structures and databases.

• Experience manipulating common natural resources data sets (e.g., monitoring networks, remotely sensed data).

• Experience using R, Python, ArcGIS, SQL, or other similar GIS, database, or programming languages and software.

• Experience designing and implementing protocol within a team setting.

• Record of coordination/project planning/project management.

Note: In addition to your related work experience and education, we will use both the minimum and desired qualifications above to determine whom to interview. Please make sure all your relevant qualifications are clearly demonstrated in your application materials. Your application materials may be evaluated on spelling, grammar, punctuation, attention to detail, and presentation.

Working Conditions

The individual in this position will primarily operate from a computer station for extended periods. The role demands the ability to manage stress associated with deadlines and high work volumes. Additionally, occasional lifting of up to 50 pounds may be required, along with intermittent interaction with hostile or upset customers. Flexibility is key, as the role may involve overtime for special projects and travel to other offices or agencies as part of regular duties. This position offers hybrid work options, with some duties requiring in-office presence at our Salem office.

SALARY INFORMATION

The table below shows the monthly salary ranges for each classification level included in this posting.

NON-PERS ELIGIBLE (Includes most new hires to state government. Employees typically gain PERS eligibility after six months of state service.)

NRS4 $5,747 - $8,831 Monthly

PERS ELIGIBLE (Typically current or former employees of Oregon state or local government, public schools, universities, etc.)

NRS4 $6,146 - $9,447 Monthly

Other Benefits

• We offer a competitive benefits package that includes:

• Exceptional medical, vision and dental plans with employees paying 1 to 5% of the total premium.

• Leave accrual starting at 8 hours of sick and 8 hours of vacation leave per month, with your vacation leave accruals increasing every 5 years.

• Access to an additional four days of discretionary leave

• 3 days of personal business leave and one day of Governor's Leave each year.

• Eleven paid holidays per year.

• Membership in the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) including a pension and employer contributions to the Individual Account Program.

• Optional benefits (such as term life insurance, long-term and short-term disability, long-term care, health and dependent care flexible spending accounts, enrollment in the Oregon Savings Growth Plan, a deferred compensation program with a wide variety of investment options).

• The opportunity to receive loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (must qualify).

How to Apply:

Please ensure to provide your resume and cover letter for full consideration.

• Provide a brief (no more than 1 page) cover letter indicating why you are interested in, and a good candidate for, the Senior Water Resources Data Developer position at the Oregon Water Resources Department.

• Provide a brief (no more than 2 page) resume indicating your experience pertinent to the required and desired qualifications in this announcement.

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Important

Please monitor both your email and Workday account for updates regarding this recruitment. You may be asked to submit additional information after initial application. If you have questions about this job posting, please contact Human Resources at WRD_DL_HR@water.oregon.gov.

Current State of Oregon employees must apply through your employee Workday account.

Work Authorization

The Oregon Water Resources Department does not offer visa sponsorships. Within three days of hire, all applicants will be required to complete the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Form I-9, confirming authorization to work in the United States.

Veterans

If you are an eligible veteran and you meet the qualifications, veterans' preference points will be added to your score. For more information on veterans' preference points visit www.oregonjobs.org and select Veterans resources under Resources. Please do not attach veteran documentation to your initial application, after you have applied you will be sent a task in your Workday account to provide your veteran documentation at that time.

The Oregon Water Resources Department is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer Committed to Workforce Diversity.