Per provided link https://www.usds.gov/apply:
"Salaries in government change every year. For 2023, you may be paid up to $183,500 depending on where you are located in the United States."
The federal government pays pretty well for scientists and engineers.
I've got a few friends at JPL and they are paid around that.
I was a researcher under UC Regents many years ago, run by the state of California. That pay, however, was terrible. When I left for private industry I asked for double what I had been making and they considered me a bargain.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the pay can also be considerably higher if you work at a federally funded research lab but are not a direct federal employee. Employee of an implementing contractor company. Such as various positions at Hanford, Idaho National Lab, Los Alamos, Brookhaven, Argonne, Sandia, Livermore, etc.
