Biologist

U.S.-Fish-; Grand Junction (CO); On-site; USD 50,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

This position is located within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Grand Valley National Fish Hatchery in Grand Junction, CO.

The role involves supporting fish culture activities, data collection, and routine hatchery operations necessary to maintain production schedules and conservation programs. Minimum qualifications include a degree in biological sciences or an equivalent education/experience combination, with specialized experience for GS-07 or GS-09 grades.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a biological sciences-related field or combination of education and experience as described.
• Ability to collect and manage biological data and maintain accuracy.
• Familiarity with hatchery operations and basic fish culture processes.

Responsibilities

• Assist in fish culture activities including spawning, egg collection and fertilization, incubation, grading, and stocking.
• Monitor environmental conditions, maintain data records and generate routine reports.
• Support propagation or recovery activities for conservation-focused species under established protocols.

Skills

Biological Sciences

Data Collection

Fish Culture

Education

Bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences

Job description

This position is located within the Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Grand Valley National Fish Hatchery located in Grand Junction, CO

Rate of Pay

GS-07 - $50,460 - $65,599

GS-09 - $61,722 - $80,243

Pay may vary based on grade level and/or duty location for which you're selected. First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-08/25/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

To qualify for this position, you must meet the following basic education and minimum qualification requirements:

Basic Educational Requirements

In addition to the minimum qualification requirements for this position listed below, you must meet at least one of the following:

• A. Degree: Successfully completed a full four-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor's or higher degree that included a major field of study in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to this position. You must submit transcripts. -OR-
• B. Combination of education and experience: course work equivalent to a major (i.e., 24 semester hours) in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or a discipline closely related to biology; PLUS appropriate experience or additional course work. The quality of the combination must demonstrate that you possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the work of the position and is comparable to that normally acquired through the completion of a full four-year course of study with a major as described above.

-AND-

In addition to meeting the basic education requirements above, to qualify for this position at the GS-07 grade level, you must meet one of the following minimum qualifications:

• Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience which includes, but is not limited to the following: carry out fish culture or aquatic animal husbandry activities including spawning, egg collection and fertilization, incubation, grading, inventory, fish health monitoring, transportation, stocking, and other routine hatchery production activities; assist in the propagation or recovery activities for threatened, endangered or other species of conservation concern by maintaining breeding populations, monitoring environmental conditions, collecting biological data, and implementing established biological protocols; collect biological data and ensure data accuracy; maintain electronic databases of fisheries data; and prepare reports or summaries used to support biological or management decisions. You must include hours per week worked in your resume to receive credit for experience.

• Education: Successful completion of at least one year (defined as the number of hours that the school attended determined to represent one full year of full-time study; if unavailable, then 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours will be considered as satisfying the requirement) of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree in a field of study directly related to the position such as in biological sciences, agriculture, botany, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to this position. You must include transcripts.

• Successfully completed a bachelor's degree with Superior Academic Achievement in a related field of study. Superior Academic Achievement is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership. Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses. Grade-point average (G.P.A.) -- Applicants must have a grade point average of: 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. You must submit a copy of your transcripts.

• Combination of education and experience. For example, an applicant with 6 months of appropriate GS-5 equivalent specialized experience (50% of the specialized experience requirement for the GS-7) and 9 semester hours of appropriate graduate level education (50% of the education requirement for the GS-7) would qualify an applicant for this position. You must submit a copy of your transcripts and provide hours worked per week in your resume.

In addition to meeting the basic education requirements above, to qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level, you must meet one of the following minimum qualifications:

• Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience which includes, but is not limited to the following: manage assigned culture units (ponds, tanks, raceways) including feeding regimes, water quality monitoring, and routine adjustments; conduct broodstock handling, gamete processing, egg incubation, and fry rearing independently using established protocols; perform fish health observations, administer basic treatments, and document results accurately; maintain biological, water quality, fish health, and growth datasets with precision; prepare routine summaries or updates for project leads and apply findings to assigned culture units; and collect, organize, analyze, and summarize biological, production, environmental, and water quality data. You must include hours per week worked in your resume to receive credit for experience.

• Education: Successful completion of at least two years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or equivalent graduate degree in an accredited educational institution concentrated in a field that is directly related to the work of this position, such as in biological sciences, agriculture, botany, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to this position. You must include transcripts to receive credit for education.

• Combination of education and experience. For example, applicants with 6 months of appropriate experience equivalent to the GS-7 (50% of the experience requirement), and 27 semester hours (50 percent of the education requirement to qualify for GS-9, in excess of that required for GS-7) would be qualifying for the GS-9 grade level (assuming one year of graduate education is defined by the college or university as 18 semester hours). You must include transcripts.