Biologist

U.S.-Fish-; Riverdale Township (ND); On-site; USD 62,000 - 97,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery in Riverdale, North Dakota, is hiring for a GS-09/11 biological sciences role focused on hatchery operations, data collection, and program support at the federal level.

Applicants must meet the basic education requirements and specialized experience; pay is determined by GS grade with location-based adjustments. Closing date is 2026-09-03.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in biological sciences, agriculture, natural resource management, chemistry, or related fields.
• Combination of education and experience may be considered for GS-9/GS-11 if criteria met.
• Experience in laboratory or hatchery settings is beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Manage culture units (ponds, tanks, raceways) including feeding regimes and water quality monitoring.
• Handle broodstock, gamete processing, egg incubation, and fry rearing using established protocols.
• Perform fish health observations and document results accurately.
• Maintain biological, water quality, fish health, and growth datasets with precision.
• Prepare routine summaries for project leads and adjust production plans based on data.

Job description

This position is located within the Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery located in Riverdale, North Dakota.

Rate of Pay

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

GS-11 - $74,678 - $97,087

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-09/03/2026-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-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.

-AND-

In addition to meeting the basic education requirements above, to qualify for this position at the GS-11 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-09 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: troubleshoot hatchery systems when functionality needs to be restored; lead broodstock spawning, gamete handling, fertilization, incubation, fry start, rearing, and grow-out using advanced methods.; manage genetic integrity through accurate family-lot recordkeeping, data verification, and error prevention; analyze trends across biological, water quality, fish health, and growth datasets; produce technical reports and adjust facility production plans or propagation schedules based on data-driven findings; lead stocking, pond management, loading, fish and egg shipments, and transport; coordinate fieldwork including harvest and shipment scheduling; communicate and review biological work of interns, volunteers and entry-level staff. You must include hours per week worked in your resume to receive credit for experience.
• Education: Successful completion of at least three years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral 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.
• Combination of education and experience. Note: only education in excess of the first two years of graduate-level education (the amount required for the next lower grade level) may be combined with experience to meet the total requirement. For example, applicants with 6 months of appropriate experience equivalent to the GS-9 (50% of the experience requirement), and 45 semester hours (50 percent of the education requirement to qualify for GS-11, in excess of that required for GS-9) would be qualifying for the GS-11 grade level. You must include transcripts.

Volunteer Experience: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.