Fish Biologist

FISHBIO; Sacramento (CA); On-site; USD 89,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is seeking a Fish Biologist to support environmental compliance, budgeting, and interagency coordination for the Bay Delta and California Great Basin regions.

The role emphasizes applied fishery science, data synthesis, and policy liaison with federal, state, and local partners. Responsibilities include preparing technical input for environmental documents, managing budgets, and coordinating with multiple offices to advance program objectives under the Direct-Hire

Qualifications

• Biological Science major with aquatic-subject coursework (e.g., limnology, ichthyology) and animal sciences coursework (zoology, physiology, ecology).
• Experience or education combinations meeting the above requirements will be considered.

Responsibilities

• Prepares and oversees input into environmental evaluations and compliance documents for Bay Delta Office and regional divisions.
• Prepares budget projections and tracks expenditures.
• Acts as COR/GOR to obtain resources for BDO and Regional efforts.
• Coordinates with BDO and Regional staff on budget and accounting, presenting issues with proposed solutions.
• Maintains knowledge on fishery science, Endangered Species Act, and related environmental statutes affecting Bay-Delta operations.
• Leads data gathering and interagency efforts on water quality and biological resources.

Job description

Description: You will serve as a Fish Biologist for the Bureau of Reclamation. This announcement is open to U.S. Citizens or Nationals; and Career transition eligibles (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL). This position will be filled under the Office of Personnel Management’s Direct-Hire Authority. Veterans’ Preference and traditional rating and ranking of applications do not apply. Qualified veterans will, however, be given full consideration for this position.
Responsibilities: Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

• Prepares and/or oversees the preparation of highly technical and/or programmatic input into complex environmental evaluations, including environmental compliance documents, environmental chapters in planning reports, and related appendices as requested by the Bay Delta Office (BDO) and Regional divisions and area offices.
• Prepares budget projections and tracks group expenditures.
• Performs the duties of a contracting and grants officers’ representative (COR/GOR) to obtain additional resources to support BDO and Regional efforts.
• Communicates and coordinates with BDO and Regional staff responsible for budget and accounting activities and presents budget or accounting issues identified to the BDO Manager with proposed resolutions.
• Maintains state-of-the-art knowledge on the technical aspects of fishery science, Bay-Delta and California Great Basin (CGB) Region operational issues, implementation of the Endangered Species Act, and other environmental statutes that affect fishery/operational interactions in the Bay-Delta CGB Region.
• Oversees highly complex data gathering and interagency efforts in the areas of water quality and biological resources assessment, correlates efforts with a wide variety of other Federal, State, and local interests in an efficient and effective manner.
• Under supervision of the Branch Chief, conducts original applied scientific research in support of the BDO and Reclamation’s CGB regional information needs.
• Conducts continuing liaison with other divisions and offices within the BDO and Region, local public and private organizations, and other Federal and State agencies involved in land and water resource development and biological resources management; represents BDO and Regional interests in obtaining the widest possible participation and assistance for the BDO and the Region’s scientific resource work, and relates the BDO and Region’s priorities and programs to programs being considered or conducted by other agencies, including BDO, Reclamation-wide, and Regional policies and objectives.
• Prepares and/or oversees the preparation and review of technical and policy-related comments on water quality, fisheries, and other aquatic biological aspects of technical and management reports dealing with a broad array of resources development and/or management prepared by numerous other Federal, State, and local agencies, particularly related to the Sacramento, American and San Joaquin rivers and the Bay-Delta.
• Consults with the BDO Manager and Science Division Chief in the formulation of policies, programs, standards, and procedures associated with fishery-related environmental compliance requirements, particularly the Endangered Species Act, relative to the Region’s project operations that affect water quality, fisheries, and aquatic biology, and in establishing priorities and deadlines for the completion of work assignments.
• Assists the BDO Manager in administration of an effective safety program by promoting on-the-job-safety through discussions and distribution of literature.

Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.
Qualifications: All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-09/29/2026-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.
Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications:
Basic Educational Requirement AND Specialized Experience for the series to which you are applying.
Basic Educational Requirements: In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following:

• Degree: Major in Biological Science that included at least 6 semester hours in aquatic subjects such as limnology, ichthyology, fishery biology, aquatic botany, aquatic fauna, oceanography, fish culture, or related courses in the field of fishery biology; and at least 12 semester hours in the animal sciences in such subjects as general zoology, vertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, physiology, entomology, parasitology, ecology, cellular biology, genetics, or research in these fields (Excess course work in aquatic subjects may be used to meet this requirement when appropriate).

-OR-

• Combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in biological science (i.e., at least 30 semester hours), of which a minimum of 6 semester hours were in aquatic subjects and 12 semester hours were in the animal sciences, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.