FUL - Biological Science Technician

U.S.-Fish-; Warm Springs (GA); On-site; USD 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

The Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery seeks a Biological Science Technician to support data collection on hatchery populations and evaluate fish health and propagation methods. You will assist in planning, data recording, and monitoring of water quality and culture conditions at the facility.

This GS-6/7 position emphasizes independent routine hatchery tasks, adherence to procedures, and timely documentation to ensure accurate program evaluations and successful propagation efforts.

Qualifications

• Specialized experience at GS-05 level or equivalent in federal service for GS-06.
• Experience with spawning, egg collection, incubation, rearing or distribution.
• Understanding of fish health and water quality monitoring and data recording.
• Experience maintaining hatchery infrastructure and equipment.

Responsibilities

• Plan and conduct data collection on hatchery populations to support health evaluations.
• Carry out routine fish culture activities and maintain culture records.
• Monitor and adjust culture conditions and equipment as per procedures.

Skills

Fish culture

Fish health monitoring

Water quality monitoring

Egg collection & processing

Culture equipment operation

Education

Graduate coursework toward master's in fisheries

Tools

Fish culture equipment

Job description

You will serve as a FUL - Biological Science Technician within the Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 1, Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery, in Warm Spring, OR.

This position serves as a Biological Science Technician, GS-0404-6/7, at the Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery in Warm Springs, Oregon, and is responsible for planning and conducting data collection on hatchery populations to support the evaluation of fish health and propagation methods.

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-09/11/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. All candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements.

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:

To qualify for this position at the GS-06 Grade Level

• Specialized Experience Requirement: You must possess at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-05 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience includes: 1. Independently performing routine fish culture activities involving the feeding, care, handling, rearing, or distribution of multiple life stages of fish; 2. Monitoring fish health and water quality and maintaining fish culture, inventory, feeding, mortality, or water quality records; 3. performing established fish propagation activities, such as spawning, collecting or processing eggs, and/or operating and maintaining fish culture equipment and systems; 4. maintaining and improving hatchery infrastructure, equipment, and grounds; and 5. performing routine health assessments including: necropsies of morbid fish, collecting ovarian fluid samples, external examination of fish for parasites and collecting blood samples, This experience must be clearly documented in your resume; OR
• Education: Successfully completed one year of progressively higher-level graduate level education (18 semester/27 quarter hours or the school's equivalent) leading to a master's or equivalent graduate degree at an accredited college or university that included courses directly related to the occupation, such as fishery biology, ichthyology, limnology, and aquaculture. OR
• Combination of education and experience. To combine education and experience, first take the number of graduate level semester hours completed and divide by18 semester hours. Then take the number of months of full‑time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include transcripts.

To qualify for this position at the GS-07 Grade Level:

• Specialized Experience Requirement: You must possess at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-06 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience includes: 1. Independently carrying out multiple phases of fish propagation and culture, such as spawning, egg collection and processing, incubation, rearing, sampling, inventory, or distribution; 2. monitoring fish health, water quality, or culture conditions and identifying problems or making routine adjustments in accordance with established procedures; 3. performing fish health procedures and/or troubleshooting and maintaining fish culture systems and equipment; and 4. performing routine health assessments including: necropsies of morbid fish, collecting ovarian fluid samples, external examination of fish for parasites and collecting blood samples,This experience must be clearly documented in your resume; OR
• Education: Successfully completed one year of progressively higher-level graduate level education (18 semester/27 quarter hours or the school's equivalent) leading to a master's or equivalent graduate degree at an accredited college or university that included courses directly related to the occupation, such as fishery biology, ichthyology, limnology, and aquaculture. OR
• Combination of education and experience. To combine education and experience, first take the number of graduate level semester hours completed and divide by18 semester hours. Then take the number of months of full‑time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. 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.