Biological Science Technician (Fish)

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service • New Franken, WI

4d • Onsite

About The Position

You will serve as a Biological Science Technician (Fish) with US Fish and Wildlife Service. This position will support fish tagging, data collection, and data analysis efforts to measure the movement, growth, post-release survival, wild recruitment, and the general efficacy of salmon and trout stocking programs in the Great Lakes.

Requirements

• Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Direct Deposit participation required.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check.
• Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment.
• You are required to wear a uniform and comply with uniform standards.
• A uniform allowance will be provided.
• As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.
• All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 10/22/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.
• Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.
• For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted.
• An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience.
• For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected.
• For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, 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.
• Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: Specialized Experience for the series to which you are applying.
• To qualify for this position at the GS-07 grade level: Experience : 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. assisting with fish, wildlife, plant, habitat, or aquatic resource surveys and biological field investigations; 2. collecting biological samples or data in accordance with established scientific procedures and protocols; 3. assisting with the preparation, maintenance, or use of equipment needed for fish or wildlife capture, handling, tagging, propagation, habitat management, or restoration activities; and 4. entering, organizing, maintaining, or summarizing biological or environmental data for use in reports.
• You must include hours per week worked.
• To qualify for this position at the GS-08 grade level: Experience : You must possess at least one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-07 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience includes: 1. planning and conducting fish, wildlife, or habitat surveys, biological monitoring activities, or field investigations; 2. collecting, identifying, handling, tagging, or recording biological data on fish, wildlife, plants, or aquatic resources; 3. implementing fish, wildlife, habitat management, restoration, propagation, or invasive-species control activities; and 4. organizing, managing, analyzing, and reporting biological or environmental data using databases, geographic information systems, or standard statistical methods.
• You must include hours per week worked.
• 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.
• Education You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience.
• Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable.
• A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted.
• Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position.
• Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.
• Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs.
• For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications

Nice To Haves

• Courses directly related to the occupation, such as fishery biology, ichthyology, limnology, and aquaculture.

Responsibilities

• Conduct fishery assessments in the Great Lakes.
• Interact with the public to collect and record biological, environmental, and spatial data, and collect biological specimens (e.g., scales, otoliths, tissue samples) from angler-caught fish at Great Lakes boat landings, streams, fish cleaning stations, weirs, fishing tournaments and other venues.
• Assist with the preparation and organization of all necessary equipment for data collection activities.
• Laboratory processing of biological specimens collected during fishery surveys, including but not limited to 1) dissection of fish snouts to recover coded-wire tags from tagged fish, 2) reading and recording coded-wire tag numbers under a scope, 3) pressing fish scales into acetate slides, and encasing, cutting, and polishing otoliths, to prepare for age estimation analysis, and 4) data entry and validation.
• Assist with coded-wire tagging operations in federal and state fish hatcheries. Duties when on such missions include clipping fins and tagging fingerling fish by hand, loading fish from hatchery raceways into the AutoFish tagging trailer, and assisting with other tasks.
• Estimate the age of untagged fish from calcified structures (e.g., scales, otoliths, dorsal spines, maxillae) collected during fishery surveys.
• Assist biologists with management, organization, and quality control of biological databases using geographic information systems and other software (e.g., Survey123, ArcGIS Pro, Microsoft Excel/Access).
• Assist with creating and managing data platforms in the ArcGIS suite (e.g., Dashboards, StoryMaps).
• Assists with biological data analysis and writing of reports, data summaries, outreach materials, and other published products, and distributes products within FWS and to outside partner agencies.
• Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

Benefits

• A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package.
• As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.
• Learn more about federal benefits.
• Review our benefits

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Associate degree