Fish Hatchery Specialist 2 (In-Training) - Arlington Hatchery - Career Seasonal - 2026-08445

State of Washington•Snohomish County – Arlington, WA

6d•Onsite

About The Position

Support salmon, steelhead, and trout conservation efforts while providing sustainable recreational, tribal, and commercial opportunities in the state of Washington. Join the Arlington Hatchery team and perform scientific, technical, and related maintenance duties within the hatchery. This is an opportunity to rear anadromous (fish born in freshwater who spend most of their lives in saltwater and return to freshwater to spawn) and non-anadromous species of fish.

Requirements

Valid Driver’s License.
Three (3) years of experience performing a variety of fish culture duties in a hatchery.
An Associate’s degree in fisheries technology, biology, or a closely allied field.
Three (3) years of education towards a Bachelor’s degree in fisheries, biology, or a closely allied field.
Successful completion of a fish culture program from a vocational school.
Four (4) years of experience performing a variety of fish culture duties in a hatchery.
One (1) year of experience as a Fish Hatchery Specialist 1 and successful completion of agency supervised training program.
An Associate’s degree in fisheries technology, biology, or closely allied field and one (1) year of experience performing fish culture duties in a hatchery.
Two (2) years of education towards a Bachelor’s degree in fisheries, biology, or closely allied field and one (1) year of experience performing fish culture duties in a hatchery.
Successful completion of a fish culture program from a vocational school and one (1) year of experience performing fish culture duties in a hatchery.
Basic fish culture techniques and rearing procedures.
Water dynamics (such as flows, flow patterns, availability, temperature, and dissolved oxygen).
Calibrating specialized instruments (such as scales and dissolved oxygen meters).
Complete basic math equations (add, subtract, multiply, and divide).
Calculate and understand quantities and proportions.
Computers, with a basic understanding of spreadsheets and word processing.
Safe and proper use and maintenance of tools and equipment.

Responsibilities

Feed fish their calculated daily ration.
Monitor fish behavior, health, and production.
Administer therapeutics and calculate/administer drugs as prescribed.
Clean ponds, raceways, troughs, and incubator systems to maintain fish health.
Perform fish inventories, splits, grading, marking trailer inventories, weight samples, and plants.
Pick egg loss by hand or using equipment and incubate eggs using a variety of vessels.
Collect adult mortality, fill out correct head tags for broodstock, and enter data into hatchery documents and fish books.
Identify all targeted and non-targeted species, gender, stock origin, and condition of maturity when trapping and spawning adults.
Conduct remote trapping and spawning operations, including transportation of equipment and gametes.
Fertilize eggs according to pre-determined ratios using established spawning protocols and Hatchery and Genetic Management Plan (HGMP) requirements.
Track temperature units (TU’s) and monitor chillers to adjust TU’s, including tracking thermal marks.
Use computers and software for data entry, record keeping, and reporting within and outside of the agency.
Fill out and submit agency forms such as fish transfer tickets, hatchery invoice forms, and other relevant forms.
Perform water quality analysis and discharge monitoring reports (DMR) as required by the Department of Ecology to maintain hatchery discharge permits (NPDES).
Create programs to calculate desired growth rates through yearly rearing cycle (Projection sheets) that monitor fish sizes using samples & feed conversions.
Maintain proper water flow and rearing environments.
Monitor and maintain facility support systems including diesel generators, domestic and ozone water treatment plants, and alarm panels.
Apply herbicides or controlled burning for weed control.
Maintain road access to hatchery by plowing, grading, and using snow blowers.
Operate forklifts, tractors, non-CDL tank truck, yard maintenance equipment, fish pumps, and common power tools.
Design/fabricate needed hatchery equipment (such as fish racks, weirs, intake screens, fish transfer equipment, and adult fish gates) using metal, aluminum, plastic, and wood.
Respond to questions from visitors to the facility.
Conduct organized tours.
Identify the best way to respond to difficult-to-answer questions, or when information is not readily obtainable, and follow up to ensure that an answer was obtained.