Fish Hatchery Specialist 2 (In-Training) - Puyallup Hatchery - Permanent - 2026-08833

State of Washington•Pierce County – Puyallup, WA

4d•Onsite

About The Position

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is recruiting for the Fish Hatchery Specialist 1 or 2 classification at Puyallup Hatchery in Puyallup, Washington. The role performs scientific, technical, and routine maintenance work supporting the rearing of Rainbow Trout and Spring and Coho salmon. Candidates hired at the Specialist 1 level must complete an agency-supervised 12-month in-training plan and, upon satisfactory completion, are automatically promoted to Specialist 2. The position includes fish culture, hatchery record keeping, and facility and equipment maintenance. The employee works primarily outdoors in varied and sometimes hazardous weather and may perform duties in or near water, including wading in chest-deep water. The usual schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., but hours may vary by season, work schedule, and weather. Standby may be required, with a 45-minute response time; during standby, the employee oversees the facility for the remaining 16 hours of the day and works a 10-days-on, 4-days-off rotation. Travel may be required for agency work, training, or meetings. The role regularly involves communication with the public, small community groups, and volunteers. No additional housing is available.

Requirements

For Fish Hatchery Specialist 1, meet one of the following: three years of experience performing varied fish-culture duties in a hatchery; an associate degree in fisheries technology, biology, or a closely allied field; three years of education toward a bachelor's degree in fisheries, biology, or a closely allied field; or successful completion of a vocational-school fish-culture program.
For Fish Hatchery Specialist 2, meet one of the following: four years of experience performing varied fish-culture duties in a hatchery; one year as a Fish Hatchery Specialist 1 and successful completion of the agency-supervised training program; an associate degree in fisheries technology, biology, or a closely allied field plus one year of hatchery fish-culture experience; two years of education toward a bachelor's degree in fisheries, biology, or a closely allied field plus one year of hatchery fish-culture experience; or successful completion of a vocational-school fish-culture program plus one year of hatchery fish-culture experience.
Valid driver's license.
Obtain a Class B commercial driver's license within six months of hire; the agency provides it.
Candidates hired as a Fish Hatchery Specialist 1 must satisfactorily complete the 12-month in-training plan to advance to Fish Hatchery Specialist 2.
Ability to work outdoors in varied weather and perform duties in or near water, which may include wading in chest-deep water.
Availability for a schedule that may vary by season and weather, and for standby if required.
Travel may be required to accomplish agency goals, complete training, or attend meetings.

Nice To Haves

Four-year degree in fisheries or a closely associated field.
Commercial Driver's License (CDL).

Responsibilities

Calculate and provide fish feed based on pond populations and weight samples.
Monitor egg and fish production; disinfect and enumerate eggs.
Identify, sort, and sample species for spawning and adult distribution.
Clean ponds, raceways, troughs, and incubator systems to maintain fish health.
Identify marked adult fish and collect tags or marks for biological sampling; record data and identify marks using visual, ultraviolet, or mechanical methods.
Conduct fish inventories, splits, grading, marking, trailer inventories, weight sampling, and fish plants.
Pick eggs loss by hand or with equipment and incubate eggs for facility programs or shipments.
Collect adult fish by hook and line, seining, and volunteer or non-volunteer fish traps.
Collect adult mortality, complete brood-stock head tags, and enter information in hatchery documents and fish books.
Identify targeted and non-targeted species, sex, stock origin, and maturity condition during trapping and spawning.
Track temperature units and monitor chillers to adjust temperature units, including tracking thermal marks.
Load fish for transport using methods such as an electric fish pump, brail, and crane.
Complete and submit agency forms, including fish transfer tickets and hatchery invoice forms.
Assist with or develop forms and spreadsheets to improve record keeping.
Maintain the purchasing-card account and hatchery-expense ledger, and complete vendor payment order forms.
Maintain hatchery buildings and housing, including fences, plumbing, and minor electrical repairs.
Operate forklifts, tractors, yard-maintenance equipment, fish pumps, and common power tools.
Design and fabricate hatchery equipment, including fish racks, weirs, intake screens, fish-transfer equipment, and adult-fish gates using metal, aluminum, plastic, and wood.
Service and maintain small gas engines and hatchery-related equipment.
Communicate with the public, small community groups, and volunteers.