Fishery Biologist 2- Data Analyst

Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission•Cook, WA

About The Position

Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission is recruiting a quantitatively skilled, detail-oriented Fishery Biologist 2 - Data Analyst to assist the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at the Western Fisheries Research Center (WFRC), Columbia River Research Laboratory. The position provides data management, coding, and analytical support to WFRC’s Quantitative Ecology Team across fisheries research and monitoring projects. It is full-time and benefits-eligible, with an anticipated start date of November 16, 2026. The role supports senior quantitative ecologists and scientists by preparing and managing fisheries monitoring data, maintaining and documenting code and reproducible workflows, and assisting with statistical analyses and simulation models. The employee also contributes to technical reports and publications and communicates analytical findings through visualizations, tables, and presentations. The broader Fishery Biologist role may include work ranging from recurring assignments using established methods to specialized work involving complex fish biology techniques. Depending on assignment, work may involve databases, scientific analysis, technical writing, presentations, fisheries research, and field or laboratory tasks. The posting describes possible environments and duties for the Fishery Biologist range; it does not specify which of these broader tasks will be required for this Data Analyst position.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree with at least 2 years of specialized experience, or a master’s degree in Fisheries Science, Quantitative Ecology, Biometrics, Statistics, Data Science, or a closely related natural resources field.
Strong proficiency in programming languages such as R for data wrangling, statistical analysis, and graphics generation.
Basic understanding of or prior exposure to mark-recapture estimation, Bayesian or frequentist statistical concepts, or population modeling fundamentals.
Strong technical writing ability, excellent attention to detail, and commitment to reproducible data analysis and code documentation.
Good interpersonal and communication skills for collaboration within a multidisciplinary research team.
The posting’s minimum qualification requirements describe a full four-year college course of study leading to a bachelor’s or higher degree, including a biological science major with at least 6 semester hours in aquatic subjects and 12 semester hours in animal sciences, plus qualifying specialized experience, graduate education, or an equivalent combination.
Valid driver’s license.
Oral and written communication skills.
Knowledge of the scientific method, technical writing protocols, advanced statistical analysis and mathematics, and Windows-based computer applications, including word processing, spreadsheets, email, publishing, presentation, database, topographic, bibliographic, and statistical analysis software.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with complex ecological or telemetry datasets.

Responsibilities

Clean, structure, quality-check, and manage large fisheries monitoring datasets, including acoustic, radio, and passive-integrated-transponder telemetry data and environmental variables.
Maintain metadata documentation and prepare data for public release.
Execute, maintain, and document code, including R scripts and reproducible reporting tools, for routine and complex statistical and modeling analyses under the guidance of senior quantitative ecologists.
Assist senior scientists with statistical analyses and simulation models, including preparing data inputs for mark-recapture models and integrated population models (IPMs), fitting models using standard or customized code, formatting outputs, and assisting with mechanistic simulation models.
Assist in writing and compiling technical reports and maintain documentation of code and data pipelines.
Contribute draft sections, tables, and figures for co-authored peer-reviewed publications.
Create data visualizations, summary tables, and presentation slides to communicate model outputs and analytical findings to team members, collaborators, and stakeholders.