Fishery Biologist 2- Data Analyst

Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission•Cook, WA

About The Position

Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission is recruiting a motivated, detail-oriented Fishery Biologist 2 to assist the U.S. Geological Survey at the Western Fisheries Research Center, Columbia River Research Laboratory. The position provides data management, coding, and analytical support to the 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 includes preparing and managing fisheries monitoring datasets, maintaining metadata and preparing data for public release, executing and documenting code and reproducible analytical workflows, and supporting statistical analyses and simulation models under the guidance of senior quantitative ecologists. The employee also helps prepare technical reports and publication materials and communicates results through visualizations, summary tables, and presentations. The broader Fishery Biologist role covers established scientific methods and techniques as well as, at higher levels, specialized work in complex areas of fish biology. The posting describes duties and examples across the classification range, including research, data analysis, fish health and population assessments, management planning, reporting, and collaboration with fisheries organizations. Work may take place in an office, laboratory, or field setting. Laboratory work may involve odors, chemicals, fish blood, and molds, with safety precautions required. Field conditions may include varied weather, slippery or irregular terrain, insects, poison oak, rough or fast-moving water, cold water, elevated walkways, high elevations, or boats.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree with 2 or more 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, as stated in the position overview.
The minimum qualification requirements also describe a qualifying four-year degree with a major in biological science, including at least 6 semester hours in aquatic subjects and at least 12 semester hours in animal sciences, plus qualifying specialized experience or graduate education; equivalent combinations of education and experience may qualify.
For the lower end of the classification range, 1 year of specialized experience or 2 years of progressively higher graduate education toward a master's degree in a directly related field, or an equivalent combination.
For the upper end of the classification range, 1 year of specialized experience or 3 years of progressively higher graduate education toward a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in a directly related field, or an equivalent combination.
Strong proficiency in programming languages such as R for data wrangling, statistical analysis, and graphics generation.
Basic understanding 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.
Valid driver's license.
Oral and written communication skills.
Knowledge of the scientific method, technical writing protocols, advanced statistical analysis, and mathematics.
Knowledge of Windows-based 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 is highly desirable.

Responsibilities

Clean, structure, quality-check, and manage large fisheries monitoring datasets, including telemetry and environmental data.
Maintain metadata documentation and prepare data for public release.
Execute, maintain, and document code, including R scripts and reproducible reporting tools, for statistical and modeling analyses.
Assist senior scientists with statistical analyses and simulation models, including preparing inputs for mark-recapture models and integrated population models, fitting models, formatting outputs, and running mechanistic simulations.
Assist with technical reports, document code and data pipelines, and contribute draft sections, tables, and figures for co-authored peer-reviewed publications.
Create data visualizations, summary tables, and presentation slides to communicate analytical findings to team members, collaborators, and stakeholders.
Perform scientific and biological research duties described across the Fishery Biologist classification range, such as compiling and analyzing data, preparing reports and presentations, and contributing to research publications.