Hatchery Data Steward - Fish & Wildlife Biologist 3 - Permanent - 2026-06870

State of Washington•Thurston County – Olympia, WA

10d•Hybrid

About The Position

In this senior-level biologist position, you will plan and develop resource management assessments and provide results that have direct impact on key program decisions. As part of the Hatchery Data Section team, your work will contribute to the mission of enumerating and replicating the most accurate and complete set of information, and to disseminate and share inclusively and easily. Collaborate with colleagues within the agency and coordinate with external entities and organizations while preparing, assessing, and interpreting hatchery fish resource information.

Requirements

A Bachelor’s degree in fisheries, wildlife management, environmental science, natural resources science, or a related field.
Three (3) years of professional experience in fish management or research, wildlife management or research, or habitat management or research.
Valid Driver’s License.
Fisheries, hatchery operations, aquatic biology, or related biological program support.
Fish biology, hatchery production systems, and fisheries management principles.
Applying biological sampling methods, data interpretation, and basic statistical concepts in applied fisheries or aquaculture settings.
Managing, entering, validating, and maintaining a high volume of biological or fisheries datasets in structured databases such as FishBooks, Access, or SQL-based systems.
Performing accurate high-volume data entry and maintaining data integrity.
Providing customer service, technical assistance, or support to internal or external customers.
Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, and work collaboratively with a variety of staff and stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

More than three (3) years of hatchery experience, including experience with multiple species, life stages, hatchery programs, production planning, or hatchery management functions.
Microsoft Access including database design, query development, report generation, data relationships, and troubleshooting database issues.
Analyzing large fisheries or hatchery datasets to identify trends, improve data quality, and support management decisions.
SQL and database querying.
Providing technical support, training, or customer service to database users, including developing guidance documents, training materials, or standard operating procedures.
FishBooks, Regional Mark Information System (RMIS), coded wire tag (CWT) databases, or other fisheries and hatchery information systems.
Participating in database development, user acceptance testing, business process improvement, or implementation of new software applications.
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel, including complex formulas, PivotTables, charts, dashboards, data validation, and automated reporting tools.
Knowledge of hatchery production reporting requirements, broodstock management, fish health tracking, fish marking/tagging programs, or release processes.
Demonstrated ability to independently identify operational issues, develop solutions, and collaborate with hatchery staff, biologists, and information technology personnel to improve data systems and business processes.

Responsibilities

Administer the Future Brood Document for multi-agency hatchery production planning purposes: Function as the agency’s technical coordinator for the Equilibrium Brood/Future Brood program under the US v. Washington and US v. Oregon federal court agreements for state-wide hatchery production. Coordinate for co-managers, including 24 tribes and multiple federal agencies, in the development of the Future Brood Document/Equilibrium Brood Document (FBD) under the Puget Sound Management Agreement. Prepare, assess, and interpret the resource management planning document that guides production across all state, tribal, and federal facilities. Manage, compile, and distribute this document to fulfill agency compliance with co-managers under the Puget Sound Management Plan (PSMP), which has a direct impact on key hatchery program decisions and operations. Facilitate discussions as needed to ensure compliance with Hatchery Genetic Management Plans, Fish Disease Control Policy, and legal mandates and requirements under the PSMP. Conduct annual Regional Review Meetings with internal and external staff.
Support Regional Fisheries Enhancement Groups (RFEG) with hatchery carcass duties and serve as the Hatchery Data Steward: Perform accounting and hatchery operational activities such as carcass data entry, carcass reports, invoice billing, and other reports in support of RFEG. Collect, review, and compile hatchery data to ensure accurate, thorough, efficient, and meaningful capture of hatchery information for managers and outside entities to make decisions regarding fisheries. Oversee Hatchery Ticket (Form 3) data entry including reviewing for accuracy, comparing to FishBooks, and ensuring safe and secure storage of information. Conduct advanced evaluation and analysis of hatchery adult data; analyze information for completeness and accuracy and formulate conclusions. Reconcile hatchery coded wire tag (CWT) data with the tag lab. Participate and provide expertise in RFEG process and meetings as needed; provide analytical expertise, information, and assistance in developing contracts for surplus carcass and eggs.
Serve as the statewide staff expert on the FishBooks hatchery management database: Coordinate and lead state-wide training sessions to staff including managers, biologists, and hatchery workers. Provide technical support for database users including corrections, missing options, and system errors.
Hatchery reporting: Assess and interpret hatchery data to produce professional reports that are an accurate reflection of hatchery information and meet the requirements of the agency. Provide information summaries to managers, scientists, government officials, and fishery entities for use in making fisheries management, production, and fiscal decisions.