FUL - Biological Science Technician (Fish)

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-11/05/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. All candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience.

Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected.

Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet one of the following minimum qualifications: Possess one year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-4 grade level in the Federal service performing work in the field of, or directly related to, biological science including assisting in the collection of data in the field; entering data into simple automated databases; and using basic fish capture equipment.

Note: This experience must be clearly demonstrated in your resume. Have completed a four-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in any combination of courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics. At least 6 semester hours of courses must have been directly related to the position to be filled.

The successful completion of a full course of study of at least 12 months in a school for clinical laboratory technicians may be substituted for the 1 year of specialized experience required at the GS-5 level for positions involving microbiology and biochemistry technician work. Possess a combination of specialized experience as described above and education as described above which total 100 percent.

Only education beyond the sixty (60) semester hours above high school is considered qualifying when combined with specialized experience. Thirty (30) semester hours beyond the first sixty (60) is equivalent to six (6) months of specialized experience.

For example, six (6) month of specialized experience (50% of the specialized experience requirement) and 90 semester hours with at least twelve (12) semester hours related to the position and three (3) hours directly related to the position (50% of the education requirement) would be considered qualifying. NOTE: If you are qualifying based in part, upon education, you MUST submit a copy of your transcripts.

Volunteer Experience: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

At the full performance level (GS-08) the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following: Fish Hatchery and Propagation Positions: The incumbent assists in hatchery operations and propagation. This may include collecting data on hatchery populations to study health and propagation methods.

Fish hatchery operations and studies on efficiency may cover breeding, rearing, and/or growing fish in tanks or raceways, caring for fertilized eggs in trays, observing fish behavior in response to feeding, cleaning, and husbandry operations, determining feed regiments, treating fish disease, transporting and stocking fish, collecting and recording data, and general maintenance required for general fish hatchery upkeep and maintenance.

Fish and/or Wildlife Surveys, Studies, and Field Investigations Positions: The incumbent participates in multifaceted fish and/or wildlife studies, including carrying out a variety of research and survey methods, analyzing data, and monitoring environmental elements related to conservation, management, and/or control of fish/wildlife. Identifies and collects data for studies. Enters samples/data to be used for analysis.

Uses and maintains a variety of laboratory and field equipment to perform standardized tasks for studies. Compiles and summarizes data from surveys, biological evaluations, and tests. Runs routine programs and checks resulting data for inconsistencies. Assists in preparation of reports. Interacts with the public and project partners. Operates small motorized watercraft. Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.