Biological Science Technician

Requirements Continued... Probationary Period: As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you may be required to serve a 1-year probationary period to evaluate your fitness and whether your continuation of employment advances the public interest.

This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service.

In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated.

Upon completion of your probationary period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 11/23/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F.

For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience.

For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, 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.

Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: To qualify for this position at the GS-0404-09 grade level: Specialized Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-08 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Experience must have been related to the work of the position for which application is made.

The specialized experience required for some positions in this series is normally work performed in a controlled environment.

Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: conducting biological resource inventory, monitoring, research, restoration, wildlife management, invasive species control, or habitat management projects; applying and tracking pesticide and herbicide treatments and associated regulatory reporting requirements; capturing and handling terrestrial, insect, and avian species for inventory, monitoring, research, or management purposes; managing and analyzing natural resource data using GIS, GPS, databases, or statistical software; and preparing technical reports and recommendations to support natural resource management decisions.

Farming experience that was not performed in a controlled environment, or experience as a laborer who was not responsible for planning and scheduling work-controlled environment, but only perform assigned tasks, would not qualify as specialized experience. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- Education: Successful completion of at least two full years of graduate education -OR- a master's or equivalent graduate degree, if directly related.

Related degrees may include biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics. You must include transcripts. You must include transcripts. -OR- Combination of education and experience as listed above. To combine education and experience, first take the number of semester hours in excess of 36 semester hours and dive by 18 (or the number your school uses to represent one year of full-time graduate academic study).

Then take the number of months of full-time experience and divide by 12 months. Add the percentages together. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week and 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.

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Conducts biological research, inventory, monitoring, and restoration projects to support natural resource management and conservation efforts. Collects, analyzes, manages, and maintains scientific data; ensures data quality and supports long-term monitoring programs and databases. Operates, calibrates, maintains, and inventories specialized scientific, monitoring, GPS, and field equipment.

Supports resource management, environmental planning, habitat restoration, invasive species control, and wildlife conservation projects. Prepares technical reports, publications, funding proposals, and management recommendations; provides training, outreach, and project coordination with scientists, park staff, and partners.