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Seasonal Biological Science Technician (Multiple Specialities)

Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Pacific West Region (Interior Regions 8,9,10 and 12) - Multiple Parks

Summary

The typical seasonal period varies based on location and can be variable during these months due to weather conditions, project needs, or funding.

Open to the first 450 applicants or until 01/19/2026 whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration.

Overview

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Open & closing dates
01/05/2026 to 01/19/2026
This job will close when we have received 450 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$17.27 to - $31.40 per hour
Pay scale & grade
GS 4 - 5
Locations
Kings Canyon National Park, CA
16 vacancies
Mammoth Lakes, CA
2 vacancies
Manzanita Lake, CA
1 vacancy
Mineral, CA
4 vacancies
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
75% or less - The amount of travel varies with the location.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Temporary - 1039 Hours
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
None
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
PW-1549-SR-26-12844393-DE
Control number
852947700

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Under this announcement we are accepting applications from 1. All United States citizens 2. CTAP/ICTAP Eligibles.

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Duties

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The following working season is from APR-OCT: OLYM - LABE - WHMI - BIHO - PORE - YOSE - MORA - REDW - CRLA - WHIS - LEWI - CRMO - CHIS - REDW - ORCA- NEPE - The Sierra Nevada Network (SIEN)--YOSE/SEKI; UCBN Upper Columbia Basin Network - Bend, Oregon; and the North Coast and Cascades Network (NCCN)--Ashford, WA/OLYM; KLMN Klamath Inventory & Monitoring Network, Manzanita, CA.

The following working season is from MAR-SEP: TUSK

The following is from MAY-NOV: SEKI - NOCA - GRBA - LAVO - GOGA

Major Duties:

  • Performs technician work that is supportive of professionals in resource management (i.e. Biologists, Ecologists, etc.).
  • These positions participate in resource management tasks associated with a variety of emphasis areas such as vegetation management, wildlife management, fisheries, and/or habitat management. Specific duties will vary by park location.
  • Collects and organizes field data, ensuring quality control of data or collected samples.
  • Provides logistical support for resource management projects.
In addition, GS 05 Duties
  • Uses a variety of computer programs to compile, reduce, store, retrieve, analyze, and report data and other resource management information.
  • Uses a variety of specialized equipment to carry out resource management projects.

Physical Demands: The work is partially sedentary with prolonged standing, walking, and bending often required. Heavy items (e.g., packs and equipment up to 50 pounds) must be lifted and carried on a routine basis.

Working Conditions: The work is performed in an office, laboratory, and in the field. Field work includes exposure to extreme weather conditions and terrain, pesticides, poisonous plants, biting insects, and wild animals. Laboratory work may involve exposure to hazardous chemicals.

SEKI--Poor air quality afflicts Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, especially during summer months - generally May to October. High ozone levels may be the most harmful pollutant here. In summer months, concentrations often exceed the federal ozone health standards. For more information: http://www.nps.gov/seki/learn/nature/airqualityinfo.htm.

ICTAP/CTAP: Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following: OPM qualification standards for the position; all selective placement factors, where applicable; special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and is rated by the organization at least at the well qualified level on all competencies. Federal employees seeking CTAP/ICTAP eligibility must submit proof that they meet the requirements of 5 CFR 330.605(2) for CTAP and 5 CFR 330.704 for ICTAP. This includes a copy of the agency notice, a copy of their most recent Performance Rating, and a copy of their most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location. Please annotate your application to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP/ICTAP eligible. If you are selected for Federal employment, you will be required to fill out a Declaration of Federal Employment, OF-306, prior to being appointed to determine your suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation. Failing to answer all questions truthfully and completely or providing false statements on your application may be grounds for not hiring you, or for firing you after you begin work. Also, you may be punished by fine or imprisonment (U.S. Code, Title 18, section 1001).

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship required.
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • Meet Selective Service Registration Act requirement for males.
  • Selectee will be required to participate in the Direct Deposit Electronics Funds Transfer Program.
  • At OLYM, LAVO, CRLA, REDW, SEKI, MORA, NOCA, GRBA, WHIS, GOGA, YOSE, LABE, PORE, BIHO, WHMI, CHIS, CRMO, KLMN, NEPE, ORCA, SIEN, TUSK, UCBN, you may be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties. Prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year thereafter (or more frequently if management determines such need exists), you will be required to sign an affidavit certifying to your possession of a valid State issued driver's license that is current and has not been revoked, suspended, canceled, or otherwise disqualified in any way to prohibit your operation of a motor vehicle. You will also submit a photocopy of your valid State issued driver's license prior to your first official motor vehicle operation, and again every year, or more frequently if management determines such need exists. Lastly, you may be required to submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), and at your own expense, all certified driving records from all States that discloses all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you. Please indicate in your application whether you possess a valid State driver's license.
  • For NCCN, OLYM Plants and Wildlife you will be required to operate a government (or private) motor vehicle as part of your official duties; a valid driver's license is required. You will be required to submit a Motor Vehicle Operator's License and Driving Record. You must also submit (within a State sealed envelope or submitted directly by the State authorities), and at your own expense, all certified driving records from all States that disclose all valid driver's licenses, whether current or past, possessed by you.
  • At CRLA, NCCN-OLYM, MORA, GRBA, SEKI, LAVO, WHIS, GOGA, CRMO, PINN, LABE, WHMI, BIHO, PORE, NEPE, TUSK, YOSE, OLYM, NOCA Plants, CHIS, ORCA, you will be required to wear a uniform and comply with the National Park Service uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
  • Travel, transportation & relocation expenses will not be paid. Relocation expenses will be the employee's responsibility.

Qualifications

Requirements Continued...

  • You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work. Overtime may be required for: CHIS, OLYM Wildlife, CRLA, GRBA, MORA, SEKI Plants and Wildlife, WHIS, YOSE Plants, SIEN, TUSK, WHIS, NCCN.
  • You may be required to travel overnight away from home up to 20 nights per month. Request specific information during interview.
  • Employment may be terminated at any time due to fluctuations in funding levels, project needs, employee performance, or other considerations.
  • The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.
  • For Plants positions, you may be required to obtain a pesticide applicator license.
  • Back Country travel may be required for certain positions.
  • Telework: The National Park Service has determined that the duties of this position MAY be suitable for situational telework and the selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.
All qualifications must be met by 11:59 (EST) when applicant limit is reached which may be before the closing date of this announcement-01/19/2026.


To qualify for this position at the GS-04 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement:

EXPERIENCE: Six months of general experience and 6 months of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-3 level in the Federal service that is in or related to the duties of the position to be filled. NOTE: Excess specialized experience beyond the required 6 months may be substituted for general experience; i.e., one year of creditable specialized experience will meet the requirements for 6 months of general experience and 6 months of specialized experience. Specialized experience may include work as a technician or aid in a research activity or control program work, if it equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position to be filled. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: assist in conducting established natural resource management projects; following instructions and standardized procedures for natural resources field work; collecting and organizing field data; performing routine and recurring testing of collected biological samples; following established quality control protocols and safety procedures for resource management projects. Duties are supportive of professional specialists in resource management; relevant to research, conservation, and management of natural resources such but not limited to wildlife (land or aquatic) monitoring or control; field studies on plant or forest ecology, inventorying, monitoring, and/or control of invasive plants, or making other field observations on the state of natural resource conditions.

EDUCATION: Substitution of two full years of study that included at least 12 semester hours or the equivalent in any combination of courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics. At least 6 semester hours or the equivalent of courses must be directly related to the position to be filled.

-OR-

A combination of successfully completed post-high school education and specialized and/or general experience may be used to meet the qualification requirements for the GS-04 level. NOTE: When crediting education to meet any part of the experience requirement, such education must include the appropriate number of directly related credit hours required in any combination of courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics. When crediting this education, you must prorate the number of hours of directly related courses required as a proportion of the total education to be used.

To qualify for this position at the GS-05 grade level, you must possess one of:

EXPERIENCE: 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-4 level in the Federal service. Examples of specialized experience include but are not limited to: assist in conducting established natural resource management projects; following instructions and standardized procedures for natural resources field work; collecting and organizing field data; performing routine and recurring testing of collected biological samples; following established quality control protocols and safety procedures for resource management projects; assisting higher level specialists or technicians in the preparation of portions of reports, plans, or guidelines related to resource management projects. Duties are supportive of professional specialists in resource management; relevant to research, conservation, and management of natural resources such but not limited to wildlife (land or aquatic) monitoring or control; field studies on plant or forest ecology, inventorying, monitoring, and/or control of invasive plants, or making other field observations on the state of natural resource conditions.

-OR-

EDUCATION: a 4-year course of study above high school leading to a bachelor's degree in an accredited educational institution (120 semester hour or 180 quarter hours) which included at least 24 semester hours of scientific or technical courses, such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics. At least 6 semester hours of courses must be directly related to this position. Examples of directly related education are biology, botany, range science, forestry, ecology, environmental science, zoology, fisheries, animal husbandry, natural resource management or other directly related fields.

-OR-

May also qualify based on a combination of education and experience: Only education in excess of the first 60 semester hours of a course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is creditable toward meeting the specialized experience requirements. Two full academic years of study, or 60 semester hours, beyond the second year is equivalent to one year of specialized experience. For example, I have six months of the specialized experience (50% of the experience requirement), and three years of college study from an accredited institution (50% of the qualifying education) which included at least 12 semester hours of related coursework as described above of which at least 3 semester hours of directly related education as described above.

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.

Education

To qualify based on education, you must submit a legible copy of transcripts from an accredited institution with your name, school name, credit hours, course level, major(s), and grade-point average or class ranking. Transcripts do not need to be official, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet qualification requirements, you must show that your education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university.

Additional information

For further information about the position, please contact:
OLYM--Jerald_weaver@nps.gov for multiple specialties; Catharine_copass@nps.gov or Alexandra_reinwald@nps.gov for plants; Steven_fradkin@nps.gov for fisheries; andrew_ray@nps.gov for NCCN; Gilbert Moreno at gilbert_moreno@nps.gov
SIEN--eric_dinger@nps.gov and anne_pfaff@nps.gov
CRLA--joshua_sprague@nps.gov for fisheries; josef_porter@nps.gov for wildlife and plants
REDW--stassia_samuels@nps.gov for plants; keith_bensen@nps.gov for fisheries
SEKI--kristie_stein@nps.gov for fisheries; richard_theil@nps.gov, ann_huber@nps.gov, and tom_warner@nps.gov for plants; rebecca_green@nps.gov for wildlife
MORA--sallie_beavers@nps.gov for wildlife; rebecca_lofgren@nps.gov for fisheries; kimberly_popek@nps.gov and joshua_drown@nps.gov for plants
NOCA--hugh_anthony@nps.gov for fisheries; elizabeth_fallon@nps.gov for plants
GRBA--jonathan_reynolds@nps.gov for fisheries; margaret_horner@nps.gov for plants
LAVO--nancy_nordensten@npe.gov for plants and wildlife
WHIS--christopher_mccarron@nps.gov for plants; laura_shaskey@nps.gov for fisheries
GOGA--bill_merkle@nps.gov for wildlife
CRMO--sara_ihrie@nps.gov for plants
YOSE--garrett_dickman@nps.gov for plants; ninette_daniele@nps.gov for fisheries
LABE--jessica_reid@nps.gov for plants
WHMI--BIHO-NEPE-russell_cash@nps.gov for multiple specialties
PORE--jenna_allred@nps.gov for plants; Jason_briggs@nps.gov for Wildlife
CHIS - annie_little@nps.gov for Plants
KLMN - eric_dinger@nps.gov for Fisheries; lauren_youngblood@nps.gov for plants
ORCA - jason_walz@nps.gov
TUSK - amanda_rowland@nps.gov for multiple specialties
UCBN-gordon_dicus@nps.gov

A Recruitment Incentive May Be Authorized for a newly selected employee when appointed to a permanent, temporary, or term position. A Federal employee who is transferring to the National Park Service from another component, bureau or Federal agency and who does not meet the conditions under 5 CFR §575.102 is not eligible for a recruitment incentive.

This announcement may be used to fill additional positions if identical vacancies occur within 90 days of the issue date of the referral certificate.

Non-Competitive Rehire Eligibility: Temporary seasonal employees can only maintain their non-competitive rehire eligibility if they work no more than a combined total of Temporary NTE less than 1040 hours anywhere in the National Park Service (NPS) within their established service year. Accordingly, non-competitive rehire eligibility allows for re-appointment to the same position or another position appropriate for temporary appointment with the same qualification requirements (5 CFR 316.402[b][7]), based on series and grade, anywhere in the major subdivision (NPS).

If you have held a temporary seasonal appointment in the past 12 months and have already worked the maximum temporary appointment less than 1040 hours during that period, you are still welcome to apply. However, please be aware that exceeding the limit of 1040 hours in your established service year will result in the loss of your non-competitive rehire eligibility.

The limit can be exceeded by working multiple temporary seasonal positions that result in a combined total greater than 1040 hours. The limit also can be exceeded by working a single temporary seasonal appointment that exceeds 1040 hours, unless granted an exception by OPM.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

A review of your resume and supporting documentation will be made and compared against your responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine if you are qualified for this job. If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses provided in the Assessment Questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation, you will be rated 'ineligible', 'not qualified', or your score will be adjusted accordingly. If a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications or experience, you can lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully; errors or omissions can affect your rating.

Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. You may only submit one resume. Only the document submitted as the "Resume" under the Documents section will be used to determine your qualifications/eligibility and for rating purposes. In the event you submit more than one resume, only the latest submission will be reviewed.

Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST clearly indicate the nature of the duties and responsibilities for each position, starting and ending dates of employment (month/year), and the resume must reflect full and/or part-time or total number of hours worked (i.e., work 40+ hours a week, rather than indicating full-time). If part-time, the hours must be annotated to be able to pro-rate the amount of qualified specialized experience.

Candidates will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. These procedures place candidates with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Veterans with a service connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category, except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher. Under Category Rating, candidates will be rated and ranked into one of two categories:

  • Well Qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in most of the requirements of the job
  • Qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are proficient in some, but not all of the requirements of the job.
You will be evaluated on the following competencies and/or job elements:
  • Biology
  • Research
  • Teamwork
  • Technology Application

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