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Biological Science Technician (Fish)

Department of the Interior
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Iron River National Fish Hatchery

Summary

This position is located within the Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Iron River National Fish Hatchery located in Iron River, WI.

Rate of Pay
GS-07 - $50,460 - $65,599
GS-08 - $55,882 - $72,644

Pay may vary based on grade level for which you're selected. First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

Overview

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Accepting applications
This job will close when we have received 50 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Work site options
Telework eligible
Yes—This position is suitable for telework only during and emergency or natural disaster.
Remote job
No
Relocation expenses reimbursed
Yes—You may qualify for reimbursement of relocation expenses in accordance with agency policy.
Salary
$50,460 - $72,644 per year

Highest Previous Rate may be used following agency policy. Salary is subject to annual review and adjustment.

Pay scale & grade
GS 7 - 8
Promotion potential
8
Pay scale and grade determines the salary of the job.
Work schedule
Full-time - You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Appointment type
Permanent
Occupations and job series
Supervisory status
No
Federal service type
This job is in the Competitive Service
Represented by a union
No
Drug test
Yes
Security clearance
Not Required
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Jobs require a background check and some require a security clearance. The type depends on the job.
Background check type
Financial disclosure required
No
Some jobs require financial disclosure to identify conflicts of interests.
Announcement number
CBYM-26-13049913-DE-SML
Control number
882816300

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Duties

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At the full performance level (GS-08) the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following:

  • Work individually or as part of a team in all aspects of the daily care and production of fish eggs, fry, fingerling and adult brood stock at a large cold water fish production facility.
  • Perform assignments and general maintenance required for the upkeep of a fish hatchery including use of simple hand tools and power equipment (mowers, trimmers, hammers, saws) and other tools for minor repairs on hatchery facilities, equipment, and grounds.
  • Operate fish distribution tanker units up to 66,000 pounds GVWR.
  • Compile and summarize biological and water quality data for analysis as part of monthly sampling procedures.
  • Support outreach activities including providing basic information to the public and partners about the fish hatchery and its programs.
Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

Physical Demands: Physical demands will range depending on the project and use of the position. Most locations will be in locations around running water and requiring regular and recurring physical activity such as prolonged standing, walking over wet and/or rocky surfaces, stooping, bending, kneeling, climbing, and carrying heavy items may occur.

Work Environment: Most locations will be in locations in and around running water where the incumbent could be exposed to extreme weather conditions, insects/wildlife, and/or other environments that would require the incumbent to use protective clothing or gear such as hard hats, masks, gowns, ear plugs, coats, boots, goggles, gloves, or shields to mitigate risks.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
  • Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
  • Direct Deposit participation required.
  • Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit www.dhs.gov/EVerify/.
  • Must have and maintain a valid driver's license throughout employment.
  • Must obtain a Class B Commercial Driver's license within 180 days after entry-on-duty (EOD).
  • Must obtain a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) Card within 180 days after EOD.
  • Must obtain a Merchant Mariner Document within 180 days after EOD.
  • Pre-employment and random alcohol and drug testing are required. You will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive test is received.
  • You are required to wear a uniform and comply with the uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
  • You may be required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority.
  • You must be at least 21 years of age or older to operate government vehicles having a gross vehicle weight (GVW) rating of more than 26,000 pounds.
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated.

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.
*Additional Requirements located under qualifications*

Qualifications

Requirements Continued...
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.

Qualifications
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-09/13/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

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 at the GS-07 grade level:

  • Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-06 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: assisting with the logistics of feeding and caring for fish; carrying out multi-faceted fish propagation activities (spawning, egg care, sorting, sampling, stocking) at a fish hatchery; collect and organize recurring fisheries data using established procedures; maintaining and using fish culture equipment; and apply specialized culture techniques. You must include hours per week worked in your resume to receive credit for experience. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
  • Education: Successful completion of at least one year (defined as the number of hours that the school attended determined to represent one full year of full-time study; if unavailable, then 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours will be considered as satisfying the requirement) of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree in a field of study directly related to the position such as in biological sciences, agriculture, botany, natural resource management, chemistry, or related disciplines appropriate to this position. You must include transcripts. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
  • Combination of education and experience. For example, an applicant with 6 months of appropriate GS-6 equivalent specialized experience (50% of the specialized experience requirement for the GS-7) and 9 semester hours of appropriate graduate level education (50% of the education requirement for the GS-7) would qualify an applicant for this position. You must submit a copy of your transcripts and provide hours worked per week in your resume. You must include hours per week and transcripts.
-AND-

To qualify for this position at the GS-08 grade level:

  • Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: planning end-to-end fish culture operations (broodstock selection, scheduling, biosecurity, resource allocation); leading multi-faceted propagation activities (spawning, fertilization, egg care, grading, sampling, tagging, stocking); coordinating with partners to align priorities, resolve conflicts, and meet production targets; diagnosing and mitigating complex culture issues (disease outbreaks, water-quality excursions, equipment/system failures); and train/mentor staff on hatchery data systems to ensure integrity and reproducibility. You must include hours per week worked in your resume to receive credit for experience. You must include hours per week worked.
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

If qualifying on education, you must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work.

Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | U.S. Department of Education. https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualification

Additional information

Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.

Promotion to the full performance level is neither guaranteed nor implied and will be based solely on your ability to satisfactorily perform the work of the position, existing work at the higher grade level, and recommendation by the position's supervisor.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

All Department of Interior (DOI) employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here, https://www.doi.gov/ethics/ethics-prohibitions.

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.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g. resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of any additional assessment(s) required for this position.

Your resume must not exceed 2 pages. 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.

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 the following categories:

  • Best Qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors and are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position

  • 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 assessed in the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

  • Attention to Detail
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Self-Management
  • Teamwork

In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires successful completion of the USA Hire Assessment, if required.

Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Current or former displaced Federal employees who are surplus, displaced, or involuntarily separated have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP). To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, you must be well-qualified, score at least 85 (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements), and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry.

Providing false or misleading information on your resume or supporting documentation may result in removal from consideration or other action consistent with applicable federal hiring regulations. Applicants who include vulgar, offensive, or inappropriate language or information in their application package will be ineligible for further consideration for this position.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The Department of the Interior protects and manages the Nation's natural resources and cultural heritage; provides scientific and other information about those resources; and honors its trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and affiliated Island Communities. Click here to learn more about the Department of the Interior and its bureaus.

The mission of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) is to work with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. Click here to learn more about the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

Agency contact information

Shawn Lipinski
Email
shawn_lipinski@ios.doi.gov
Address
Division of Human Resources
Division of Human Resources
5600 American Blvd, West Suite 990
Bloomington, MN 55437
US

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