Department of Agriculture

Biological Science Technician (Wildlife)

Fort Collins, Colorado, Gem County, Idaho, Starkville, Mississippi, Sandusky, Ohio, Chantilly, Virgi Full time

Biological Science Technician (Wildlife)

Department: Department of Agriculture

Location(s): Fort Collins, Colorado, Gem County, Idaho, Starkville, Mississippi, Sandusky, Ohio, Chantilly, Virginia, Norfolk, Virginia

Salary Range: $45409 - $67543 Per Year

Job Summary: The Biological Science Technician is responsible for wildlife management and use of techniques aimed at controlling damage caused by wildlife to help protect agriculture, natural resources, property, and threats to human health and safety. The work is primarily concerned with wildlife damage management (WDM) operations relating to the assessment, reduction, and/or elimination of problems associated with wild and/or feral animal species in urban, suburban, and rural environments.

Major Duties:

  • The duties described are for the full-performance level. At developmental grade levels, assignments will be of more limited scope, performed with less independence and limited complexity.
  • The duties may include, but are not limited to:
  • Plans, organizes, and conducts direct control operations to reduce wildlife damage within a geographical area or technical/subject area.
  • Inspects and surveys areas and, as necessary, will revise existing WDM programs.
  • Determines strategies and logistics for providing services.
  • Uses WDM tools/devices which may include some or all of the following depending on need in assigned area: firearms; foothold, body-grip, cage traps; foot snares; neck snares; chemical control methods.
  • Utilizes knowledge of WDM methods and strategies to independently recommend appropriate WDM strategies.
  • Identifies current, and forecasts future, damage problems and relates them to the damage-causing species.
  • Modifies or adapts established damage control techniques as necessary to meet local conditions.
  • Assists in the negotiation of cooperative service agreements with landowners, lessees, or administrators.

Qualifications: Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement, including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below. FOR THE GS-06 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-05 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: Adhering to the requirements of local, state, and national rules and regulations as they apply to wildlife policies and procedures. Contacting and developing working relationships with various parties, including but not limited to farmers, businesses, landowners, airports, natural resources, pest management, civil engineering, and other federal agencies. Proficient with wildlife damage management techniques to carry out a full range of common technical duties such as: exclusion, trapping, snaring, non-lethal harassment, lethal control, and firearms. Preparing reports regarding activities, observations, events, and other relevant data collected and inputting operations data into established and custom databases. OR 1 full year of graduate level education with an emphasis on wildlife management. Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for this grade level. TRANSCRIPTS are required if: You are qualifying for the position based on education. You are qualifying for this position based on a combination of experience and education This education must have been successfully completed and obtained from an accredited school, college, or university COMBINATION OF EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE AT THE GS-06 GRADE LEVEL: Applicants may have combinations of successfully completed education and specialized experience to meet total qualification requirements. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for that grade level. 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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

How to Apply: Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete all required questionnaires, assessments, and required documentation as specified in the How to Apply and Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on the closing date of the announcement to receive consideration. Resume cannot exceed two pages. The application process is as follows: 1: Create a USAJOBS account (if you do not already have one) at www.usajobs.gov. It is recommended that as part of your profile you set up automatic email notification to be informed when the status of your application changes. If you choose not to set up this automatic notification, then you will have to log into your USAJOBS account to check on the status of your application. 2: Create a Resume with USAJOBS or upload a Resume into your USAJOBS account. You may want to customize your resume to ensure it documents duties and accomplishments you have gained that are directly related to this position in order to verify that qualifications are met. In addition, your resume must support your responses to the online questionnaire (you may preview the online questionnaire by clicking on the link at the end of the How You Will Be Evaluated section of the job announcement). 3: Click "Apply Online" and follow the prompts to complete the Occupational Questionnaire and attach any additional documents that may be required. You can update your application or documents anytime while the announcement is open. Simply log into your USAJOBS account and click on "Application Status." Click on the position title, and then select "Update Application" to continue. 4: If you are required to take the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. 5: Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. 6: Set aside at least 2 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. 7: Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account, find your application record, and click Edit my application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed. To view the announcement status or your application status: Click on this: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. NOTE: Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable. Only one resume will be reviewed. Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration.

Application Deadline: 2026-04-30