Seasonal Biological Science Technician (Wildlife)

Seasonal Biological Science Technician (Wildlife)

Department: Department of the Interior

Location(s): Berlin, Maryland

Salary Range: $21.29 - $23.74 Per Hour

Job Summary: Both the GS-5 and GS-6 technicians support wildlife management with a focus on wild horse monitoring and conflict mitigation. Collect and analyze ecological data, maintain field equipment, and assist or lead field operations. GS-6 technicians also train staff, ensure data quality, and coordinate with partners. Both levels require fieldwork, public interaction, and off-road vehicle operation.

Major Duties:

• APPLICANT LIMIT; CLARIFICATION FROM AGENCY Open to the first 150 applicants or until the close date whichever comes first. All applications submitted by 11:59 (EST) on the closing day will receive consideration. Biological Science Technician (Horse Management) GS-0404-05 Major Duties: Assist in wildlife management activities including population control, habitat restoration, and mitigation of threats, with a primary focus on wild horse monitoring and human-wildlife conflict reduction. Collect and document field data on wildlife populations, habitat conditions, ecological processes, and visitor impacts using standardized procedures. Operate and maintain resource management tools and equipment such as GPS units, traps, optical devices, and off-road vehicles. Support construction of wildlife control structures, provide logistical assistance to researchers, and contribute to data entry and reporting using computer software. May engage with the public through interpretive programming and ensure safe wildlife viewing practices. Biological Science Technician (Horse Management) GS-0404-06 Major Duties: Independently coordinate and carry out daily wildlife management field activities, with a primary focus on wild horse population monitoring and human-wildlife conflict mitigation. Lead and train staff in the absence of supervisors, ensuring safe operations, quality control, and effective implementation of field procedures. Collect, assess, and manage ecological data related to wildlife dynamics, habitat conditions, and recreational impacts, including QA/QC and metadata oversight. Maintain and calibrate field equipment, manage inventory, and provide technical guidance to students, volunteers, and conservation assistants. Communicate program information to staff and the public, draft technical reports, and may present interpretive programs; required to wear a uniform and operate off-road vehicles. 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 and terrain conditions, pesticides, poisonous plants, biting insects, snakes, and wild animals. Laboratory work may involve exposure to hazardous chemicals.

Qualifications: All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-01/16/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Credit will be given for all appropriate qualifying experience. You will not receive credit for experience that does not indicate the exact hours worked per week or is listed as "varies". Please ensure your resume/employment history includes all the information listed above. Failure to adequately provide the information stated above will result in that time not being credited when evaluating 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. To qualify for this position at the GS-5 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: Have at least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-04 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized Experience: Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: Assisting and conducting wildlife censuses and surveys and assembling the information such as habitat use, sex age, and movement. Follow standardized procedures to collect data on condition of range, forage, or wildlife. Use statistical methods and procedures to perform testing of field data collected. Assists in control of wildlife, participates in capture, applies visual and radio tags, prepares graphs, charts, and illustrations for reports and technical publications relating to wildlife management activities. -OR- EDUCATION: Have successfully completed a 4-year course of study leading to a bachelor's degree with major study or at least 24 semester hours in any combination of scientific or technical courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics. At least six (6) semester hours are directly related to the position such wildlife biology, zoology, ornithology, etc. -OR- COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Have successfully completed a combination of education and specialized experience as described above. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include transcripts. To qualify for this position at the GS-6 grade level, you must possess at least one of the following minimum qualifications by close of the announcement: EXPERIENCE: At least one full year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility to the GS-5 grade level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized Experience: Experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: Assisting with project management of resource management projects Assisting in the development of resource management project reports, including literature research, descriptions of methods, summary of results Entering and modifying biological data in a computer database Performing a variety of behavioral or measured data collection activities (e.g., monitoring and managing tasks related to breeding species, etc.) Utilizing various techniques to gather biological samples (e.g., plants, animals, insects, fish, etc.) Use statistical methods and procedures to perform testing of field data collected. -OR- EDUCATION: Successful completion of at least one full year of graduate education or internship in an accredited educational institution. NOTE: Graduate education or an internship meets the specialized experience required only in those instances where it is directly related to the work of the position. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 year of full-time study. If that information cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. You must include transcripts. IMPORTANT - PLEASE NOTE: If you are using education to qualify you must document your course work and/or degree completed in your resume or other application materials you submit. You must submit a copy of your transcripts that identifies for each course the college or university, semester or quarter hours earned, grade received, and date completed. If you are qualifying based on education and you do not submit specific course work information as described previously, your application will be rated not qualified for consideration. (A copy of your official transcripts will be required before entrance on duty, if selected). 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.

How to Apply: To apply for this position: You must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. To receive consideration, the complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 01/16/2026. You must provide documentation to support your claim for each eligibility selected. Please review the required documentation listed in the eligibilities language to ensure you submit the appropriate information. Note: You will only be marked eligible for those eligibilities that you selected and provided the appropriate supporting documentation. WE DO NOT ACCEPT HARD-COPY OR E-MAIL APPLICATION PACKAGES. Select Apply. If you are not logged in, you will be prompted to login or create an account. Prompted to Start the Application Process by selecting "Start Application." Click here for USAJobs Help with "How to create an application" To PREVIEW the application questionnaire, select the following link: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12854194 Select or add the resume you want to use for this application. Click here on how to build a resume in USAJOBS. Select documents you want included in this application. Review package to acknowledge your documents were reviewed. Select if you want to include your demographic information. After reading and certifying the application is true and submitted in good faith, select "Continue to Agency Site." Follow onscreen prompts and instructions to complete your application. Add the supporting documents by indexing your documents with the dropdown. Upload any missing required documents or optional documents. Review and Submit Application. While logged in, you can check the status of your application by selecting "+" next to the job title for this position. You can review or revise your application at any point during the open period of the announcement. To update an application, you should log into your USAJOBS account and select "+" next to the job title for this position. Select "Update Application" for this job. Note: When you click Update Application, you will be prompted to re-select your documents from USAJOBS. Documents submitted with the first application will no longer be associated with the applicant record. So it is important that you select all documents you want to use in the re-application.

Application Deadline: 2026-01-16