Ecologist Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

You will serve as an Ecologist with Mojave National Preserve. The incumbent serves as a technical advisor in ecology and responsible for program development and implementation.Qualifications:All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 08/20/2026-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:
Basic Educational Requirement AND Specialized Experience for the series to which you are applying.

Basic Educational Requirements: In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following:
Ecologist GS-408 Series:
Degree: biology, or a related field of science underlying ecological research that included at least 30 semester hours in basic and applied biological sciences. These hours must have included at least 9 semester hours in ecology, and 12 semester hours in physical and mathematical sciences. You must submit transcripts.
AND

To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level:
Experience: To qualify, 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: assisting with inventory and monitoring
wildlife/ecological studies using established procedures, carrying out statistically valid data collection protocols for monitoring, performing data collection using the latest automated technology such as electronic data collectors; assisting with analysis of data; preparing reports regarding the results of inventory, monitoring, surveying, and research activities; identifying research needs and supporting oversight for research projects. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
Education: Successful completion of at least two full academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education, a M.S. or equivalent master's degree in a directly related field such as natural resource management, natural sciences, biology, ecology, zoology, or other closely related subjects pertinent to the management and protection of natural and cultural resources. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Combination of education and experience as listed above. To combine education and experience, first take your semester hours of completed
graduate education beyond the first year by 18 (or 27 for quarter hours) and divide by 18 semester hours (or equivalent). 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.

To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level:
Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: Manage natural resources, including wildlife, under such mandates as the Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, or the Environmental Quality Act. Experience includes conducting wildlife/ecological monitoring, surveys, band transects, random point contacts, counts, following established protocols, managing complex biological data using computer software (such as Microsoft Access, SQL, Excel, Word), and analyzing and/or presenting complex long-term data sets utilizing software like R. You must include hours per week worked.
-OR-
Education: Successful completion of three full academic years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. or equivalent graduate degree at an accredited college or university in a directly related field such as natural resource management, natural sciences, biology, ecology, zoology, or other closely related subjects pertinent to the management and protection of natural and cultural resources. You must include transcripts.
-OR-
Combination of education and experience as listed above. To combine education and experience, first take your semester hours of completed graduate level education beyond what is required for a master's degree, (i.e., more than 36 semester hours leading to a Ph.D.) and divide by 18 semester hours or equivalent. 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.Education:This position has a mandatory education requirement.
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. For more information on how foreign education is evaluated, visit: https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualificationsEmployment Type: OTHER