Fish Hatcheries Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Summary
These positions are Biological Science Technicians (Fish), GS- 0404-5/6, with a full performance GS-07 working in Red Bluff, CA for the R8-Red Bluff Fish and Wildlife Office.
Salary Range Information (Per Annum):
GS-05, Step 01- $40,736- Step 10 $52,957
GS-06, Step 01- $45,409- Step 10 $59,031
*First time hires to the federal government typically start at the beginning salary in the range for their respective grade level.
Learn more about this agency
Duties
Help
The Red Bluff Fish and Wildlife Office monitors populations of salmon, steelhead, and sturgeon in the Northern Central Valley of California and evaluates fish restoration actions and hatchery operations. These positions are for the Mainstem Operations' and Hatchery Evaluation Programs performing rotary trapping, seasonal green sturgeon research, acoustic telemetry array maintenance or hatchery assessments and carcass surveys. Up to 95% of work is in the field sampling by rotary-screw trap for Federally-listed threatened and endangered fish species native to the Mainstem Sacramento River, maintaining an extensive acoustic telemetry array covering ~200 rkm, or working on various projects to evaluate the operations of two Federal fish hatcheries. Additional duties may include data entry and equipment interrogation/maintenance. Field work involves operation of inboard and outboard jet boats under various environmental conditions.
At the full performance level (GS-07) the major duties of this position include, but are not limited to the following:

• Assists in planning and carrying out multifaceted fish and/or wildlife studies, field investigations and surveys by contributing ideas, determining research methods, establishing practical procedures for accomplishing and reporting the work, and determining other needs, such as costs, equipment, and personnel.
• Assists in planning multifaceted habitat studies, assessments, and monitoring by contributing ideas, determining research methods, establishing practical procedures for accomplishing and reporting the work, and determining other needs, such as costs, equipment, and personnel.
• Collects biological samples ensuring correct documentation, reporting, storage, transport, and delivery of samples taken.
• Uses specialized techniques and methods to collect biological and physical environment data from field and/or facility investigations and reports findings to determine actual and potential impact on fish, wildlife, or plant resources from aquaculture, research, restoration projects or habitat improvement projects.

Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.
Requirements
Help
Conditions of employment

• Must provide proof of U.S. citizenship.
• 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 have a current or obtain within 12 months of employment a Swiftwater Rescue Technician 1 Certification.
• You may be required to work on-call, evenings, weekends, holidays, overtime and shift work.
• You are required to wear a uniform and comply with the uniform standards. A uniform allowance will be provided.
• You are required to obtain and maintain a Motorboat Operator Certification Course (MOCC).
• You must be at least 18 years of age or older to operate government vehicles.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 year probationary 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.

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 your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.
Qualifications
Qualifications:
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-08/19/2026-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, you must meet the following minimum qualifications:
Minimum Qualifications [GS-5]
A) One year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility equivalent to grade GS-4 in the Federal service. Examples of specialized experience may include: 1) Performing work in an outdoor setting including all types of weather and terrain to include water; 2) Handling juvenile and adult fish; and 3) Use of computer applications. OR
B) Possess four years of education above high school (120 semester hours or 180 quarter hours) leading to a (full four-year course of study) bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university, with coursework related to the biological sciences such as: biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, mathematics, etc. (You MUST submit a copy of your transcripts indicating the degree earned, credit hours, and course titles in order to qualify based on education). You must include transcripts. OR
C) Possess a combination of education and experience as described above. To combine education and the number of semester hours (or equivalent) earned towards a bachelor's degree, in excess of 60 semester hours, and divide by 60 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 have at least 24 semester hours in any combination of courses such as: biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, mathematics, etc. (You MUST submit a copy of your transcripts indicating the number of credit hours in order to qualify based on the combination option).
Minimum Qualifications [GS-6]
A) One year of specialized experience comparable in scope and responsibility equivalent to grade GS-5 in the Federal service. Examples of specialized experience may include: 1) Performing work in an outdoor setting including all types of weather, swiftwater, rough terrain, and river wading; 2) Handling juvenile and adult fish; and 3) Use of Microsoft Suite applications. OR
B) Successfully completed one-half year of graduate education (9 semester/13.5 quarter hours, or the school's equivalent) in an accredited college or university that included courses directly related to the occupation, such as fishery biology, ichthyology, limnology, aqua culture, etc. NOTE: To qualify under this option, you must submit transcripts (official or unofficial) to verify your education. OR
C) A combination of specialized experience (as described in A above) and education (as described in B above,) that, when prorated, combine to meet the qualification requirements for this position. Experience and education are each computed as percentages of their respective requirements and must equal 100 percent when combined. (Only education beyond the second year is creditable to meet this standard.)NOTE: To qualify under this option you must submit transcripts to verify your education and include proof of your experience in the text of your resume.
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
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.
Related Non-Federal experience or related experience as retired members of the uniformed services may be credited towards computing entitlement to leave accrual, at managerial discretion, providing that experience meets certain criteria. This provision allows new employees to earn annual leave at a higher rate than would otherwise be allowed. (5 Code of Federal Regulations, 630).
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.
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.
The duties of this position are suitable for telework only during an emergency or natural disaster.
Expand Hide additional information
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.
Benefits
Help
A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package.