Biological Science Technician (Fish

You will serve as a Biological Science Technician (Fish) for Maryland Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office.

This is a term position with an initial appointment expecting to last at least 13 months but may be extended up to a total of ten years, or more based on any changes to regulations governing the number of years term appointments may last, without further competition at management's discretion.

First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 2-year trial period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated. This trial 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 trial period your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-09/03/2026-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.

To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications:

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: research activity or control program work, experience working on small boats, collecting, handling and tagging various fish species, and collecting biological and water data from investigations and report findings.
  
  Additional experience should include a strong knowledge of fish collection techniques, particularly the operation and use of boat and backpack electrofishing equipment, as well as gillnets, fyke nets, and other fish sampling methods. Knowledge and experience with fish marking and tagging techniques are also highly beneficial, including the use of PIT tags and telemetry tags, as well as the collection of environmental DNA (eDNA).
  
  You must include hours per week worked.

-OR-

• Education: Successful completion of at least one full year of graduate education in an accredited educational institution (18 semester hours) in coursework directly related to the work of this position (such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, natural resource management). You must include transcripts. You must include transcripts.

-OR-

• Combination of education and experience as described above. You must include hours per week and transcripts.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, Ameri Corps) 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.