Toxic Monitoring Technicians - Scientific Tech - Non-Perm - Four positions

Toxic Monitoring Technicians - Scientific Tech 2 - Non-Perm - Four positions
- * 01830-25

Positions
:
Four (4)
Title
:
Toxics Monitoring Technician
Classification
:
Scientific Technician 2 (ST2)
Job Status
:
Full-Time/Non-Permanent
Appointment Lengths
:
Two (2) positions – Sixteen months – April 1, 2025 – July 31, 2026
Two (2) positions – Three months – April 1, 2025 – June 30, 2025
WDFW Program
:
Fish Program - Toxics Biological Observation System (TBiOS)
Duty Station
:
Olympia, Washington – Thurston County

Learn more about being a member of Team WDFW
!

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is hiring four (4) Scientific Technicians to support the Toxics Biological Observation System (TBiOS), a long-term program monitoring toxic contaminants in Puget Sound’s aquatic life. These non-permanent positions play a crucial role in assessing ecosystem health by collecting and analyzing data on toxic contaminants affecting fish and other organisms.

Under the guidance of research scientists and biologists, technicians will conduct field surveys to collect specimens, process samples in the lab using standard protocols, and contribute to data management for the TBiOS database. This work directly supports WDFW’s mission to preserve and protect Washington’s fish, wildlife, and ecosystems by evaluating whether environmental conditions are improving or worsening over time.

What to Expect

• Conduct Field Surveys
  :
  Using established procedures, perform regular field surveys to collect fish and invertebrate samples for ongoing toxics monitoring. This encompasses a wide range of sampling techniques including bottom trawling from a chartered fishing vessel, deploying/retrieving caged mussels in the intertidal zone, gill-netting for Pacific herring from small vessels, beach seining for juvenile salmonids, obtaining adult salmon samples from various sources including tribal fisheries, and miscellaneous collection from targeted test fisheries or other WDFW sampling events.
• Maintaining supply inventories, preparing field sampling kits, and managing/tracking of samples (fish/invertebrates/etc.) from the field to the lab.
• Collect field data using electronic devices/applications or written format.

• Perform Laboratory Work
  :
  Using established protocols, process field samples in the lab for biological metrics, analysis of toxic chemicals, evaluation of diseases, and other health-related endpoints. This involves resecting tissues and other body components from fishes and invertebrates using clean techniques defined in standard operating procedures.
• Creates composite samples of tissues.
• Helps to manage all lab-related activities including tracking and labeling tissue samples, transporting samples to and from labs, and maintaining appropriate lab conditions.

• Data and Records Management
  :
  Process field data related to sampling effort and locations, tissue types collected, lab data related to sample metrics, and chemical concentration data returned from the analytical laboratory. This includes applying quality assurance routines to validate data.
• Maintain paper and digital copies of all field and lab notebooks.

Working Conditions

• Field work
  :
  The incumbent will assist with the collection of fish or invertebrates throughout Puget Sound requiring access by boat or from the shoreline. This may include being stations aboard a vessel periodically for up to a week at a time. The incumbent will be subjected to inclement weather, including rough seas that may induce motion sickness. Shoreline sampling of mussels occurs along rocky and muddy shorelines at night in remote areas.
  
  From time to time the incumbent will need to heavy objects such as ice-filled coolers and/or baskets of fish while on the deck of a moving boat. Some fish encountered and handled by staff possess sharp and venomous spines and may bite. The incumbent will assist with deploying and retrieving sampling nets from a boat or shore. This position involves working in or near water, including tasks that require navigating, negotiating, and performing duties related to water environments.
• Lab work
  :
  Work will involve sitting or standing at a lab bench while performing repetitive, sometimes…