POSITION TITLE: biological science technician

Hiring Organization/Employer:  USDA
Application Deadline:  7/17/26
Education Required:  None
Location:  Negotiable, SC

Description:  

 As a Wildlife Biological Science Technician, you will perform duties relating to wildlife management and use of techniques aimed at controlling damage caused by wildlife to help protect agriculture, natural resources, property, and threats to human health and safety.

 

 

Compensation & Benefits:  

 $17.47 - $28.35 per hour

 A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding.

 

Responsibilities:  

 

  • The duties described are for the full-performance level. At developmental grade levels, assignments will be of more limited scope, performed with less independence and limited complexity.
  • The duties may include, but are not limited to:
  • Inspects and surveys areas and, as necessary, will revise existing wildlife damage management programs in close consultation with higher-level management.
  • Assists Wildlife Biologists by correctly identifying current, and forecasting future damage, problems and relating them to the damage-causing species.
  • Modifies or adapts established damage control techniques as necessary to meet local conditions and address specific environmental, economic or political considerations.
  • Enters data into established wildlife damage management database/system of record. Uses data to prepare and submit routine reports regarding daily, weekly or monthly activities, observations, and events.
  • Responsible for organizing and conducting direct control operations to reduce wildlife damage within a geographical area or technical/subject area of program involvement.

 

 

Preferred Qualifications:  

 

MINIMUM ELIGIBLITY REQUIREMENTS:
Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements, by the date that lists are pulled when new vacancies arise, including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below:

General Experience at the GS-3 Grade Level:
Applicants must have 6 months of work experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work of the position or experience that provided a familiarity with the subject matter or processes of the broad subject area of the occupation.

OR

Education Substitution at the GS-3 Level: Successful completion of l year of study that included at least 6 semester hours in any combination of scientific or technical courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics.

OR

Combination of Education and Experience at the GS-3 Level: Applicants may have combinations of successfully completed education and general experience to meet total qualification requirements. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for that grade level

For the GS-4 Grade Level: Applicants must have 6 months of general experience and 6 months of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-03 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates:

  • Identifying North American wildlife species.
  • Experience in the principles of wildlife ecology and management in support of a wildlife management program.
  • Preparing baits and setting traps in accordance with standard procedures.
  • Keeping routine and basic records of daily activities and observations.

OR

Education Substitution at the GS-4 Grade Level: Successful completion of 2 years of study that included at least 12 semester hours in any combination of courses such as biology, chemistry, statistics, entomology, animal husbandry, botany, physics, agriculture, or mathematics. At least 6 semester hours of courses must be in wildlife.

OR

Combination of Education and Experience at the GS-4 Grade Level: Applicants may have combinations of successfully completed education and specialized experience to meet total qualification requirements. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for that grade level.

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 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:  

 Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin. You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement.

Applying online is highly encouraged. We are available to assist you during business hours (normally 8:00a.m. - 4:00p.m., Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement in order to be entered into the system prior to its closing. Resume cannot exceed two pages.

This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this.

Step 1: Create a USAJOBS account (if you do not already have one) at www.usajobs.gov. It is recommended that as part of your profile you set up automatic email notification to be informed when the status of your application changes. If you choose not to set up this automatic notification, then you will have to log into your USAJOBS account to check on the status of your application.

Step 2: Create a Resume with USAJOBS or upload a Resume into your USAJOBS account. You may want to customize your resume to ensure it documents duties and accomplishments you have gained that are directly related to this position in order to verify that qualifications are met. In addition, your resume must support your responses to the online questionnaire (you may preview the online questionnaire by clicking on the link at the end of the How You Will Be Evaluated section of the job announcement).

Step 3: Click "Apply Online" and follow the prompts to complete the Occupational Questionnaire and attach any additional documents that may be required. You can update your application or documents anytime while the announcement is open. Simply log into your USAJOBS account and click on "Application Status." Click on the position title, and then select "Update Application" to continue.

NOTE: Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX). Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable. Only one resume will be reviewed. Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration.

 

 

 

 

Contact:  

 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
USDA APHIS MRPBS
250 Marquette Avenue, Suite 410
Minneapolis, MN 55401
US

612-336-3227

mrp.application.help@usda.gov