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Open: March 24, 2026 — Closes: March 30, 2026
Summary
What General Information Do I Need To Know About This Position? Salary: $23.94 hourly (Step 01) to $31.12 hourly (Step 10); NOTE: First time hires to the Federal Government are typically hired at the Step 01. Resume Length: Please limit your resume to no more than 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.
Major Duties
Duration of Appointment: This is a temporary excepted service position not-to-exceed 1 year but may be extended without further competition. Employment may not exceed 1,039 hours in a service year. All qualified applicants, with or without Federal status may apply and be considered. Appointment to this position, however, will not convey permanent status in the Federal service. As a Biological Science Technician (Field Assistant) within the National Wildlife Health Center, some of your specific duties will include: Participates in complex studies and investigations concerning biological, chemical, and physical processes that affect ecosystems. Examines wild animal carcasses or tissues to isolate and identify pathogens and parasites in accordance with established technical and quality management procedures. Gathers, organizes, and interprets a wide variety of biological, ecological, pathological, public use data or other information pertinent to scientific studies or investigations. Maintains computer databases. Provides general husbandry (feed, water, cage cleaning) for a wide variety of laboratory and wild-caught birds, mammals, amphibians/reptiles, and fish in accordance with the Animal Welfare Act and the Public Health Service Guide. Conducts laboratory, data-dependent or animal care activities and assists to organize daily workloads and provides summaries of work performed in oral and written forms for meetings and reports. Operates a government motor vehicle as an incidental driver. Physical Demands: Work is physically demanding and includes walking, bending, climbing, and lifting of equipment up to 100 pounds when in the field, sometimes during adverse conditions. Work Environment: The work is performed in a laboratory or field environment. Field work involves moderate or sometimes extreme exposure to the discomforts of rain, cold/hot weather, and rapidly running or icy streams and rivers. Special safety precautions are required in many cases, and the employee may typically wear life jackets, special safety boots, waders, and special organism handling gear.
