Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission is recruiting candidates to fill the role of a Fishery Biologist 2 to work closely with U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researchers at the Klamath Falls Field Station (KFFS) on adult fish monitoring. This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position with an anticipated start date of January 4th, 2026.
Please review required application materials and the closing disclaimer in the below sections.
PSMFC will not accept resumes or cover letters for any position once the job announcement has been removed from the Careers Page. PSMFC will begin reviewing submitted applications the week of November 16, 2026 and may begin interviewing as soon as the week of November 23, 2026. PSMFC reserves the right to remove a job announcement at any time for any reason or close the position prior to the posted close date once a sufficient number of applicants have been received.
The USGS KFFS has been tracking individual Lost River and Shortnose suckers — two long-lived, endangered fish species — for more than two decades.
The incumbent would be leading the field logistics behind adult sucker monitoring, from running boats and maintaining Passive Integrated Transponder tag (PIT-tag) detection equipment to scheduling and coordinating field crews through back-to-back spring and fall field seasons. You'll also get exposure to juvenile sucker work and fin-ray aging and genetic sampling across both life stages, giving you a rare full-life-cycle view of an endangered species most biologists never get. If you're someone who's at your best running field operations, keeping equipment and crews moving, and wants real ownership over how a season comes together, we'd like to hear from you.
Group Definition: Fishery Biologists use professional knowledge and competence in the science of fishery biology to perform work: (a) developing, conserving, propagating, managing, and administering fishery resources; (b) evaluating the impact of construction projects and other socioeconomic activities that present potential or actual adverse effects on fishery resources and their habitat; and (c) producing and managing aquatic resources in their natural habitat and/or within facilities and systems that have been constructed for their benefit and public use.
This position offers the opportunity to contribute to research on rare and imperiled fishes in the Klamath Basin, generating information that helps managers make informed decisions about resource use in a sensitive arid ecosystem. You'll work within a long-term research program that has tracked endangered Lost River and Shortnose suckers for decades using PIT tags as part of a capture-recapture effort, while contributing to an expanding acoustic telemetry program investigating seasonal movement, survival, and habitat use. Through this work, you'll help connect adult survival, juvenile recruitment, and lake conditions to sucker recovery actions and water-management decisions in the Basin.
The incumbent’s primary responsibility will be coordinating a single research project centered on adult sucker monitoring, working as part of an established and collaborative research team. The project involves standardized field sampling, aging, and genetic species identification of adult and juvenile suckers across Upper Klamath Lake and/or Clear Lake Reservoir, which occurs primarily during the spring and late fall field season. This position also manages and coordinates field crew schedules to install and maintain remote PIT tag detection equipment and seasonal field sampling events, and manages day-to-day maintenance on boats and vehicles to ensure continuous operation and availability to accommodate the busy field schedule.
Outside of the adult sampling season, this position will support a variety of other station needs as they arise, depending on current priorities This additional work may include: supporting acoustic telemetry efforts, such as maintaining receiver arrays, assisting with tagging operations, and analyzing detection data as it comes in; contributing to writing and analysis on other station projects; scanning for PIT tags at piscivorous bird colonies; and supporting juvenile sucker sampling in the summer months when needed. The specific mix of additional work will vary by season and station need. The ideal candidate will have experience leading or co-leading field crew, have work experience with acoustic telemetry.
At the lower end of the range, Fishery Biologists 2:
At the upper end of the range, the Fishery Biologist 2:
Additional Desirable Skills:
Physical Environment: Demands generally range from sedentary to moderate --where there is walking, climbing stairs and ladders, reaching, lifting, bending, or extended periods of standing. Some Fishery Biologists in this range have rigorous physical demands where they must be able to handle buckets of water or gear weighing from 40 - 50 pounds, engage in long daily periods of hiking, camp out for extended periods, or maintain footing in fast-moving water.
Work Environment: Some work is performed in an office setting with adequate lighting, heating and ventilation. Some work may be performed in a laboratory setting which exposes the biologist to odors, chemicals, fish blood, and molds. The employee must use safety precautions including MSDS, gloves, hood, and eye protection. Some employees may work on narrow, elevated walkways and platforms that are over or adjacent to water. Field work involves exposure to all types of weather, slippery rocks or docks, trails, irregular terrain, insects, poison oak, rough or fast-moving water, or cold water temperatures. Work at high elevations or aboard boats may be required.
PSMFC is an EEO/AAP employer. We maintain a drug free workplace.
Minimum Qualification Requirements:
A range of education and experience may be presented. At the lower end of the range, candidates must present successful completion of a full 4-year course of study in an accredited college or university leading to a bachelor’s or higher degree that included a major in biological science with at least 6 semester hours in aquatic subjects and at least 12 semester hours in the animal sciences. In addition to the undergraduate degree requirement, candidates for positions at the lower end of the range must also present 1 year of Specialized Experience** OR 2 years of progressively higher graduate education leading to a master’s degree in fisheries biology, ecology, or a closely related field.
At the upper end of the range, in addition to the undergraduate course of study described above, candidates must also present one year of Specialized Experience** OR 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph. D. degree or equivalent doctoral degree in fields directly related to the position being filled. An equivalent combination of experience and education is also qualifying.
**Specialized Experience is experience that equips the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position and is typically in or related to the work of the position being filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled.
To work with USGS Data Systems, the Candidate must also meet the below minimum requirements:
Applications that do not include material listed under Requirement A and B will be considered incomplete.
USGS Klamath Falls
Full-Year Employees working at least 30 hours a week are covered by the Company's Life, LTD and AD&D plan. They are eligible to enroll in medical, dental and vision insurance, as well as short term disability, voluntary Life, LTD and AD&D insurance, flexible spending and deferred compensation. An employee receives up to 120 hours of vacation during their first three years of service. After that, the amount of vacation increases every three years of service up to a maximum of 192 hours per year.
$61,722 - $97,098/annually
Established in 1947 by consent of Congress, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) is an interstate compact agency that helps resource agencies and the fishing industry sustainably manage our valuable Pacific Ocean resources in a five-state region. Member states include California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. Each represented by three Commissioners.
Mission
As stated by the governing compact, PSMFC's purpose shall be “to promote the better utilization of fisheries – marine, shell, and anadromous, which are of mutual concern, and to develop a joint program of protection and prevention of physical waste of such fisheries in all of those areas of the Pacific Ocean over which the compacting states jointly or separately now have or may hereafter acquire jurisdiction.”
PSMFC's primary goal is to promote and support policies and actions to conserve, develop, and manage our fishery resources in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska. We accomplish this through coordinating research activities, monitoring fishing activities, and facilitating a wide variety of projects. We work to collect data and maintain databases on salmon, steelhead, and other marine fish for fishery managers and the fishing industry.
