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Keeping Washington Clean and Evergreen

The Department of Ecology is hiring six Watershed Health Monitoring Etech (Environmental Technician) positionswithin the Environmental Assessment Program{target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"} for the Summer 2025 field season.

These are temporary positions that will start on June 16, 2025 and end no later than October 15, 2025. The end date is flexible and depends on how the field season goes. Students needing to return to school in the fall are still encouraged to apply.

Location:

The positions are based out of Lacey, WA{target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"}, with work primarily focused on the Snake River region with some sample sites statewide.

Upon hire, you must live within a commutable distance from Lacey, WA.

Schedule:

The schedule will consist of 10-hour shifts, with eight consecutive days working in the field followed by six days off.

Schedules are dependent upon position needs and are subject to change.

Application Timeline:

Apply by April 24, 2025

This position will remain open until filled. The agency reserves the right to make a hire at any time after application review begins. Applications received after 11:59 p.m. on April 24, 2025 may not be considered.

Duties

These entry-level positions provide an opportunity to use what you've learned in school and apply it to environmental sampling techniques. Key work activities include hiking, field navigation, biological monitoring, water quality sampling, habitat surveys, and using different @types of monitoring equipment. The information that you collect will help assess the condition of streams and watersheds. The data is used to describe the status and trends of watershed health, lakes, and other environmental conditions to better inform natural resource conservation and management plans.

The Department of Ecology's Watershed Health Monitoring program assesses streams and rivers across the state to obtain a consistent, objective picture of habitat and biological conditions. We sample eight regions in the state on a rotating basis. Our scientists assess watershed health in streams and rivers by evaluating the monitoring data for each region. You will directly support these ongoing data collection efforts as we survey streams and rivers in the Snake River region this summer.

What you will do:

Under supervision and direction of professional staff, serve as field assistant on a 4-member crew conducting watershed health protocols including physical stream surveys, measuring various chemical parameters, and collecting biological samples.

Conduct initial review of the raw data recorded in the field for completeness and overall quality.

Collect water, sediment, and periphyton samples.

Assist with organizing and maintaining all field equipment, including the calibration of water quality multi-probes.

Help with habitat surveys, assist with benthic macroinvertebrate sampling, and h

Department of Ecology

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