Senior Wildlife Biologist

Responsibilities

• Serve as the Department’s primary expert guiding deer management plans, habitat and research priorities, monitoring objectives, and hunting season recommendations.
• Collaborate with wildlife managers, tribal and federal government partners, biologists, landowners, hunters, and other stakeholders to strengthen information-based approaches to deer management.
• Ability to step into both supporting and leadership roles, fostering a positive, cooperative, and high-performing work environment.
• Clearly convey deer management strategies, research findings, and recommendations to internal staff, the public, partner agencies, and decision makers.
• Oversee survey design, monitoring, and interpretation of deer hunter, harvest, and population trends, in addition to landowner opinion and other stakeholder trends.
• Lead the adoption of new technologies and analytical tools to improve program efficiency, transparency, and effectiveness.
• Author, coauthor, or review technical reports and scientific publications in collaboration with project leaders and staff.

Qualifications

• A Bachelor of Science degree preferred.
• Experience with an M.S. or Ph.D. in wildlife management or related degree supplemented by several years of experience with a wildlife management agency responsible for developing hunting season regulations.
• Knowledge of deer management, habitat requirements, harvest and population dynamics, and wildlife disease ecology.
• Knowledge of social science, public engagement practices, and legal frameworks that shape deer management and regulatory authority, including the roles and rights of tribal, federal, state, and private entities.
• Knowledge of deer population modeling, abundance estimation, and demographic analysis.
• Knowledge of public trust principles and the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.
• Advanced computer skills using database management and analysis software including Program R and ArcGIS Pro.
• Ability to analyze and interpret scientific data and documents, manage large, complex datasets with accuracy and efficiency.

Skills

• Effective communication through public speaking, stakeholder engagement, and technical writing.
• Strong leadership and ability to guide team priorities and workloads.
• Professionalism and credibility in representing and promoting departmental priorities.
• Ability to conduct applied wildlife research independently or collaboratively.
• Organize work, manage multiple responsibilities, and meet deadlines.
• Maintain exceptional attention to detail in field notes, reports, and publications.