Maintenance Worker

Summary

You will serve as a Maintenance Worker with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Loleta, California.

You will perform a wide range of construction, repair, and maintenance work on buildings, facilities, vehicles, heavy equipment, and refuge lands while using hand tools, power tools, specialized machinery, and various trade techniques to support daily operations and land management needs.

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Duties

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Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following:

- Perform building and facility maintenance by repairing electrical systems, heating and cooling units, plumbing, carpentry, roofing, masonry, painting, and welding using hand tools, power tools, testing devices, and trade equipment.

- Maintain and repair vehicles, heavy machinery, small engines, and equipment by replacing parts, troubleshooting mechanical issues, completing preventative service, and installing hardware or software components.

- Operate heavy equipment and motor vehicles such as bulldozers, excavators, loaders, tractors, trailers, and trucks to complete earth-moving, road and trail work, land management tasks, pesticide application, and equipment transport.

- Lead small projects by planning work steps, training others, promoting safe practices, maintaining equipment records, and entering maintenance information into approved computer systems.

- Support refuge operations by maintaining water control structures, performing habitat restoration, installing fences and signs, assisting with land management activities, and completing other related maintenance tasks as needed.

Physical Demands

- The work requires significant physical effort, including heavy lifting, carrying, and setting up parts and equipment weighing up to 50 pounds unassisted and more than 50 pounds with assistance.

- Tasks involve extensive standing, walking, bending, stooping, kneeling, climbing, and working in tiring or uncomfortable positions.

- Work frequently requires the use of jacks, pulleys, dollies, ladders, scaffolding, and platforms, as well as working in hard-to-reach or high places.

- Operation of vehicles and heavy equipment requires constant arm and leg movement, coordination, and alertness for safe control.

Working Conditions

- Work is performed both indoors and outdoors, with approximately 95 percent occurring outdoors.

- Outdoor work exposes the worker to all weather conditions, running water, fumes, dust, grease, dirt, and moving equipment or machinery.

- Work sites include steep terrain, uneven and slippery surfaces, rocky ground, forests, and other rugged environments.

- There is regular exposure to hazards such as cuts, bruises, falls, falling materials, loud noise, and risk of injury from operating machinery or working near public roads.

- Required use of personal protective equipment includes protective clothing, hardhats, hearing protection, safety glasses, goggles, gloves, steel-toe boots, respirators, and other safety gear.

- Work may involve hazardous materials, requiring proper storage, handling, labeling, and disposal according to federal and state environmental standards.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• Must provide proof of U.S. citizenship.
• Appointment subject to background investigation and favorable adjudication.
• Males born after 12-31-59 must be registered for Selective Service.
• Direct Deposit participation required.
• Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, visit
• Must possess and maintain a valid State driver's license.
• Must obtain within two (2) years of start date and maintain a valid Commercial Driver's License (CDL Class A), including meeting all CDL requirements such as the Department of Transportation physical exam, drug and alcohol testing requirements, and the minimum age of 21.
• Pre-employment and random alcohol and drug testing are required. You will not be appointed to the position if a verified positive test is received.
• Must wear the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service uniform in accordance with agency policy.
• Must obtain and maintain all required certifications and licenses related to equipment operation.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a pesticide applicator's license, if required by assigned duties.
• Must meet safety requirements and use required personal protective equipment.
• May be required to meet physical readiness standards if assigned collateral firefighter duties.
• Must be willing to work weekends, including early morning hours to address emergencies for occasional infrastructure and weather-related emergencies that require immediate attention.
• You may be required to complete training, obtain and maintain a government credit card with travel and purchase authority.

*Additional Requirements located under Additional Information*

Qualifications

Qualifications:

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-08/17/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement.

To qualify for this position, you must have sufficient knowledge and ability in the following job-related factors:

1. Ability to do the work of the position without more than normal supervision (SCREEN OUT)
2. Knowledge of Equipment Assembly, Installation Repair, etc.
3. Technical Practices (theoretical precise, artistic)
4. Use of Measuring Instruments
5. Ability to Interpret Instructions, Specification, etc. (includes blueprints reading)
6. Ability to Use and Maintain Tools and Equipment
7. Knowledge of Materials
8. Vehicle Operation (SCREEN OUT)

If your knowledge and ability in the SCREEN OUT factors above is not sufficient, you will receive no further consideration. In preparing your application, describe in detail the experience and training which you have had that specifically prepared you for this job and to perform the duties described for this job. Experience should be clearly described and documented in your resume. Your resume must support your response to the assessment questionnaire, and if it does not, your application will be marked as not eligible. The qualifications reviewer will not assume performance of such duties by Job Titles alone. Address your knowledge, skills and/or abilities in the areas shown in the job-related factors.

You must meet at least 2 points on the screen-out element(s) and obtain an average of at least 2 points on all of the job elements to be considered qualified for this position.

Volunteer Experience: 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, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

There is no substitution of education for experience for Federal Wage System (FWS) positions.

Additional information

Additional vacancies may be filled using this job announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated.

This probationary period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated.

Upon completion of your probationary your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

If otherwise eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information visit: Recruitment Incentive or Relocation Incentive.

Related Non-Federal experience or related experience as retired members of the uniformed services may be credited towards computing entitlement to leave accrual, at managerial discretion, providing that experience meets certain criteria. This provision allows new employees to earn annual leave at a higher rate than would otherwise be allowed. (5 Code of Federal Regulations, 630).

All Department of Interior (DOI) employees, their spouses, and minor children may not acquire or retain any claim, permit, lease, small tract entry, or other rights granted by the Department in Federal lands, with limited exceptions. Additional ethics prohibitions can be found here,

Current surplus and current or former displaced Federal individuals who have special priority selection rights under the Agency Career Transition Assistance Program (CTAP) or the Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP) must be well qualified for the position to receive consideration for special priority selection. Well qualified means that the applicant meets the following: OPM qualification standards for the position; all selective placement factors, where applicable; special qualifying conditions that OPM has approved for the position, where applicable; is physically qualified with reasonable accommodation, where appropriate to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position upon entry; and is rated by the organization at least at the well qualified level.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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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. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.