Spotted Owl Wildlife Technician

We are looking for two Wildlife Technicians to conduct surveys for California spotted owls in Tahoe National Forest. Positions will begin April 13, 2026, and end August 7, 2026, and technicians must commit to working through the entire period. Pay starts at $20.00 per hour depending upon experience. Housing will be provided if technicians agree to live in housing that UW has secured prior to hiring.

Wildlife Technicians will conduct surveys for spotted and barred owls, assess their reproductive status, locate nest and roost trees, assist in the capture/recapture and deployment of radio telemetry/GPS data loggers on owls, monitor movements of GPS tagged owls, program/deploy/retrieve Autonomous Recording Units (ARUs), care for equipment/lures, and record sightings of other animals encountered. Wildlife Technicians will also record/transcribe handwritten data into computer databases and help validate data that was collected in the field.

A typical work week is 40 hours, and frequent camping is required. Schedules will be irregular. For example, owl work will occur from the afternoon and in the hours surrounding twilight, and occasionally during nocturnal periods. Work involving the placement and maintenance of ARUs will be diurnal. Technicians may be required to rotate between owl and ARU duties. Work involving owl captures will be in pairs, but most other work will be solo. Work will often involve strenuous off-trail hiking in steep, forested terrain, during day or night. Snow may be encountered during April and early May.

Required Qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience safely operating and using discretion while driving 4-wheel-drive vehicles on backcountry roads.
• Demonstrated experience employed as a technician, field assistant, researcher, or related position where data collection was a part of the job.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior experience handling raptors.
• Experience with radio telemetry, or related electronic wildlife tracking.
• Experience navigating unfamiliar areas using GPS, compass, and/or topographic maps, both in a vehicle and on foot while off trail.
• Demonstrated experience hiking multiple miles, while carrying a heavy pack in occasionally steep terrain.
• Experience working in remote areas.
• Our results will be translated into recommendations to land management agencies responsible for maintaining viable spotted owl populations such as the US Forest Service.

Applicant interviews will occur after the closing date, Jan. 5, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. CST. Applicants must apply through the UW-Madison website, https://jobs.wisc.edu/jobs/wildlife-technician-madison-wisconsin-united-states